Looking back at the films of 2003, it's hard to believe just how many films have been released in one short year. It would be quite easy to wrap up the year with a \best of"" list that would probably include the two biggest box-office hits of the summer (""Finding Nemo"" and ""Pirates of the Caribbean""), but instead I want to touch on three films that I felt were surprisingly great and unappreciated by the general film audience.
Danny Boyle's ""28 Days Later"" is something of a curiosity; it's a zombie-flick that doesn't adhere to the conventions of its genre. One of the most brutal things about the film is the concept. There's a virus loose, spreading all over the world. If someone doesn't kill an infected person within twenty seconds of their infection, they'll be after the next person they see. Boyle is great at getting us truly attached to characters we know will die, quite possibly at the hands of each other.
Ethan and Joel Coen have typically been far more lauded for their dramatic films than their comedies. ""The Big Lebowski"" and ""The Hudsucker Proxy"" are two of my favorite films because of their quick, dry wit and well-developed caricatured characters. The Coens are able to take stock characters and give them unexpected depth, making us forget that we've seen it before.
Clooney as Miles Massey is at his peak. He's able to hit every note of Massey's character, and there are several. Meanwhile, Catherine Zeta-Jones is both stunning and calculating as the focus of Massey's love, Marilyn Rexroth. Besides the fine chemistry of the two leads, the strong supporting cast is equally amusing-especially Cedric the Entertainer as Gus ""I'm Gonna Nail Your Ass"" Petch.
Considering it's one of the stronger Oscar contenders, ""Lost in Translation"" may be a bit of a stretch as an ""underappreciated"" film of 2003. That said, if Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson and director Sofia Coppola all fail to have a statuette in their hands after the Academy Awards, it will be a travesty.
Murray is at his absolute best from beginning to end. Anyone who was impressed by his performances in ""The Royal Tenenbaums"" and ""Rushmore"" should be equally impressed here. His portrayal of aging action star Bob Harris is precisely on-key; Harris constantly gives the impression that he could be far funnier, if only he had the energy.
Johansson, at age 19, seems to effortlessly fall into a character in her mid-20s and mature beyond her years. As easy as it could have been to make this just about Bob Harris, Johansson's outstanding performance as Charlotte allows Coppola to put the two characters on equal ground. It's a great sophomore directorial effort for Coppola, but more than that, it's just an outstanding film.
wwtemby@wisc.edu.
