2018: All Creatures Great and Small
Sunday, December 23, 2018 at 10:00PM Each day a different year in review list...
We're all animal lovers here at TFE, so we asked contributors and friends to talk about their favourite non-humans from the year's movies.
To show love to all Film Experience readers, whether you be a cat or a dog person, we dedicate this list to two extraordinary creatures: That elusive cat in Burning, who may or may not be a figment of our imaginations but sure feels real since we can't shake him, and Bradley Cooper's own dog Charlie playing Jackson Maine's dog in A Star is Born. Like Lady Gaga, Charlie is essentially playing himself and like Lady Gaga he's doing it fabulously. Where's his Oscar buzz?
Not every memorable screen animal was covered in the following list -- our apologies especially to that tragically outmatched racoon in Incredibles 2 -- so do add to it in the comments. Here are our seven favourite beastly movie stars of 2018...
A llama in Zama
Lucrecia Martel's Zama is a stroke of existential genius that's been praised to the cineaste heavens, but if there's one element of the film that's been underrated is its absurdist humor. Case in point: the Zama llama. When the titular imperialist flunky comes to one of his many droning breaks, our furry friend wanders into frame as if by accident before outright stealing it. He even smirks at us like "... hey bitches!" - Chris Feil
A turtle, diamond encrusted, in Colette
The film tried (and somewhat failed) to convey how larger than life acclaimed author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette was. The brightest spot, though, was when Colette came face-to-face with a bedazzled turtle, who steals the whole movie in a matter of seconds. It’s a pity our amphibian friend wasn’t campaigned properly in the Supporting race. After all, not only was it a true supporting performance, but it conveyed the sparkle and elegance the film was sadly missing. - Spencer Coile
Jersey (a cat) in Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Much has been proclaimed about Melissa McCarthy’s feline co-star in Can You Ever Forgive Me? (This Cat Deserves an Oscar! 'The Marlon Brando of Cats,' etc.) And it’s true, Towne who plays the cat “Jersey” is quite something. Significantly, this pivotal cat embodies a truism that applies to many anti-social (or less social) urbanites lost in a sea of strangers: that a pet can be the one thing anchoring otherwise unmoored human beings in real, deep feeling. For Lee Israel, Jersey gives her something to live—and fight/strive—for. Without her beloved, Lee comes undone just as her scheme proves to be her undoing. - Mark Brinkerhoff
Olivia (a dog) in Widows
I can't remember the last time a dog who wasn't the actual protagonist of a movie spiked my heart rate as much as this adorable ball of white fluff. Olivia (who also appeared in this year's Game Night) may look at first like just another rich-lady accessory for Viola Davis' regally bereft Veronica. But the little Westie quickly becomes the pivot for key plot turns, most memorably the initial threat (as we hold our breath praying no harm comes to the poor dog) and the big reveal/twist (where every excited bark feels like a stab to the heart). As such, she also becomes a living reminder of Veronica's pain and Harry's betrayal. Perhaps that's why we never see her again once Veronica checks her into the equivalent of a doggie spa on the eve of the heist. Post-heist, we see signs that Veronica's hit the reset button on her life; did that reset include ditching Olivia? Shouldn't there always be an Olivia exception? - Lynn Lee
A rhino in Black Panther
Black Panther has plenty of visual spectacle without adding armored rhinoceros to the mix but that move, subbing in a uniquely African animal to function as both horse and dog would in a less creative western adventure proves a mini masterstroke. We've earlier seen this majestic beast as a gentle giant eating from the hand of his trainer and then by the climax he's a weapon of war tasked with charging against his other favourite human. The rhino gets the battle's most heart-stopping moment and the film's best punchline and surprise, reminding us of Wakanda as a utopia. Whether action hero, comic relief, or thematic lynchpin, he's a showstopper... literally! - Nathaniel R
Horses in... [Insert Multiple Titles Here]
Hold your horses. Before the list is over, this is an ode to all our equine friends that galloped through screens in 2018. To the titular Thoroughbreds, which served as an allegory for the selected breeding of teenage psychopathy before falling into Godfather-like fate. To the injured horse in The Rider who had to be put down once an accident left him out of the race tracks; unlike Brady, who chose to keep going. To Lean on Pete, who provided Charley both a ticket out of his hopeless future, and gave him hope, even after that driver hit and ran. To Hector, who a young Donna Sheridan found in the stables of a Greek island, and her kindness towards him led her to a permanent stay in the ABBA paradise. And even to those in Sorry to Bother You. You were the horrifying and monstrous product of slavery and capitalism, and didn’t deserve to live. But we honor your life. We honor all of yours. Neigh on forward. - Jorge Molina
Horatio (a duck) in The Favourite
A prize worth stealing? That’s the fastest duck in the city, Horatio, bedazzled with a little ribbon and held with a level of protectiveness by Lord Godolphin (James Smith) that is not unlike how Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) protects Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), or at least how Anne wishes she was protected. Lanthimos shoots Horatio the Duck with dignity, as if he truly is the fastest duck the city has to offer, a beacon of political and personal expediency. - Kyle Turner
Any creatures, great or small, real of fantastical you'd like to add to the list? Which cuddly thing did you most want to take home? And why didn't Aquaman have any sea creatures with personality? Sound off on the year's beasties in the comments.
PREVIOUSLY, YEAR-IN-REVIEW
- Co-star Chemistry
- 100 Most Popular Foreign Films
- 10 Biggest Hits in Multiple Categories
- Each Month: Jan | Feb/March | April/May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov
Reader Comments (11)
Milo the Cat in DOUBLE LOVER (also played Marty opposite Isabelle Huppert in ELLE)
My sick mind went straight to the "Bear" from Annihilation. I brought that one home with me whether I wanted to or not!
What about Spider-Ham?
The bunnies from "The Favourite," because not only do they survive a Lanthimos movie unscathed, they keep multiplying, and multiplying, and multiplying in that fabulous final dissolve.
Not real obviously, but shout out to that one brontosaurus on the dock being enveloped by the smoke as our heroes escape the island in JURASSIC WORLD 2. Great and affective shot which the rest of the movie couldn't match.
But that rhino looks super fake. Hard to feel anything for a badly rendered rhino.
I just saw Widows and I must say I have never been so worried about a creature's life then here. Literally every scene Olivia was in, I thought she would be dead. Way more peril than Viola Davis et al were in.
I love Olivia and Jersey, but Charlie gives the best animal performance of the year. That shot of him at the garage door was devastating.
the tragically yappy President Pierce from Buster Scruggs
Every cat in BR?
Brown Cow Stunning -- a truth: That's the one I intended to write up and forgot and posted the post without it. whoopsie.