Michael Darvell Looks Back at the Year of 2017

For me it was a good year for films, although I enjoyed some rather eccentric, not to say extreme, titles: Get Out, Suburbicon, Breathe, The Florida Project. Of four outstanding films on gay themes I saw God’s Own Country and Call Me by Your Name but plan to catch up with Beach Rats and Heartstone. Aspects of public life were finely delineated in Dunkirk, Goodbye Christopher Robin and The Death of Stalin, while for sheer entertainment value Paddington 2 was unbeatable. Titles I regret having to omit from the Top Ten include Sally Potter’s little gem, The Party, Disney's delightful Beauty and the Beast, Stephen Frears' historical curiosity Victoria and Abdul, the brilliant documentary I Am Not Your Negro and Lone Scherfig’s Their Finest, a beady look at the wartime Ministry of Information. I could have done without Blade Runner 2049 and Murder on the Orient Express, both major disappointments.

Get Out

Michael Darvell’s Favourites:

1. Get Out
2. God’s Own Country
3. The Florida Project
4. Call Me By Your Name
5. Breathe
6. Suburbicon
7. Dunkirk
8. Paddington 2
9. The Death of Stalin
10. Goodbye Christopher Robin