From Chattanooga, Will Kuby weighs in with his yearly take on Joan Allen and the state of queer cinema. A most generous Iron Lister, he even watched The Danish Girl so the rest of us don't have to. --Eds.
I have not seen The Revenant. Must I? But I guess you can read my list as a counterpoint to its celebration of rugged masculinity.
Worst of the Year
The Danish Girl. Let’s put it this way; the filmmakers’ shaky understanding of transgender issues and their general disregard for the historical record are far from this movie’s greatest flaws. These huge miscalculations pale in comparison to the film’s general ineptitude—its discombobulated screenplay, its maudlin sentimentality, its lack of comprehensible character development, and its reliance on laughable symbolism to force emotional reactions it barely even attempts to earn. And then of course there’s the simpering, cowering Eddie Redmayne, ever ready to tug (or more precisely, heave) at our heartstrings in the most vapid performance I’ve seen in quite some time. I refuse to give this film credit for being earnest. Bad is bad. Can we please let the Tom Hooper nightmare end at last??
I have not seen The Revenant. Must I? But I guess you can read my list as a counterpoint to its celebration of rugged masculinity.
Worst of the Year
The Danish Girl. Let’s put it this way; the filmmakers’ shaky understanding of transgender issues and their general disregard for the historical record are far from this movie’s greatest flaws. These huge miscalculations pale in comparison to the film’s general ineptitude—its discombobulated screenplay, its maudlin sentimentality, its lack of comprehensible character development, and its reliance on laughable symbolism to force emotional reactions it barely even attempts to earn. And then of course there’s the simpering, cowering Eddie Redmayne, ever ready to tug (or more precisely, heave) at our heartstrings in the most vapid performance I’ve seen in quite some time. I refuse to give this film credit for being earnest. Bad is bad. Can we please let the Tom Hooper nightmare end at last??