The Best Films Of 2017

15. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
God, ‘Three Billboards’ is angry [our review]. But it’s also shockingly optimistic, which makes for an unlikely but rewarding marriage of outlooks. In one scene, Sheriff Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) and Mildred (Frances McDormand) are verbally sparring. Each is fueled by a unique moral high ground and each is aggressively posturing in a chest-puffed-out kind of way. The tension is abruptly undercut when, in the middle of a sentence, Sheriff Willoughby coughs up blood. Immediately, his bravado crumbles into a naked vulnerability as sadness, shame, and shock wash over his face. Mildred, too, emotionally pivots from zero-fucks-given to genuine tenderness. The moment is authentic and crushing and speaks to what the film does so well in terms of building complex characters. Obviously, the notion that humans are riddled with complications is not exactly fresh but it’s one that makes for great cinema, and Martin McDonagh plasters it all over ‘Three Billboards.’ Throughout the film, it is uncomfortable and inspiring to witness the dichotomies in the characters and to see their respective capacities for change, particularly Dixon (Sam Rockwell). Like “In Bruges” before it, ‘Three Billboards’ is violent, ambiguous, darkly funny, and well worth a watch. – Reese Conner

14. ‘Mudbound’
Dee Rees’ ensemble postwar epic “Mudbound” [our review] opens on an impending storm as brothers Jamie (Garrett Hedlund) and Henry (Jason Clarke) struggle to dig their father’s grave before the flood waters come. They fail, and Jamie becomes stuck in the pit, beating and screaming against the dirt pressing against him. This initial image, a flashforward, serves as an apt metaphor for the entire film, as each character from both the McAlllan and Jackson clans, connected through their relationship to a plot of Mississippi farmland, struggle against the the mud-filled harsh post-WWII southern landscape. How these two families, one black and one white, intersect is often violent and racially charged. Yet the bond between Jamie and Ronsal Jackson (Jason Mitchell, proving his talent in three amazing movies this year) transcends that racial tension, until the moment that the reality of a racially segregated 1940s Mississippi comes crashing down on each of the characters. Every screenwriting rule against using voice-over and multiple narrators is thrown out, as Ress creates a polyphonic narrative fully fleshing out no less than seven main characters (and proving Mary J. Blige is an actress to be reckoned with) and crafting one of the most stunning cinematic explorations of race in recent memory. — Christian Gallichio

13. “Raw”
“Raw” is a deliriously, deliciously vicious debut, told with brute conviction and unflinching delirium. A French coming-of-age cannibal body horror/dark comedy, that follows the lurid self-awakening of freshman vegan Justine (incredible newcomer Garance Marillier) after she decides to try her first sliver of meat, writer/director Julia Ducournau’s brazenly confident, starkly funny, morally askew and impressively unnerving first movie oozes with gore and confidence. As you can imagine, it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. “Raw” [our review] boldly, brutally earns its fierce title, but for those who love their movies twisted and perverse, you’re not likely to find many movies that’ll surprise and shock you more. But rarely does it feel exploitative or excessive, even when it goes down its darkest alleys. Filled with striking metaphors, vivid filmmaking and telling social commentary, Ducournau’s film is liberated, emboldened and open to multiple interpretations. Even the queasy viewers utterly disgusted by its fearless depravity will find something to dig into afterward. It’s beautiful, brisk and brazen in its ruthless bloodlust. And you’ll walk away with, yes, a lot to chew on. — Will Ashton

12. “mother!”
This movie. I mean, seriously! Fucking hell, this movie! For those who feel the best, most enduring films tend to divide, at least initially, Darren Aronofsky’s gloriously unhinged mix of of agitprop and termite art [our review] is, for now, the piece de resistance example. It was pretty much impossible to resist, or even avoid, the cultural fury and debate that befell this highly original horror movie upon its release. But discussing the film is only one of its many virtues. Let us not forget the experience of actually watching this beautiful/ugly piece of art. Of course, it never was a horror movie, only cloaked in the genre’s tropes, ideas and use of tension to push things to a more absurd level, and to make the medicine go down a little easier — this is, after all, the least subtle film made by a consistently unsubtle director. Take from its many layers what you will, whether you agree or disagree barely even matters. What does matter is that Aronofsky and his team took us somewhere, and made us feel real things. This is cinema, pushing the audience to its limit, in all its glorious possibilities. When the world at large finally gets catches up with this amazing film, it will still have plenty of haters, no doubt, but we have confidence they’ll be shouted down by its lovers. Or maybe it will continue to divide until Judgment Day, appropriately for a movie that has a cover of ’60s pop tune “The End of the World” play over the credits. — Erik McClanahan

11. “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”
Alongside the abhorrent presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” [our review] prevails as one of the most twisted experiences of 2017 — except, in a good way. A grisly dark comedy, a nail-biting thriller and a compelling tale of morality, the Greek auteur’s new feature takes time to process. Purposefully absent of emotion, it’s hard to grasp exactly why the absurd events on screen unfold in such a discomforting manner, as Lanthimos, with his typically disquieting demeanor, swarms our moral compasses with a brooding and inescapable dilemma. Which is to say, Lanthimos presents his viewers with a display of beautiful, lingering shots of eeriness that contrast perfectly with the film’s tangible aura of suffering. Within this foreboding atmosphere, “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” occupies a fascinating and bizarre space between irony, horror and tragedy. It’s a sickening pleasure to watch, as the film’s initial sense of commonplace etiquette crumbles with inhumane rationale to a despairing ultimatum. “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” is Yorgos Lanthimos’ most remarkable and disconcerting project yet, one that presents Lanthimos as a progressing talent as he attempts to recognize the veiled absurdity of society that we don’t notice on a day-to-day basis. — Kyle Kohner