Dheepan
For the first half of this movie, my question was why hasn't it been nominated for a general HoF, it was that good. Unfortunately from there it turned into something different and not quite up to par with what came prior.
It starts off in war torn Sri Lanka with a man burning bodies and a woman walking around asking children if they have a mother, or asking women if that was their daughter. So the woman, the man, and a girl who lost her mother join together to pose as a family to get the hell out of there. They make their way to Paris and this is when I thought we really had a compelling story. Three strangers band together to survive and make their way in an unfamiliar land. I figured I'd be getting two hours of them maybe becoming a family while navigating their way, and we get that to an extent. When they arrived in Paris, they ended up at a slum project where the man found work as a caretaker and the woman work helping an elderly man in the complex. The slum is run by criminals which at first adds an extra layer of danger and intensity, but to my disbelief it really goes there. Everyone knows that I love violent movies, but this was already a great movie with excellent performances, a moving story, and characters I cared about. Going all Taxi Driver and Straw Dogs was surprising and felt unnecessary when the film had a good thing going. Of course I wouldn't have been surprised if I found out before I watched it that it was partially inspired by Straw Dogs. A very good movie that could have been so much more.