The Best Movies of 2017
Although there were several excellent films by well established directors this year, there were a lot of great movies from relative new comers too.
I was frequently more excited by these newer artist’s work than that of the older masters I usually prefer. Which I found to be a refreshing cause for optimism.
I didn’t get to see nearly as many movies as I wanted to this year, but, for what it’s worth, this list is based on my opinion and limited to the films I saw.
- Phantom Thread
Phantom Thread was the best film of 2017. A rare treasure. Every detail of the film is immaculate and worthy of contemplation and emulation. On a irrelevant personal note, it’s already one of my favorite movies and I’ve only seen it three times.
2. Dunkirk
Dunkirk is one of the tightest pieces of cinematic experience ever made. It triumphantly pushes the limits of audio and visual quality and style to yield an incomparable result. Christopher Nolan deserves credit not only for again showing himself to be one of the finest craftsmen in the history of film, but also for taking the enormous risk of betting that ‘pure cinema’ is still powerful in an age of ubiquitous content.
3. Blade Runner 2049
The most ambitious film of the year failed to receive adequate attention from audiences and reviewers alike despite offering some of the most compelling thematic content, technical achievement, and visual grandeur ever brought to the screen. An overlooked masterpiece just like the original in it’s time.
4. The Florida Project
The Florida Project takes a classic tragedy of the Italian Neo-Realist movement, and recasts it in the slums surrounding Disney World. Everything about this movie works and the performances are incredible. Underrated in many ways, with some of the most earnest and empathetic story telling of the year.
5. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
When Mildred Hayes comes home to find her son sitting at the kitchen table with the local priest who has come to rebuke her for putting up billboards asking why no one has been arrested for raping and killing her daughter, she launches into a monologue that ends with the assertion that, if you’re part of a group that commits a heinous crime, then you’re complicity guilty of that crime as well. The script, the cast, the directing, and the music in this film are all as good as it gets and combine to form an extraordinary morality play perfectly suited to its time. Uncommonly good movie.
6. mother!
mother!’s inclusion on this list rests solely on the fact that it represents an ingenious work of allegorical art. To see a Kabbalistic Mystic recast all of the Judaeo-Christian tradition into the constructs of Gnostic theology, within a single tractable narrative, is a titanic achievement that demands recognition. That said, if none of that subject matter interests the viewer, the film can be a disturbing slog. But regardless of whether or not anyone likes it, mother! is an indispensable masterwork.
7. The Meyerowitz Stories [New and Selected]
Baumbach’s innovation on dramatic dialogue in this film was one of the outstanding achievements of the year. He combines Altman’s overlapping, Renior’s camera, Allen’s neurosis, and Ophul’s comedy of manners, to extend the principal of montage theory to conversation itself. In other words, he shows characters talking about two or three different things at once, but really they are talking about a fourth thing, which is not articulated, but is nevertheless understood by the audience. Any artist who wants to use dialogue, especially in movies, can learn volumes from this one. It also includes some of the year’s best performances.
8. Killing of a Sacred Deer
Yorgos Lanthimos has very quickly established himself as one of the most unique and profound voices in movies. Here we find an expertly composed examination of justice and morality in a time when no one wants to accept guilt. Particularly noteworthy in this film is the way Yorgos directs his actors, crafting performances reminiscent of the cold, emotionless, distance found in the films of Bresson or Ozu, and resulting in comparable levels of chilling power. Haunting, disturbing, and excellent. Kubrick would love this movie.
9. Lady Bird
A joyfully endearing love letter to ‘home’, Lady Bird is a collection of anecdotes that rely on behavioral instances to reveal character and create relationships. Gerwig has a distinct narrative style and directorial voice to her work that yields infatuating results. This film is important for many reasons beyond being immensely enjoyable, and Gerwig instantly establishes herself as one of the finest directors for sheer strength of characterization.
10. The Big Sick
One of the best comedies in years for the simple reason that the film makers were so deeply invested in the story itself, that they took years perfecting it instead of rushing off a half baked draft. This film deals with many delicate issues, creates several complex relationships, and features gratuitous amounts of outstanding performances, in addition to a lot of laughs. Also the ‘19 of our best guys’ joke is probably the best joke about 9/11. A great comedy, deeply felt, and expertly crafted.
Films released in 2017 that I have seen
As usual, I only saw about half of the films I wanted to see this year, but there’s always next year.
In no particular order…
- The Big Sick
- The Polka King
- The Yellow Birds
- Kuso
- Thor Ragnarok
- Lego Batman Movie
- Lady Bird (x2)
- Phantom Thread (x3)
- Three Billboards outside of Ebbing, Missouri (x2)
- Dunkirk
- Darkest Hour (x2)
- Blade Runner 2049
- mother!
- The Florida Project
- Ex Libris
- Suburbicon
- Last Flag FLying
- T2: Trainspotting
- The Meyerowitz Stories [New and Selected]
- Alien: Covenant
- The Fate of the Furious
- Kong: Skull Island
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi (x2)
- My Scientology Movie
- The Snowman
- The Shape of Water
- Baby Driver
- Get Out (x2)
- Battle of the Sexes
- The Greatest Showman
- Justice League
- Wonder Wheel
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- American Made
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
- The Foreigner
- Wonder Woman
- I, Tonya
- The Killing of a Sacred Deer
- Marshall
- Beauty and The Beast
- Mudbound
- Novitiate
- Ingrid Goes West
- The Post
- Wonderstruck
- Murder on The Orient Express
- Logan
- The Disaster Artist (x2)
- Molly’s Game
- Call Me by Your Name
- Bright
