9. Behind The Candelabra
Liberace was a character in real life: the famous, flamboyant pianist found a large, appreciative audience with an older segment of the population in the mid-20th century that found him a charming showman, which he was.
However, that same audience didn’t have any idea he was gay–largely because Liberace purposely hid that part of himself from them, going so far as to plant stories in the press about his girlfriends and writing about his womanizing ways in his own autobiography. In Behind The Candelabra, however, Soderbergh unmasks Liberace’s private life, revealing a bizarre man whose self-obsession and callousness transformed the people closest to him–sometimes literally.
Starring Matt Damon as Scott Thorson, a much-younger man Liberace had a relationship with, and Michael Douglas as Liberace, Behind The Candelabra details the strange life Liberace led behind closed doors, which included having Thorson undergo multiple surgeries to look like a younger version of Liberace and adopting the man as his son. Slick and well-made, Behind The Candelabra was aired on HBO but enjoyed a theatrical release outside the US and proves that truth is stranger than fiction.
8. And Everything Is Going Fine
Spalding Gray was a cult figure that carved a niche for himself as a monologist. Over the course of his long career, Gray gave autobiographical accounts that conveyed his perspective of his life and experiences with a wry wit and interesting insights. Gray committed suicide in 2004, and Soderbergh–who had directed his monologue Gray’s Anatomy, made a documentary about Spalding’s life in 2011.
Comprised entirely of archival footage from Gray’s monologues, Soderbergh puts together a masterful account of Spalding Gray’s life and work. Working as both a primer of Gray’s career and a well-crafted documentary about his life, And Everything Is Going Fine is Soderbergh putting his signature meticulous editing and narrative construction on the life of a man whose own work was in detailing his personal story.
7. King of the Hill
Arron, an adolescent, struggles to survive mostly on his own in St. Louis during the Depression, living in a hotel by himself after his mother is committed due to tuberculosis and his immigrant father is away on business as a traveling salesman. With his younger brother taken away by his uncle, Aaron is left on his own as he comes of age, trying to keep himself afloat and safe from tenants of the hotel and the townspeople, often escaping into a dream world he creates to cope with this crisis.
Soderbergh wrote, directed, and edited King of the Hill, just his third feature film, and created a subtle and affecting look at a young man in crisis and juxtaposes the harsh reality of Aaron’s life with his dreamier visions of a better life. Already having a firm grasp on tone and pacing so early in his career, King of the Hill is an underseen Soderbergh film and one for fans of his work to discover and enjoy.
6. The Limey
Recently released convict Wilson travels from England to Los Angeles to investigate the death of his daughter, who he believes was murdered. Finding her boyfriend Terry Valentine–a record producer involved in drug trafficking–may be at fault, he begins to plot his violent revenge against the man who may have murdered his daughter.
The Limey is an excellent crime thriller that shows Soderbergh at his stylistic best, jumping anachronistically through time with slight-of-hand sound and film editing that creates a complex and engrossing narrative that portrays a man teetering on the edge of fury. Terrence Stamp as Wilson is similarly affecting as the furious Wilson, who has led a life of criminality himself and sees no good reason to stop his wicked ways, especially now that his daughter is dead. A top-notch thriller made by an incredible talent, The Limey is another underseen great Soderbergh film.
5. Ocean’s Eleven
There are a few films that Soderbergh will most definitely be remembered for, and Ocean’s Eleven is one of them. Again in crowd-pleasing blockbuster mode, Soderbergh made the ultra-slick, high-spirited crime caper Ocean’s Eleven at the height of his powers, and it shows.
Following the machinations of criminal Danny Ocean (George Clooney), who hooks back up with his partner in crime Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) to pull off one major heist: robbing three casinos at the same time on the Las Vegas strip. But he’s got his mind on other things, mainly his ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts), who has begun a romantic relationship with the owner of all three casinos he’s planning on robbing. After putting together a crack team for the heist, the fix is in–but will Danny Ocean pull it off?
Ocean’s Eleven is one of the more fun films made in the past 20 years: a movie about the underdog outsmarting the wealthy and powerful that almost anyone can enjoy with an ensemble cast of A-list actors. Soderbergh acted as both director and cinematographer on the film, making the most of the colorful world of Las Vegas and the equally colorful characters that populate the film. It was such a big success that it spawned a successful franchise, but the first one is easily the best of the bunch–and one of Soderbergh’s best films overall.
4. Traffic
An officer in Mexico investigates the drug trade in his country; in Washington, D. C. a new drug czar is appointed, unaware that his own daughter is an addict; and in San Diego, a drug kingpin is arrested and his wife–who was previously unaware of his business–begins to plot to secure her financial future. The narrative intercuts between their lives and the effects of working in one capacity or another in the drug trade, revealing the deep-rooted problems in society and law enforcement related to drugs.
This sprawling, complex film, an adaptation of British Channel 4’s miniseries Traffik, is one of Soderbergh’s most serious films and a dynamic look at all sides of the drug trade in the Western world–from street cops to federal judges to the drug dealers themselves. With Soderbergh’s trademark intercutting between numerous narratives and presenting no clear answers or straightforward villains, the ethics of the drug trade are portrayed to chilling effect. A major achievement in filmmaking, the film won numerous Academy Awards, including Best Director for Soderbergh.
3. Erin Brockovich
Erin Brockovich is an unemployed single mother who has gone deeply in debt due to unpaid hospital bills. Convincing an attorney to hire her as a legal assistant, despite no legal experience, Brockovich struggles to make her way at the law firm. She begins to investigate the illegal dumping of toxic waste by a major energy company into the water supply of a small town. From this, she begins legal action on behalf of the affected families that ends with the largest class action lawsuit in American history.
Soderbergh knows a crowd-pleasing story when he sees it, and Erin Brockovich–a determined underdog that upends convention and wins over the evil corporation by fighting for justice for the little guy–is a sure-fire populist favorite.
Of course Soderbergh’s crisp, slick style is on display, but the real centerpiece here is Julia Roberts as Brockovich, who turns in perhaps her best performance and won Best Actress as a result. Soderbergh was nominated for Best Director but lost…to himself for Traffic. An accessible film that’s easy to watch and with a wide-ranging appeal, Erin Brockovich is Soderbergh at his mainstream best.
2. Out of Sight
The word “slick” comes to mind when thinking about Soderbergh’s visual style: he balances each shot, shooting from mid-range and using a warm color palette. When matched with a solid script and good actors, Soderbergh can take average material and spin it into gold.
Such is the case with Out of Sight, a sly crime caper that centers on Jack Foley (George Clooney), a smooth-talking bank robber, and Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez), a US Marshal on the hunt for Foley. Initially antagonists, after the two are locked in a trunk during a botched hostage situation, sparks fly between them and the two begin to make inroads to a relationship–even though they’re sworn enemies.
This fun, charming crime film features Jennifer Lopez’s best movie performance and saved George Clooney’s acting career after the disastrous Batman & Robin. More importantly, it was a big hit at the box office, solidifying Soderbergh’s directorial career after a string of flops in the 1990s. It also established him as a mainstream director, one that could deliver a big-budget hit while remaining artful in his direction and style.
1. sex, lies, and videotape
Soderberg could be considered a wunderkind of sorts, and winning the Palme d’Or at 26 for his first feature film, sex, lies, and videotape, confirms this. Telling the story of an unhappily married couple, one of whom is having an affair with his wife’s sister, when an old college friend comes into town to conduct his business of collecting interviews of women and their sexual experiences, the truth of their failed relationship comes out–all recorded on videotape.
A mysterious film about human sexuality and neurosis, sex, lies, and videotape was a landmark independent film and one that revolutionized the industry, bringing the Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals to public awareness and overall kicking off the decade to come of indie films breaking through the mainstream. Not the least of this was its profit: shot for $1.2 million, the film recouped $24.7 million at the box office, with an outstanding 3000% return on investment.
Soderbergh–who wrote, directed, edited, and acted as cinematographer on the film–was widely hailed in the industry, kicking off a film career that has afforded him the ability to helm both independent and big-budget films. It has since been included in the Library of Congress for historical preservation. It’s also representative of the style, cerebral approach, and characterizations that would appear throughout Soderbergh’s work in subsequent decades.
Author Bio: Mike Gray is a writer whose work has appeared on numerous websites and maintains a TV and film blog at mikegraymikegray.wordpress.com.