2016 brought out the worst in people.
Too many arguments tore apart friendships, too many social media paragraphs brought vitriol to the surface, and too many people died. We lost artists. We gained fear. We became a nation that had to be reminded that black lives matter. Predicting the future is impossible, but I'm sure 2016 will be seen as a turning point in our history. It's tough to see the good in a year like this one.
2016 brought out the best in artists.
As an audience, we were treated to one of the best years of film in recent history. Beyond that, we were handed heart-wrenchingly beautiful music. From Chance the Rapper to Childish Gambino, Bon Iver to A Tribe Called Quest, Clipping to Kendrick, and this track that threw my heart in a blender and promptly pressed purée.
I've been going back and forth on making a list of my favorite and least favorite of the year, so let's start here. These are my favorite characters in film for 2016. I didn't have any guidelines for the characters - some show up for 15 minutes, others have entire movies to themselves. There are spoilers in these descriptions, and I haven't seen every film, but as of right now, here they are.
10. Robert Katende - David Oyelowo - Queen of Katwe
Queen of Katwe deserved a larger audience. Not just because it's a well made film, but because it's an important one. Starring Madina Nalwanga as Phiona in her first role (ever), the film includes an all black cast, one which never needs a white person to come in and save the day. As Phiona's teacher, Robert Katende, David Oyelowo shines. His love for the children he mentors bleeds into every scene. His passion for chess, a game of strategy and thinking ahead, helps guide the theme of the film without overshadowing Nalwanga. By using chess as an equal playing ground for the young and old, big and small, rich and poor, Robert's lessons go beyond knight, king, and queen - they become important reminders about self confidence.
9. The Ancient One - Tilda Swinton - Doctor Strange
The backlash surrounding Tilda Swinton's casting as the Ancient One was fascinating to watch. On one hand, a white actor is taking the role of a traditionally Asian character. With Emma Stone in Aloha and Scarlett Johansson's casting in next year's Ghost in the Shell, white-washing was in the public's eyes. On the other hand, the character came is rooted in racist stereotypes. Do we need another mystical Asian monk who can teach our character how to use his newfound powers? However you feel about the casting of Tilda Swinton, her performance remains phenomenal. Swinton commands the screen with an ease and gravitas that could quickly be taken for granted. Whether she's facing off with Mads Mikkleson or taking on one of the best death scenes in recent memory, the Ancient One brought reality to a universe that contorted the real world and sometimes brushed it off like an unnecessary sidebar.
8. Ricky Baker - Julian Dennison - Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Hunt for the Wilderpeople was one of my favorite surprises of 2016. I've been a fan of Taika Waititi since What We Do In The Shadows, so I tried to stay away from any news about his new film. Near the beginning of the film, I wasn't enamored with Ricky Baker. He didn't have the instant charisma that some of the other characters on this list had. But as Ricky and Hector, played by Sam Neill, fight their way through the wilderness, I started getting it. He's a kid who dreams of being a gangster - so much so that he names his dog Tupac. In the most unconventional way, he gets to live out his dream: he's a rifle-toting outlaw on the lamb from the fuzz with his own catchphrase (albeit one that's been used a thousand times), "Shit just got real." Getting to see Ricky's understanding of the true joys in both the everyday life and the thug - skux - life was beyond terrific.
7. Jillian Holtzman - Kate McKinnon - Ghostbusters (2016)
This is an interesting challenge. How do you separate an intriguing character from an overall uninteresting film. Step 1: Hire Kate McKinnon. She brings joy to a film that needs it desperately. Holtzmann feels as if she's the only character who truly loves what she does. While the film was ultimately uneven, finding unfiltered satisfaction from capturing ghosts might be one of the few things in the new edition of Ghostbusters that makes it stand on par with the original.
6. Brenden - Jack Reynor - Sing Street
The brother that left shoes too big to fill. The one that peaked in high school. On the surface, Brenden is a character we've seen enough times to know what to expect. But John Carney's writing and Jack Reynor's performance round out the character to someone with regrets, passion, and love. It's not so much when he appears on screen, but how he interacts with others. His love for his brother and continued contribution to his success comes across as far more genuine than many of those other brothers we've seen before.
5. Erwin - Hayden Szeto - The Edge of Seventeen
It was hard to pick one character from The Edge of Seventeen, a testament to both Kelly Fremon Craig, the writer/director and the actors. In the end, Szeto's Erwin, a character that in less capable hands could easily be written off as "quirky friend #3," won out. While it's his ridiculous comedic timing that makes Erwin so instantly charming, it's his grounding in reality that sets him apart. He has insecurities: he's unsure of himself, he's unsure of his art, he's unsure of the girl he likes. Making Erwin's defining quality "passionate" and not "quirky" is the decision that sets him apart from all the "quirky friend #3's" of the world.
4. Manny - Daniel Radcliffe - Swiss Army Man
Putting a dead body on an island seems like a weird premise for a film. Pairing that dead body with a suicidal stalker seems even weirder. Keeping most of the film on that island seems downright absurd, even silly. But somehow, magically (okay that's it I'm sorry, no more Potter jokes), Daniel Radcliffe breathes life into the insecurities of a dead body trying to learn how to live. The film is a dive into what makes humans human, and what's so great about life. It's important to remember how easily this character could've been overly creepy or overly dramatized. But we become enamored with life as Manny learns to be enamored with it. For that, Daniel Radcliffe's performance as a dead body is one of my favorites of the year. And that, folks, is something I wasn't expecting to say in 2016.
3. Mia - Emma Stone - La La Land
Damien Chazelle is frighteningly good at creating characters. In Whiplash, he gave us Fletcher, a teacher with only one job: finding, challenging, and cultivating the next great. In La La Land, he's given us two interesting characters in a love story. However, Mia stands out for her ability to love. It's not only her love for Sebastian: it's her love for what she does. Her passion for acting not only catapults her to fame, but it inspires Sebastian to do the same. I could write paragraphs on how stupidly in love I am with this film, this character, and this new voice in filmmaking, but it feels like a disservice to Emma Stone's performance and Mia's story to write anything else other than this song.
2. Chiron - Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes - Moonlight
I managed to avoid all the trailers for Moonlight, and relied entirely on word of mouth. Also - this poster might be my favorite of the year. I had no idea the kinds of emotional intimacy I was going to be treated to. More than that, I was blindsided by the three entirely similar and entirely different actors playing Chiron. His journey from Lil to Chiron to Black is one of the most devastatingly well made stories of the year. It's not one of acceptance, or even one of forgiveness, but it's a story of love and lack thereof. One that hangs on Chiron's ability to tell the story with what he says and, more importantly, what he leaves out.
1. Lee Chandler - Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea
Don't ask me why, but I've seen Manchester by the Sea 3 times. It's not an easy film to watch. It's heartbreaking. It's personal. It's all anchored by Casey Affleck. The pain of loss, the pain of remembering, the pain of moving on, it's so far beneath the surface of Lee that it verges on too subtle. But somehow Affleck manages to bring a contained performance that showcases these emotions without it ever feeling like a showcase. It's a terrifyingly personal film, rendered useless without Affleck's nuanced approach to the character, making Lee Chandler my favorite character of 2016.
