The Top Films of 2017
Yes, I know I’m late with my lists. So sue me.
Favorite Movie of 2017 — Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Fourteen Runners-Up
Yes, there were good movies released in 2017 whose titles did not involve the words Star and Wars.
- The Shape of Water
- Baby Driver
- Get Out
- It Comes at Night
- The Post
- Kedi
- Okja
- Blade Runner 2049
- Good Time
- It
- Colossal
- Marjorie Prime
- Dunkirk
- Super Dark Times
Five Honorable Mentions
The Blackcoat’s Daughter worked the festival circuit in 2015 (when I saw it under its original title, February) and 2016, but A24 didn’t release it until early this year. I tried very hard to justify it as a 2017 film, but ultimately, I just couldn’t. If I could, these lists would look very different.
When I first wrote about Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri a couple of months ago, I declared it one of the best films of the year. Since then, I’ve given it some reconsideration and it turns out I don’t like it as much as I initially did. I’d hoped to do a full piece on it, but I never had time to write it. Oh well.
I wanted to rewatch Buster’s Mal Heart, mother!, and Raw before finalizing this list, but ultimately couldn’t make the time.
The Five Best Non-Qualifying Films
I tend to find film festival programs work at odds with best-of-year lists. What’s the point of naming such-and-such a movie one of the best of the year if it played only a handful of film festivals? Here are the five best 2017 films I saw at festivals that didn’t see wider release.
- Sicilian Ghost Story (Chicago International Film Festival)
- Mohawk (Cinepocalypse)
- Trench 11 (Cinepocalypse)
- The Endless (CIFF)
- The Crescent (Cinepocalypse)
Individual Acheivements
Best Director — Guillermo Del Toro, The Shape of Water
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
Runners-Up:
- Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Jordan Peele, Get Out
- Trey Edward Schulte, It Comes At Night
- Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049
- Edgar Wright, Baby Driver
Best Actress in a Leading Role — Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
Runners-Up:
- Nicole Kidman as Dr. Anna Murphy, The Killing of a Sacred Deer
- Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Noomi Rapace as Monday et al, What Happened to Monday
- Daisy Ridley as Rey, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Meryl Streep as Katherine Graham, The Post
Best Actress in a Supporting Role — Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Runners-Up:
- Carmen Ejogo as Sarah, It Comes at Night
- Marianna Palka as Jill Hart, Bitch
- Octavia Spencer as Zelda Fuller, The Shape of Water
- Lois Smith as Marjorie, Marjorie Prime
- Allison Williams as Rose Armitage, Get Out
Best Actor in a Leading Role — Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington, Get Out
Runners-Up:
- Timothée Chalamet as Elio Perlman, Call Me by Your Name
- Adam Driver as Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- James McAvoy as Kevin Wendell Crumb et al, Split
- Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, Darkest Hour
- Robert Pattinson as Constantine “Connie” Nikas, Good Time
Best Actor in a Supporting Role — Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Runners-Up:
- Armie Hammer as Oliver, Call Me by Your Name
- Richard Jenkins as Giles, The Shape of Water
- Patrick Stewart as Charles, Logan
- Michael Stuhlbarg as Mr. Perlman, Call Me by Your Name
- Jason Sudeikis as Oscar, Colossal
Best Ensemble Cast: Get Out
(Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Marcus Henderson, Betty Gabriel, Lakeith Stanfield, Stephen Root, LilRel Howery)
Runners-Up:
- Call Me by Your Name (Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garell)
- It (Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hamilton)
- The Post (Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Tracey Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Rhys, Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, Jesse Plemons, David Cross)
- The Shape of Water (Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones)
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benicio del Toro, Frank Oz, Billie Lourd, Joonas Suotamo, Jimmy Vee)
Best Screenplay — Get Out, written by Jordan Peele
Runners-Up:
- Colossal, written by Nacho Vigalondo
- Good Time, written by Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
- Marjorie Prime, screenplay by Michael Almereyda, based on the stage play by Jordan Harrison
- The Post, written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer
- The Shape of Water, screenplay by Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, story by Guillermo del Toro
Best Cinematography — Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049
Runners-Up:
- Drew Daniels, It Comes at Night
- Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Call Me by Your Name
- Andrew Droz Palermo, A Ghost Story
- Hoyte van Hoytema, Dunkirk
- Sean Price Williams, Good Time
Best Original Score — Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never), Good Time
Runners-Up:
- Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water
- Daniel Hart, A Ghost Story
- Kira Fontana, Kedi
- Brian McOmber, It Comes at Night
- Hans Zimmer, Dunkirk
Best Original Song — “Mystery of Love,” Call Me by Your Name (performed by Sufjan Stevens)
Runners-Up:
- “I Get Overwhelmed,” A Ghost Story (performed by Dark Rooms)
- “The Pure and the Damned,” Good Time (performed by Oneohtrix Point Never featuring Iggy Pop)
- “To Be Human,” Wonder Woman (performed by Sia featuring Labrinth)
Best Use of Non-Original Music — “Love My Way,” Call Me by Your Name (performed by the Psychedelic Furs)
Runners-Up:
- “Bellbottoms,” Baby Driver (performed by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion)
- “Dear God,” It (performed by XTC)
- “Hocus Pocus,” Baby Driver (performed by Focus)
- “Mr. Blue Sky,” Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (performed by the Electric Light Orchestra)
- “Voices Carry,” Atomic Blonde (performed by ‘Til Tuesday)
