Being a director is hard work. You have to motivate an entire cast and crew, you have to visualise a whole film and execute your vision mostly by way of other people and, worst of all, you're the one who is ultimately going to take the wrap when things go wrong. You're the person that the studios will hang the blame on; the one that audiences will ridicule and say mean things about on the internet, begging you to quit or find other work immediately. For all the schtick that we give directors, there seems to be a lack of empathy on the part of we, the audience. Contrary to popular belief, nobody sets out to make a bad movie. What would be the point in that, after all? Sometimes a film just doesn't work. There's no way to pre-meditate a great film - even directors renowned for churning out endless masterpieces made mistakes across the span of their careers. Everyone is capable of a bad film. And sometimes directors make a lot of bad films in a row. It's part and parcel of the motion picture business - you never know where it's going to take you. If you make enough bad movies, though, people begin to associate you with having "lost it" - either that or you never had it to begin with. So it's nice, of course, when a director who everybody thought to be down and out comes back with a film that says: "Hey, I'm not done for yet, guys!" Here, then, are 6 directors who redeemed themselves in 2015. These were either directors who were flailing, struggling to find a voice, or are generally renowned for making terrible movies, who managed to deliver something worthwhile at some point this year...
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
