2018 was an outstanding year in film, but I have to start by saying that it was also an outstanding for me as a film viewer. I saw more new films this year than ever before: 101, to be exact. I prioritized seeing movies, and the effort paid off in a big way.
Whether Alfonso Cuarón is taking us to Mexico City or Frederick Wiseman is taking us to Monrovia, Indiana or Debra Granik is taking us into the woods or Ali Abbasi takes us right up to the Border, there has been no shortage of special trips at the movies in 2018.
A Man Alone, while never breaking the mold for its particular type of tale, manages to embody the form just right; a narratively tight yet decompressed Western from smack in the middle of the 1950s. The notable first of longtime star Ray Milland’s six directorial efforts, A Man Alone is a peppercorn burst amid the dwindling output of its studio, Republic Pictures.
