Life isn't just the most underrated film of 2015, it also contains one of the most overlooked performances in recent years. At least Legend's critics gave Hardy some plaudits; by comparison, Dane DeHaan's turn as James Dean has been completely ignored, forgotten entirely in an awards race he really should be leading the pack in. What's so exciting is that the movie and the performance are strongly linked. Just as a rising James Dean viewed himself as a centre of his own little universe already, Anton Corbijn shoots the film around DeHaan. And yet Dean looks uncomfortable to exist within the frame, edging towards the extremities and not conforming to standard blocking, forcing the film to run to keep up. And what it does capture is great; the former Harry Osborne (a role this performance alone helps us forget) is highly introverted, challenging conceptions of the Rebel. It's not a document of a piece of Hollywood history - in terms of story, the film doesn't come close to encompassing the range of Dean's short career (it ends with him getting the role of Jim Stark) - which may have annoyed some people given the subject, but as a complex character study Life is hard to fault. What was your most underrated film of 2015? Let us know down in the comments.
