Tom Bown’s Favourite Films of 2017 (so far)
It’s already been one hell of a year for movies, and we still have a ton of end-of-year awards bait-y type flicks to come out. The release of the programme for the London Film Festival earlier today has inspired me to start writing again and get some practice in before I cover everything I see over the ten or so days, and I thought I’d start with a quick top films list so it’s documented before it likely goes through all sorts of changes during the fest. Here’s my favourite films of the first two-thirds of 2017:
Honourable mentions: Baby Driver, John Wick: Chapter 2, The Lego Batman Movie, Logan Lucky, Okja.
05. Colossal
Usually I would consider a movie’s premiere date to be its official year of release, but I’m making an exception to get Nacho Vigalondo’s absurd, tragicomic exploration of toxic behaviours on the list. The initial premise of alcoholic Gloria’s (Anne Hathaway) connection to a kaiju-esque monster destroying Seoul is strong enough, but it turns into something far more affecting and sinister, with a career-best performance from Jason Sudeikis as manipulative manbaby Oscar. I can’t stress how much you need to ignore any and all trailers or discussion of this movie — go into it completely blind.
04. The Big Sick
Very possibly the best romantic comedy of the decade so far, Kumail Nanjiani finally gets the star turn he’s deserved for years in a movie he co-wrote with wife Emily V. Gordon about the early stages of their relationship. It’s a tragic story at times — with the film taking an unflinching look at the cultural differences between Pakistanis and Westerners, as well as deteriorating health issues — yet the laughs came harder and more frequently than almost anything else I’ve seen in years. The performances are impeccable all-round — I never knew Ray Romano could make me cry — while Michael Showalter guides the film expertly with a delicate touch I never knew he was capable of.
03. Dunkirk
As a whole, I don’t really like war movies, or movies that aren’t especially character-focused, but Dunkirk completely blew me away. Chris Nolan’s retelling of the 1940 evacuation of British troops from France put me into the shoes of the trapped soldiers better than any movie before ever has, with his choice to focus on archetypes over people — the young private, the shell-shocked officer, the duty-bound civilian — lending a universal feeling to the conflict, enhanced by excellent performances, especially from Mark Rylance and, yes, Harry Styles. The IMAX cinematography conveys the scale and destruction perfectly, while the non-linear narrative helps add to the confusion, as well as making the climax more emotional and satisfying when it all ties together.
02. Get Out
How in the hell is this Jordan Peele’s filmmaking debut? There’s not much new I can say about Get Out — it’s a perfectly-balanced comedy-horror which deals with race relations in a sharp, intelligent way, with more subtlety than you’d expect given the subject matter. The cast are pitch-perfect — Alison Williams and Bradley Whitford especially can portray the hell out of white privilege, while Daniel Kaluuya continues his trend of never being bad ever — and their dialogue rings more true than I’d like to admit, while the visuals are remarkable, presenting an unsettling, disturbing feel while also containing some ironic winks. The pacing is masterful, with the tension building incredibly until the release, which led to the loudest, most engaged crowd I think I’ve ever seen in a cinema.
01. A Ghost Story
My favourite film of the year so far is the most ambitious, ethereal, devastating, and profound movie ever made about a dude in a sheet. With amazing performances from Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, David Lowrey’s supernatural drama quickly reveals itself to have loftier aspirations than its small budget and intimate setting would lead you to expect. The choice to have Affleck’s protagonist C — who dies in a car accident extremely early on — in the classic eyeholed white sheet could have so easily been too ridiculous to work, but the slow pace and minimal movement give it a genuinely haunting quality, while the movie delicately tackles a number of ideas with aplomb, from grief and loss (duh), to perception of time, to our connection to certain places. The most powerful, moving, and gracious film 2017 has had to offer so far. But hey, I’m gonna go see Patti Cake$ soon, so maybe I’ll change my mind.
Come back soon for more writing. And hey, why not check out my podcast on the new Twin Peaks?
