The same word is used in the film’s USA Today and the New York Post reviews. A quick net scan shows the phrase attached to films as diverse as Neil Jordan’s film noir Mona Lisa, Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer, and even the sci-fi vampire flick Daybreakers. But isn’t Avatar “stylish” in the sense that it was designed to accommodate zillionaire director James Cameron’s personal vision? Strangely, mentions of style are usually buried beneath the avalanche of reviews fawning over Avatar’s technical innovation.



When reviewers use the word “stylish”—a word that average people seldom use in real life—they usually mean the style is so totally obvious through concept, innovative design, personal attitude or through such sheer weirdness that you can’t help but spot it. The aesthetic jumps out like a neon overcoat. Think of any Tim Burton film, or if you're really out there, The Brothers Quay.

IS “STYLISH” JUST A SYNONYM FOR “EYEBALL MAGNET”? If so, it would seem that almost any commercial product would qualify. Coca-Cola, Apple or HBO campaigns are generally stylish, eye-grabbing, musically stimulating, and memorable. But an ad for H&R Block is stylish in its own way. H&R Block is still waving its corporate arms in the air screaming for attention. Perhaps the style is just less “noisy.” A Wal-Mart ad has an intentional style, it’s just not artistic, and about as avant-garde as a refrigerator on the front porch.



The 2006 movie The Fall, directed by Tarsem, is one of the most stylish films ever. It’s visually stunning, dreamlike, innovative and overwhelmingly precise. But the same could be said of Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, right down to the spell-check-proof title. The first was generally overlooked by everyone except drooling art directors, the latter a critically successful Academy Award jackpot. The work of directors Peter Greenaway, David Lynch and the Maysles Brothers are all very intentional, very stylish, but each with an intensely personal (meaning: barely commercial enough to pay the rent) aesthetic.



What would a “styleless” film look like? Like any homemade clip on YouTube. Oops. Too late. That’s a style too. Even “no style” is a style. Unless you’re talking about this web site. Well, maybe even then.

So what does “stylish” mean, and should it matter? 

In the end, perhaps the best style is an appropriate one, one that conforms to the director's ideas, whether visible or not.

—Loyd Boldman