It’s finally time to put 2017 behind me with the official posting of my top ten list. Having recently reviewed every film I saw last year, I will waste no time in unveiling it. Here were my favorite films of the past year:
1. THE FLORIDA PROJECT
An examination of abject poverty from a child’s point of view, and an exploration of the forgotten men and women who struggle to survive on the fringes of society
2. JANE
A paean to the life and work of one of the world’s most admirable women
3. MUDBOUND
The tragic saga of two American families in the South, one black and one white in the aftermath of the second world war
4. LADY MACBETH
A dark period chamber drama about simmering passions unleashed, the consequences of which destroy lives
5. GET OUT
Jordan Peele’s horror satire that reveals stark truths about American racial attitudes
6. PHANTOM THREAD
A Hitchcockian psychodrama that takes you into the world of high fashion and mad obsession
7. DARKEST HOUR
A stylized behind the scenes political drama featuring a dominant performance from star Gary Oldman
8. THE SHAPE OF WATER
Guillermo del Toro’s adult fairy tale and ode to cinema of the past, with political parallels to the present day
9. LOGAN
Hugh Jackman bows out as Wolverine in a violent, brutal western that takes no prisoners and spares no sentiments
10. BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE)
Unforgiving docudrama about the passions and protests of AIDS activists fighting for their right to live in the early 1990’s
