David Fincher is my favourite director.
He directs movies with such a high level of technical proficiency,
detail, and sharpness that it isn't difficult to recognize his style.
After taking the world of music video and television commercial
directing by storm he proceeded to assault the Hollywood scene in the
early 1990's. In the quarter-century since he's become one of the
most innovative and obsessed directors of this generation. Fincher's
most recent film, Gone Girl, came out in 2014 and while his
next big project has yet to be announced, I eagerly look forward to
the day it's brought to life. Now that I've seen all ten of his
feature films I'd like to take this moment to rank them all from
worst to best in as objective a viewpoint as possible. I'll also list
any Academy Award wins/nominations for each film as well.
10. Alien 3 (1992)
No surprise here. The first feature
length film helmed by David Fincher, Alien 3 is generally
regarded as the only bad movie he's ever made. And even at that it
wasn't entirely his fault. The film's notorious production was marred
by sickness, an unfinished script, overbearing studio control, and
strict deadlines. The director has since disowned the final product,
refusing even to endorse the re-edited “assembly cut” that was
released 11 years later. One could say that the trouble surrounding
the film's production is more interesting than the film itself. Alien
fans weren't pleased that the previous film's heroes were killed
off-screen in this film's opening scene. But to be fair, it's not all
bad. The acting is good, the mood/tone is on point, the visuals look
nice, and the Oscar-nominated special effects are impressive for
1992. Still, Alien 3 is a movie most people don't look back on
fondly. It doesn't hold a candle to either of the first two movies in
the series, and was easily the worst in the series until 1997's
Alien: Resurrection gave it a run for its money.
Academy Awards: (1 nomination for Best
Visual Effects)
9. The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button (2008)
While Benjamin Button isn't a
bad movie, it's definitely the most atypical of Fincher's
filmography. From a director who was mostly known for making
thrillers came a romantic fantasy. Imagine Forrest Gump, but
with a more sombre tone, less comedy, and more impressive visuals.
Benjamin Button has what's easily the best use of computer
generated effects of any film in this list, not only from the
reverse-aging Brad Pitt undergoes but also from the backdrops that
show New Orleans's evolution throughout the 20th century.
The sets look great for their respective periods; I was able to tell
what year any given scene was in without needing to be told the date.
Unfortunately, the thing felt a bit pretentious and somewhat
meandering. For instance, the story's whole ending feels like it had
no payoff at all. Did the screenwriter just forget to write an
ending? Still, I think this movie is worth watching once. Its themes
do offer an interesting look into the fragility of the individual's
short existence on this Earth. By this point in his career Fincher
had reached middle age and perhaps this was his way of being
self-reflective without trying to veer too far off of what his work
is best known for. The results were mixed; some people like this
movie, others don't. If nothing else, The
Curious Case of Benjamin Button,
served as a launch platform to garner its director more critical
acclaim (the movie got tons of award nominations) as well as a place
to perfect and hone his craft to its tightest and most potent form
for his following three movies. Now if only the man could figure out
a way to make cars age in reverse...
Academy Awards: Best Art Direction, Best Makeup, Best Visual Effects,
(nominated for 10 others)
8.
The Game (1997)
The
Game
is a bit of a forgotten gem today, but it is in fact a fine movie
well worth the watch. It evokes a Hitchcockian spirit of classic
puzzle-paranoia, yet it is also very much a product of its time. This
film fulfills a bunch of ticks on the David Fincher checklist: a
steely colour palette, a rich attention to detail, a run-down urban
setting, an obsessed main character, rich white people problems, etc.
But it all comes together to make for an engaging experience that'll
keep you guessing as to what's really going on. Michael Douglas is
the perfect actor for the lead role of Nicholas Van Orton, a rich
jerk who's cut himself off from everyone as a result of a traumatic
childhood experience. Watching him go through his personal change is
a bit like watching Ebenezer Scrooge's in A
Christmas Carol,
but within the plot of Total
Recall.
However one thing that bugged me a bit was the plot holes the actual
game presents; CRS would have to be omniscient to plan out the game
exactly as they did. For example, how did CRS know that Nicholas
wouldn't check to see if his gun was loaded with blanks? How did they
know he would've been able to escape the sinking car? How did they
know the exact spot from which he was going to jump off the building?
And how did they know the exact spot the commando dudes with blanks
would be shooting at? Was Christine's house completely covered in
squibs just waiting to be detonated? It's a shame that a film that
wants to make you think doesn't have airtight logic. Nevertheless, I
enjoyed The Game
very much and I would watch it again any time. (PS – I would love
to have a T-shirt that says “I was drugged and left for dead in
Mexico – and all I got was this stupid t-shirt”.)
Academy Awards: (no nominations)
7.
Panic Room (2002)
When I was deciding on the order of this list, I agonized over which
order to put Panic Room and The Game. Both are very
good movies with gripping plots that pull you in and good acting. And
while I think I personally prefer The Game, I must acknowledge
that Panic Room, from an objective viewpoint, is the superior
film. It seems as if the two films were made to be directly compared;
two somewhat-minor thriller films with an interesting basic concept
with a passive main character who goes through personal change. And
yet, Panic Room is more tense and energetic mostly because 99%
of the film takes place at a single location. The film was shot on a
big multistory set with many of the shots pre-visualized via 3D
computer models, giving David Fincher total control over filming.
There's tons of sweeping shots, crane shots, and those soaring,
CG-enhanced shots flying past/through nearby objects no matter how
small. We saw shots like this in 1999's Fight Club, but their
ubiquity here has a twofold effect: sometimes it enhances the film's
claustrophobic mood, other times it just comes off as a bit gimmicky.
But one thing Panic Room does very well is the characters.
There aren't many of them, but you'll enjoy watching them and you'll
remember every one of them. This is in big part thanks to the superb
acting. Jodie Foster does a commendable job despite being brought on
board at the last minute. After the sprawling opus of his last film,
Fight Club, Fincher clearly wanted to relax a bit with a less
taxing project and it shows. Panic Room is a lean, easily
digestible, straightforward thriller with no significant subtext that
is easy to like.
Academy Awards: (no nominations)
6. The Girl
With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
What else can I say about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo that
I haven't said before? I love this movie, but objectively I can't
rank it any higher on this list since as a cohesive project it
doesn't do many things conspicuously better than Fincher's other
films. Like his earlier movies, this one is a murder mystery-thriller
based on a book with obsessed characters. It's standard Fincher
stuff, but it's a very good standard. Highlights of Dragon Tattoo
include robotic, calculated camera movements, a bleak and uninviting
tone, an ominous, cold, pitch-perfect soundtrack by Trent Reznor and
Atticus Ross, subtle yet effective use of CG effects, and masterful
acting. This of course includes Rooney Mara as the title character
Lisbeth Salander. Her total role commitment to the young, defiant,
misanthropic, cyber punk is undeniably magnetic and is a major asset
to the film. The story of two people who are brought together by
their shared obsession – and subsequently split apart once that
obsession concludes – is fully realized by a fine screenplay
written at a patient, methodical pace to mirror/draw the viewer into
the characters' own infatuation. Despite Fincher's natural style and
impeccable story-telling, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was
a minor box office disappointment and didn't get all the respect it
deserved. Sadly, by this point it seems unlikely that we'll ever see
the next two films that were originally planned... at least not in
the way we wanted to see them.
Academy Awards: Best Editing, (nominated for 4 others)
Check back next week for part 2!
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