Great films leave a mark. A shot will linger in your mind’s eye, strains from a score will haunt you, and the perfect quote will always be associated with your experience of seeing a film.
Below, Cine-List selects and ranks ten memorable movies quotes from 2013.
10. The quote: “I’m a firm believer in Karma, and I think
this situation is a huge learning lesson for me. I want to lead a country one day, for all I
know.”
Who said it: Emma Watson, as Nicki, in Sofia Coppola’s “The
Bling Ring.”
Why it’s so great: Self-delusion, vapidity, false
spirituality and vanity as a form of escape are all at the heart of Coppola’s
dreamy, spikey film about celebrity culture. This line from the leader of a teen
crime ring is spot-on in that regard — and Watson’s delivery is hilarious. (Screenplay online.)
9. The quote: “We’re only here briefly. And while I’m here I
want to allow myself joy.”
Who said it: Amy Adams, as Amy, in Spike Jonze’s “Her.”
Why it’s so great: There’s a pleasantly non-judgmental tone
to Jonze’s sci-fi romance, a genuine curiosity about what would happen if
humans started up relationships with computers. This line from Amy Adams’ character
sums that up: If something makes you happy, if a non-person somehow makes you
feel like more of a person, is it so
wrong?
8. The quote: “Convince them this is just some sort of odd
coincidence. Because they don’t really believe in coincidences. They’ve heard
of them, they’ve just never seen one.”
Who said it: Brad Pitt, as Westray, in Ridley Scott’s “The
Counselor.”
Why it’s so great: When it comes to beautiful, badass,
elegiac dialogue, there’s no one like Cormac McCarthy. This line from Pitt’s henchman
Westray captures the feeling of mythologized dread throughout this terrifying
neo-noir. Who are “they,” anyway — and what won’t they do?
7. The quote: “I apologize for my appearance. I have had a
difficult time of things these past many years.”
Who said it: Chiwetel Ejiofor, as Solomon Northup, in Steve
McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave.”
Why it’s so great: This near-final line in John Ridley’s
screenplay is not only a pointed understatement (more than a decade of slavery
is a “difficult time”?) but also a mark of Solomon Northup’s remarkable will,
and his refusal to stoop to self-pity in the face of horrific circumstances. (Screenplay online.)
6. The quote: “I get it, it’s nice up here. You can just
shut down all the systems, turn out all the lights… and just close your eyes
and tune out everybody. There’s nobody up here that can hurt you. It’s safe. I
mean, what’s the point of going on? What’s the point of living? Your kid died.
Doesn’t get any rougher than that. But still, it’s a matter of what you do now.
If you decide to go, then you gotta just get on with it. Sit back, enjoy the
ride. You gotta plant both your feet on the ground and start livin’ life.”
Who said it: George Clooney, as Matt, in Alfonso Cuaron’s
“Gravity.”
Why it’s so great: The visuals in “Gravity” are incredible,
and charismatic stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are undoubtedly a large
part of its success. But the film, co-written by Cuaron and his son Jonas, also
has a go-for-broke affirmation of life that audiences have truly responded to.
This line by Clooney’s character — when he seemingly returns at a key moment
— is right on that pulse. (Screenplay online.)
5. The quote: “When
you’re in the middle of a story, it isn’t a story at all but rather a
confusion, a dark roaring, a blindness, a wreckage of shattered glass and
splintered wood, like a house in a whirlwind or else a boat crushed by the icebergs
or swept over the rapids, and all aboard are powerless to stop it. It’s only
afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all, when you’re telling it
to yourself or someone else.”
Who said it: Michael Polley in Sarah Polley’s “Stories We Tell.”
Why it’s so great: Sarah Polley’s father Michael is one of
the great documentary subjects of the year — self-aware, self-critical,
humorous and troubled. In this line, which we hear him read from Margaret Atwood’s “Alias Grace” (which Sarah Polley is currently adapting for the big screen), we get the perfect
encapsulation of the film’s themes of memory, invention and mixed media.
4. The quote: “I’m tired of being funny.”
Who said it: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, as Eva, in Nicole
Holofcener’s “Enough Said.”
Why it’s so great: Breaking up is hard. Dating is hard. It
often forces people to adopt schticks and go-to personalities as a means of
self-protection. When Louis-Dreyfus’ character says this to the man she may be
falling in love with (played by the late James Gandolfini), she’s sharing
something very personal with him — that she’s tired of the wall she’s built
around herself, no matter how light and humorous it may seem. (Screenplay online.)
3. The quote: “This
is the fuckin’ American dream. This is my fuckin’ dream, y’all! All this shit!
Look at my shit! I got… I got SHORTS! Every fuckin’ color. I got designer
T-shirts! I got gold bullets. Motherfuckin’ VAM-pires. I got Scarface. On
repeat. SCARFACE ON REPEAT. Constant, y’all! I got Escape! Calvin Klein Escape!
Mix it up with Calvin Klein Be. Smell nice? I SMELL NICE! That ain’t a fuckin’
bed; that’s a fuckin’ art piece. My fuckin’ spaceship! U.S.S. Enterprise on
this shit. I go to different planets on this motherfucker!”
Who said it: James Franco, as Alien, in Harmony Korine’s
“Spring Breakers.”
Why it’s so great: “Spring Breakers” is like some glorious
freak descendent of the 1930s gangster picture. Money, violence and aspiration
are the names of the game. Is it a coincidence that Franco’s white wannabe
gangsta Alien waxes poetic on spaceships and a perfume called Escape? All his
“shit” is a way to self-reinvent. (Screenplay online.)
2. The quote: “Still there. Still there. Still there. Gone.”
Who said it: Julie Delpy, as Celine, in Richard Linklater’s
“Before Midnight.”
Why it’s so great: Celine says this simple, beautiful line
as she and longtime partner Jesse (Ethan Hawke) watch the sun set on an idyllic
bay in Greece. Not only does it cleverly reference the “sunset” of the previous
film in the trilogy, but it also gets at the heart of change. Things can never
be the same as they were. (Screenplay online.)
1. The quote: “I
don’t see a lot of money here.”
Who said it: F. Murray Abraham, as Bud Grossman, in the
Coens’ “Inside Llewyn Davis.”
Why it’s so great: When Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) sings his
heart out for taciturn talent manager Bud Grossman in Chicago, the typical next
beat would be that Grossman goes twinkly-eyed and realizes he’s made his big
discovery. But this is a Coen brothers film. No such luck for Llewyn. He gets a
straight-forward rejection, which resonates throughout his universe. Having
talent is one thing. But money? Different ball game.
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