2017 continues to prove itself excellent as we move into the realm of cinema; I’ve seen about 50 films this year, so not everything, but not a shabby amount either, and there’s a lot to recommend. You might notice that this list is in alphabetical order; that’s because I was, in fact, having such a difficult time deciding on the order of films that I just gave up entirely. Like last year it’s worth reminding you that because I live in the UK there’s quite a few films that have released overseas, but not over here; Lady Bird and The Shape of Water and The Third Murder are three that spring to mind as potential omissions from this list. This also means that films released in 2016 in America, but in 2017 over here are applicable for my list, seeing as they were left off last time. So, without further aideu,
Honourable Mentions
As I said, this year has been excellent for films, and this meant that even picking the honourable mentions involved a whole lot of tough decision making. I think some films that came out early in the year and that I have yet to rewatch suffered the cost. Manchester By the Sea and Moonlight were both fantastic dramas, and Moonlight especially deserves to be lauded for its importance and the beautiful way it told its story. The three more recent films I would like to also mention are Blade Runner 2049; The Florida Project and The Disaster Artist, the former two of which narrowly missed out a place on this list.
Baby Driver
The last film made by director Edgar Wright before this was 2013’s The World’s End, probably the weakest of the ‘Cornetto Trilogy’. But before that he directed Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim vs the World, three of my favourite films. So to see him back on form is a treat. Baby Driver is exactly the film the premise describes; a car chase/heist movie literally set to music. The best scenes in the film exemplify this vision. The initial set piece of a car chase set to Bellbottoms is the perfect opening statement, while a gun fight where each shot fires to the beat of Tequila is sublime. There are flaws here; the central romance is undercooked and the final act runs a little long. But I think the most telling thing about Baby Driver is that I went to see it in the cinema 4 times, twice as much as any other film on this list.
Colossal
There were, amazingly, two subversive Kaiju films that released in the UK in 2017, but while I have every respect and love for the Iannucci-style comedy of Shin Godzilla, Colossal is the clear choice as the better film. To just describe the plot of Colossal would be doing it a disservice, because written down it becomes silly. But yes, this is a film in which Anne Hathaway ends up controlling a giant monster in Korea whenever she goes to a certain park at a certain time.
It’s an extremely strange plot, but that the film manages to make it work so well would already be a marvel. That the film also tackles subjects such as alcoholism and abusive relationships through the lens of this plot is even more remarkable. However, Colossal is not just a gimmick – it’s a truly great film, and one I urge you to seek out, because judging by the box office results; you haven’t yet.
Get Out
At a certain moment during the climactic scene of Get Out, the audience at the cinema I was at burst into applause and cheers. It was a moment of huge relief, to be sure, but in no other movie I’ve seen in the cinema, horror or otherwise, has that sort of spontaneous reaction been elicited from the audience. That speaks to the power of Get Out; a satirical horror-comedy in the vein of The Stepford Wives; a black guy visits his white girlfriend’s parent’s house and finds that not all is as it seems.
Where Get Out finds such great success is in its target. Not content to go after the standard “hillbilly” racist, Get Out reaches for a subtler target; something much more prevalent in modern liberal society, and thus much scarier for it. This is a film for 2017, but to restrict its influence would be unfair, because even without the backdrop of the current political climate, this film is smart, funny and extremely creepy.
La La Land
Damien Chazelle’s first film; Whiplash, shot up my ranking of favourite films quicker than almost anything I’ve seen before. La La Land, while continuing the jazz theme, seemed like such a departure from the thriller genre that defined Whiplash, that I was skeptical I’d love it quite as much. I was a fool to be skeptical, though, because La La Land is something extremely special.
The musical numbers are all instant winners and shining examples of filmmaking at its most visually impressive. The plot is something that initially seems like a simple love story; a vehicle for these musical interludes, but quickly reveals its depth, leading to an utterly heartbreaking epilogue that I can’t even think about without tearing up. A stunning achievement.
mother!
mother! is a film that courts controversy, but I think it’s too easy to get lost in the discourse surrounding the film and forget that what’s being discussed is a truly amazing piece of horror filmmaking. Basing its story on an allegory that becomes pretty obvious around 20 minutes into the film (but which I still won’t spoil here), mother! uses this base storyline in order to explore more complex themes such as human destruction of the environment; the creative mind and abusive relationships.
So much can be read into the strange and surreal visuals and characters of mother!, that some may regard this as a weakness; that the film is too vague to say anything of any note, but I regard it as a strength; the film is made to be discussed, and hopefully will be for quite a while longer. Even scraping back those layers of subtextual storytelling, the basic filmmaking skill on display is to be marvelled at. Everything, from the camera’s close claustrophobic focus on Jennifer Lawrence to the emphasis placed on certain sound effects, racket up the tension and make for a horrifying; unforgettable and truly unique cinematic experience.
The Death of Stalin
The Death of Stalin is much funnier than a film about the struggle for control over Russia after Stalin’s demise has any right to be. It is, however, a clear perfect fit for the writing talents of Armando Iannucci, who specialises in the political farce. Free from the suffocating terror of Stalin, the film documents the struggle for power over those who worked directly underneath him. The Death of Stalin could have easily worked as simply a clever political farcical comedy like The Thick of It, and certainly it includes a lot of that.
However, what elevates it is the ability to infuse the comic with the tragic; to reduce the leaders of the Soviet Union to clowns while also reminding us of the tragic consequences of their power. In the opening scene, a radio producer has to struggle to find a replacement conductor for a re-performance of a piano concerto, specially requested by Stalin himself. The farce elements of the producer trying to find a conductor for his impromptu performance is offset by the way the conductor is found; armed guards storming buildings and carrying people off in the night. It’s this delicate balance of comedy and horror that The Death of Stalin plays off to great success.
The Handmaiden
The Handmaiden is an extremely clever erotic thriller, as you might expect from director Park Chan-Wook; based on a novel set in Victorian England, the action is transposed to Korea under Japanese colonial rule. There, the film follows three individuals; a wealthy Japanese heiress; her Korean handmaiden and a faux Japanese count. The interplay between these three characters fuels The Handmaiden, with each of their different goals and schemes leading to a multitude of complex twists that shift the focus between characters, as well as the audience’s sympathies.
If that weren’t enough, the film takes the time to comment on class, porn and sexuality, as each of those things becomes an integral part of how the characters play off one another. The Handmaiden also provides a showcase for one of the best pieces of cinematic architecture I’ve ever seen; a half Victorian half Japanese mansion that holds various tricks and secrets among its sliding doors and imposing bookcases.
So that’s 2017 all wrapped up. Here’s to an even better 2018 for pop culture (and hopefully for global affairs as well (although that might be too much to ask))
