It’s time to venture back in time some twenty years as we feast on ten essential films from 2004…
We’ve looked back at 1974, 1984 and 1994 to pick out some essentials from those years, as well as shock ourselves at just how long ago those years were. 2004 might seem like only yesterday, but it’s now 20 years.
In an early century lull, the pick of films probably seems light compared to previous decades but there were still plenty of gems from that year. 2004 also came off the back of a three-year run where The Lord of the Rings gave cinema a huge event, leaving little for the next few years that could match that level of spectacle (particularly for Christmas season releases). However, if the year had a major strength, it was in comedy. Here are ten essential films from 2004…
Dead Man’s Shoes
Shane Meadows’ rough and grimy low-budget revenge film is Get Carter by way of Ken Loach. A psychologically unbalanced, powder-keg war vet returns home and goes in search of the goons who tormented his mentally challenged little brother.
On paper it is generic and the kind of ever-green plot which still gets good mileage today, but under the authentic and semi-improvisational style of Meadows, as well as its completely unkempt aesthetic, it manages to feel different. A big part of the film’s success is down to the sheer intensity with which Paddy Considine plays a character always on the precipice of explosion. It’s an incredible performance that is largely responsible for the film’s cult following.
Sideways
Alexander Payne’s brilliantly observed comedy about a persistently pessimistic wine snob on a wine-country trip with his man-child best friend (and soon-to-be-married philanderer) struck a chord upon its release. Paul Giamatti is on top of his game in a role pitch perfectly tailored for him, whilst the support from Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh is great.
Payne’s script sizzles with wry dialogue but more importantly with great character arcs. It still holds up brilliantly well and fans of the recent double Oscar-winning, The Holdovers (which reteamed Payne and Giamatti) should definitely revisit. It’ll also give you a strange hankering to go wine tasting.
Layer Cake
Matthew Vaughn stepped out of Guy Ritchie’s shadow and went from the producer’s chair to director. Layer Cake had plenty of style whilst feeling a little more refined than Ritchie’s iconic crime capers (if less instantly quotable). Still, Vaughn gathered a fine cast headed up by a pre-Bond Daniel Craig in a film that had the odd highlight that felt like a good Bond audition for him.
Layer Cake remains Vaughn’s finest hour and a slightly melancholic reminder of the kind of film he was capable of making before recent action caper duds. There’s a great soundtrack too and a brilliant turn from the late, great and legendary Michael Gambon.
Shaun of the Dead
Quotable British classics you say? Few come as close as Edgar Wright’s iconic feature debut, Shaun of the Dead. Reteaming with his Spaced cohorts, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (along with a couple of cameos from the show’s alumni), Wright crafts a superb zom(bie)-rom-com that nails every aspect well.
Wright’s irreverent style and wonderful gift for homage has never been as well utilised as this ode to George Romero, although he came very close in Hot Fuzz. Pegg is great as the affable loser, ably abetted by Frost as the perfect comedy sidekick.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Jim Carrey returned to dramedy with great effect in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a quirky Charlie Kaufman-scribed film with dazzling visual whimsy from Michel Gondry.
Eternal Sunshine features Carrey giving a career-best performance as the downtrodden Joel who tries to erase the memory of his ex with a revolutionary procedure only to change his mind whilst in the process. Fresh, original and creative, it’s exactly the kind of film we see all too little of these days.
Collateral
If there’s a complaint about the master of stunts, Tom Cruise, it’s that his heroic performances in blockbuster cinemas can feel a little like a recycling of his distinct, Tom Cruise persona. We’ve occasionally seen him break away from that image and push himself in interesting roles such as in Magnolia, Eyes Wide Shut and indeed, Collateral.
Teaming with Michael Mann in a deceptively simple cat-and-mouse hitman thriller, Cruise gets to play a fearsomely intense villain right out of the Mann crime thriller playbook, as he torments Jamie Foxx’s everyman cabbie. Tense, thrilling and with a rare effective use of digital photography from that era, Collateral is still a cracking thriller.
The Machinist
It was pretty clear by this point just how dedicated to the craft, Christian Bale was. Having bulked up impressively to play Patrick Bateman a few years prior, he lost an insane amount of weight to play a dangerously svelte insomniac factory worker plagued by increasing fractures between dream and reality.
This dark thriller didn’t get the attention it deserved and despite the rough edges of Brad Anderson’s career-best work, this film is lifted by the incredible performance from Bale.
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Remember when there seemed to be a raucous late-night bawdy comedy out every week? Ah, good times. Nowadays the likes of Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller have to get all serious on us. Stiller also appeared in Starsky and Hutch the same year but his comedy of choice from 2004 was definitely Dodgeball.
Vaughn’s likeable shlub routine was rarely as effective as here and the film is delightfully silly throughout, not least the central premise revolving around the notoriously lethal playground sport.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Like I said, the cinema actually had funny comedies and they were released with regularity. Anchorman was an immediate pop-cultural phenomenon, the kind of lightning-in-a-bottle comedy that becomes instant quote material, and only grows in stature. Few comedies since have been able to match this for sheer ingenious gags, lines and physical comedy, not least a painfully inferior sequel.
Anchorman in particular was largely responsible for kicking off a stampede of comedies where comedic actors were given license to ad-lib as wildly as they wanted. Results were occasionally mixed, particularly the more stars like Will Ferrell (and whoever Judd Apatow cast) went back to the well. Anchorman hits with virtually every uproariously daft line.
The Aviator
It was a disappointing evening at the 2024 Oscars for Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. The prolific double act had to endure Killers of the Flower Moon winning none of its numerous nominations. Still, Di Caprio evidently had better things to do than attend anyway. 20 years back, they had a little more joy with The Aviator where DiCaprio excelled playing infamous mogul turned film director, Howard Hughes, a man blighted by obsession, OCD and a heap more.
The Aviator won 5 Oscars, although Scorsese and Leo were left trophyless despite their nominations. It’s a great film and even at a lofty 2 hours and 50 minutes, it feels positively lithe compared to Marty’s last two films. All creative license aside, it’s a film about a fascinating man with DiCaprio delivering a powerhouse performance and backed by an awesome cast. Cate Blanchett however, steals the film at a canter with her perfect portrayal of Katherine Hepburn.
What’s your favourite film from 2004? What is missing from this list of essentials? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth or hit me up @jolliffeproductions…
