Bennett Campbell Ferguson's Top 10 Films of 2015

THE YEAR THE MUSIC SURVIVED by Bennett Campbell Ferguson

Above: Charlize Theron faces the future in “Mad Max: Fury Road.”  Photo ©Warner Bros. Pictures.

For me, 2015 will always be the year that James Horner died.  A preeminent Hollywood composer, Mr. Horner was the embodiment of sonic grandeur—the scorer of “Titanic” and “The Wrath of Khan.”  But more importantly, he was a champion of tender melodies that could crystallize the sweetness of a fleeting and wondrous romance, the air-catching glee of a teenage superhero, or the bubbling ferocity of a sci-fi soldier raging against the proverbial machine.

            Mr. Horner died in July while piloting his own plane.  But his music still whirls with wondrous luster.  And just as importantly, the Horner spirit—that fierce blend of sincerity and romanticism—coursed through many of the movies of 2015.  Off-screen, the world was menaced by murder and murderous words.  But movies fought back with tales of triumph that railed against tyranny and rewarded the brave and the caring.  

            I think Mr. Horner would have been proud of those movies.  “Sooner or later, someone pushes back!” roars a woman in the movie that became my favorite film of 2015.  As someone who pushed music like his life depended on it, I think Mr. Horner would agree.

1.       “MAD MAX: FURY ROAD” (George Miller) The world of “Mad Max” is ugly.  Soldiers daub their skin with garish war paint; prisoners are branded, tattooed, and robbed of their blood; and Max himself is tormented by the specter of a young girl, dead in a desert like so many others.  Yet there is beauty in this world too.  Loyalty.  Defiance.  Kindness.  Love.  By tearing into humanity at its worst, Mr. Miller makes its best shine brightly, like a stubborn candles caught in a wartime wind, refusing to be blown out.

2.      “SPECTRE” (Sam Mendes) His true love is dead.  His mentor was a casualty of war.  His family is gone.  And yet the James Bond of “Spectre,” embittered by loss as he is, refuses to be corrupted by it.  Instead, he clings to his untapped reservoir of selflessness and love.  “I’ve got something better to do,” he declares late in the movie, before tossing his gun aside.  Indeed.  

3.      “THE REVENANT” (Alejandro G. Iñárritu) “As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight.  You breathe…keep breathing.”

4.      “FIFTY SHADES OF GREY” (Sam Taylor-Johnson) No, I haven’t taken leave of my senses.  I just think that this kinky, wacky rendering of E.L. James’ lurid bestseller is far more entertaining (and soulful) than it’s been given credit for.

5.      “TESTAMENT OF YOUTH” (James Kent) “No more war.  No more killing.”

6.      “BRIDGE OF SPIES” (Steven Spielberg) “What makes us both Americans?  Just one thing, one, one, one.  The rule book.  We call it the Constitution.  We agree to the rules and that’s what makes us Americans, it’s all that makes us Americans.”

7.      “BROOKLYN” (John Crowley) Travel.  Homesickness.  Loneliness.  Love.  All of those things “Brooklyn” captures with compassion.

8.      “ACCIDENTAL LOVE” (Stephen Greene) This cackling satire of American politics is far zestier than “Joy,” the other 2015 David O. Russell movie (“Stephen Greene” is his pseudonym).

9.      “THE WALK” (Robert Zemeckis) A high-tech fairy tale that wraps on an inescapably melancholy note.

10.   “PAN” (Joe Wright) A gorgeous kaleidoscope of adventure, heroism, and hope.

Honorable mentions: “The Big Short” (Adam McKay), “Dope” (Rick Famuyiwa), “Ex Machina” (Alex Garland), “Infinitely Polar Bear” (Maya Forbes), “Irrational Man” (Woody Allen), “Inside Out” (Pete Docter),” “Queen & Country” (John Boorman), and “Spotlight” (Tom McCarthy)