Now, the class of 2011 wasn't the strongest one for 1st year eligibles for either the movie world or the baseball world, but in both cases there was, in my opinion at least, one clear cut, Home Run choice for enshrinement: In the baseball world, that was Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, who enters Cooperstown, along with Jeff Bagwell(7th year of eligibility) and Tim Raines(10th and final year of eligibility), with the most games played as a catcher in baseball history, and in the film world that was Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, which won the Palme D'or at Cannes and also received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography.
Even though those are both obvious choices for me, their Hall of Fame cases face some scrutiny to this day. With "Pudge", a suspicion of steroid use during his years with the Texas Rangers, peaking with an MVP season in 1999, caused his percentage of Hall of Fame votes received to drop to 76%, just barely squeaking in for enshrinement. But he made it in, which is what matters, and nowhere on his plaque will his suspicion of steroid use or his percentage of votes received be mentioned. What will be mentioned is that he's the greatest defensive catcher of all time with 13 Gold Gloves, has over 2,800 hits and 300 Home Runs, and is a 2003 NLCS MVP and World Series Champion with the Florida Marlins, and also that he's from Puerto Rico.
With The Tree of Life, a suspicion of pretentiousness on Terrence Malick's part, although in his case there is overwhelming evidence throughout his filmography(#sorrynotsorry), caused many viewers, my parents included, to react negatively to this film. I don't think my dad has ever hated a film more than this one. Some of the Fine Arts-seeking folks at Cannes even booed and walked out midway through the screening of the film. As for me, on the other hand, I was transfixed. This film is beautiful to watch from beginning to end, thanks in part to the work of Director of Photography Emmanuel Lubezki, and the link it makes between the origins of our planet and the experiences of 3 adolescent boys in 1950s Texas with an overbearing father(Brad Pitt) and a kind, nurturing mother(Jessica Chastain) worked perfectly for me. Maybe it's because in 2011 I had just become a father for the first time, but for my money The Tree of Life is one of the greatest on screen representations of the bond between a father and his children, and also one of the greatest representations of childhood ever put on screen.
Now, I know that for many people it's more difficult to look past that 15 minute creation-of-the-world segment to find the true meaning of this film, but I found it, and I love it. Because of that, it's a Movie Porti Hall of Fame Inductee. But for all those movie lovers who would disagree with my choice, I've prepared a quick Recap of the Movie Class of 2011 to refresh your memory on the movie year as a whole. No other film from 2011 really came close to receiving 75% of my imaginary votes for induction, but there are some solid movies and performances worth mentioning. So let's get on with the recap, shall we?
Recap
My Top 5 Movies of 2011
1. The Tree of Life (dir. Terrence Malick)
2. Take Me Home Tonight (dir. Michael Dowse)
3. Margaret (dir. Kenneth Lonergan)
4. Cedar Rapids (dir. Miguel Arteta)
5. Certified Copy (dir. Abbas Kiarostami)
*Note: Take Me Home Tonight and Margaret both spent years in post-production until they were finally released in 2011. Cedar Rapids was my favorite Alexander Payne-produced film of 2011, ahead of Best Picture nominee The Descendants, which he also directed, and I also enjoyed quite a bit. Out of this group, only The Tree of Life received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture or Best Director.
My Top 5 Performances of 2011
1. Tilda Swinton as "Eva" in We Need to Talk About Kevin
2. Michael Shannon as "Curtis" in Take Shelter
3. Michelle Williams as "Marilyn Monroe" in My Week With Marilyn
4. Brad Pitt as "Mr. O'Brien" in The Tree of Life
5. Anna Paquin as "Lisa Cohen" in Margaret
*Note: Out of this group, the only performance nominated for an Academy Award was Michelle Williams as "Marilyn Monroe". Brad Pitt was nominated that year, but for his role as Oakland A's GM "Billy Beane" in Moneyball, which was another solid performance from Pitt in 2011(more on that later). Tilda Swinton was once again overlooked in 2011, as in 2010, and to this day still remains with just one Oscar nomination, and win, for her work in 2007's Michael Clayton.
Acting MVPs of 2011
Male: (tie) Brad Pitt (The Tree of Life, Moneyball) and Michael Fassbender (Shame, A Dangerous Method, X-Men: First Class)
Female: Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life, The Help, Take Shelter)
*Note: I could've just gone with Fassbender and Chastain, who were everywhere in 2011, but I had to include Pitt, who gave 2 excellent lead performances in Best Picture nominated films, capping off what might be the best 5 year stretch of his career.
Breakout Stars of 2011
Male: John Boyega(Attack the Block), Ezra Miller(We Need to Talk About Kevin), Damián Bichir(A Better Life), Benedict Cumberbatch(Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, War Horse), Chris Hemsworth(Thor), Oscar Isaac(Drive)
Female: Jessica Chastain(The Tree of Life, The Help, Take Shelter), Melissa McCarthy(Bridesmaids), Shailene Woodley(The Descendants), Felicity Jones(Like Crazy), Elizabeth Olsen(Martha Marcy Mae Marlene), Octavia Spencer(The Help)
*Note: A very solid year for breakouts, with future Star Wars: The Force Awakens bromance buddies Boyega and Isaac on the male side, plus 2 future superheroes: Miller(The Flash) and Cumberbatch(Doctor Strange), plus one who broke out as a superhero(Hemsworth). Bichir also had a successful breakout, receiving a Best Actor nomination for his performance.
Speaking of nominations, 3 of the women in this group were nominated for their work in 2011: McCarthy(rare nomination for a comedy), Chastain(for The Help) and Spencer, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Then there's Jones, who like Boyega and Isaac also joined the Star Wars universe in 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Olsen, who like Cumberbatch and Hemsworth joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as "Scarlet Witch" in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Woodley continued her solid work in teen films The Spectacular Now and The Fault in our Stars in the following years.
Most Underrated Movies of 2011
Take Me Home Tonight, Cedar Rapids, Hall Pass, Bernie, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
*Note: 4 comedies and one Sci-Fi film. Take Me Home Tonight and Cedar Rapids made my Top 5, so you know I believe they deserve way more love. Hall Pass was a return to form for the Farrelly brothers in my opinion. Bernie features 3 great performances from Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey, making it one of Richard Linklater's most under appreciated films. And Rise kicked off what turned out to be the greatest trilogy of the decade in excellent fashion, thanks in large part to Andy Serkis' motion capture performance as "Caesar".
Most Overrated Movies of 2011
Bridesmaids and Crazy, Stupid, Love
*Note: I could comment on what was, aside from The Tree of Life, a very weak Best Picture field(guess I just did), but I want to single out these 2 comedies that got almost universal praise in 2011. In my opinion they are both incredibly flawed films full of depressing/unlikeable characters and unrealistic situations. Both have only one redeeming quality, and that's any time Melissa McCarthy is on screen in Bridesmaids, and any time Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are on screen together in Crazy, Stupid, Love. But the problem is that those performers and their characters get very little screen time compared to the other characters and situations that these movies want to pass off as funny, when they clearly aren't. The amount of love for Bridesmaids culminated in it getting a Best Original Screenplay nomination, which is absolutely ridiculous. At least neither one of these films got a sequel, even though they both had a very strong showing at the Box Office.
How the Academy Voted / How I Would've Voted
Best Picture: Academy - The Artist / MP - The Tree of Life
Best Director: Academy - Michel Hazanavicius(The Artist) / MP - Terrence Malick(The Tree of Life)
Best Actor: Academy - Jean Dujardin(The Artist) / MP - Michael Shannon(Take Shelter)
Best Actress: Academy - Meryl Streep(The Iron Lady) / MP - Tilda Swinton(We Need to Talk About Kevin)
Best Supporting Actor: Academy - Christopher Plummer(Beginners) / MP - John Hawkes(Martha Marcy Mae Marlene)
Best Supporting Actress: Academy - Octavia Spencer(The Help) / MP - Melissa McCarthy(Bridesmaids)
Best Original Screenplay: Academy - Midnight in Paris / MP - Certified Copy
Best Adapted Screenplay: Academy - The Descendants / MP - The Skin I Live In
Best Editing: Academy - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo / MP - The Tree of Life
Best Cinematography: Academy - Hugo / MP - The Tree of Life
Best Original Score: Academy - The Artist / MP - Same
Best Animated Feature: Academy - Rango / MP - Kung Fu Panda 2
Best Foreign Language Film: Academy - A Separation / MP - Same
