The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Ten favorite films of 2017
It was a year in which Hollywood was rocked by scandal thanks to the fallout from the sexual harassment charges brought against Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Brett Ratner, among others.
But there’s a good chance that 2017 might also be remembered as the year in which women finally got some of the attention they deserved both in front of – and behind – the camera.
Some of the year’s best films directed by male filmmakers just happened to focus on strong, toughminded women, including “The Post,” “The Shape Of Water,” “I, Tonya,” “A Quiet Passion” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
And if that wasn’t good enough news, 2017 also marked the mainstream emergence of talented female storytellers like Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”), Dee Rees (“Mudbound”), Robin Swicord (“Wakefield”) and Patty Jenkins (“Wonder Women.”)
At a time when the press is continually under attack from President Trump, this enthralling celebration of the Washington Post’s decision to print the leaked Pentagon Papers proving the government was lying about Vietnam couldn’t be any more timely if it tried. Meryl Streep delivers a superb performance as publisher Katherine Graham who, in the midst of taking the Post public, is faced with a very tough decision: side with her editor (Tom Hanks) in defying President Nixon or listen to the money men (Bradley Whitford, Tracy Letts) and back off from printing the explosive report. Forcefully acted and paced like a thriller, “The Post” ranks with Steven Spielberg’s best. Opening in area theaters on Jan. 5 Refusing to accept that her teen daughter’s murder will go unsolved, a working-class mother (Frances McDormand) rents three billboards on the outskirts of town in hopes of shaming members of the police force (Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell) into action. Writer/director Martin McDonaugh (“In Bruges”) takes familiar plot points involving revenge, racism, violence and bad cops and swirls them together into something remarkably fresh, hilarious and heartbreaking. It takes nimble actors to navigate such tonal shifts and McDonaugh gets astonishing performances from his trio of titans. Now playing in area theaters. Swooningly romantic, this gorgeous love story tracks the coming-of-age of a 17-year-old teenager (Timothée Chalamet) who, over the course of a season in Northern Italy, falls hard for his father’s research assistant (Armie Hammer). Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino lingers over every detail of the pair’s magical summer from Hammer’s orange swim trunks and high-top sneakers to bike rides and swims in the crystal clear ocean. Boasting vivid performances and haunting songs by Sufjan Stevens, “Call Me By Your Name” captures the moment when a young romantic strides into adulthood. Now playing in area theaters.
Anyone who ever came of age in suburbia will identify with Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), a Sacramento high-schooler who, when she’s not pursuing relationships with two boys (Timothee Chalamet, Lucas Hedges), spends every waking minute plotting her escape to New York. The heart of the saga is Lady Bird’s tempestuous relationship with her mother (Laurie Metcalfe), a hard-working woman aptly described as both “warm” and “scary.” Written and directed by Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird” is the kind of modest gem that sneaks up on you. It’s often very funny but it also yields an enormous emotional payoff. Now playing in area theaters. The latest from Guillermo Del Toro (“Hellboy”) has many of the same plot devices as classic monster movies. But the filmmaker has turned those conventions inside out and upside down to create a stunning adventure that is part Cold War thriller and part inter-species romance. The film pivots on Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute cleaning lady at a secret government facility who vows to rescue a much-abused Amazonian sea creature (Doug Jones) with whom she’s forged a connection. Not since 2006’s “Pan’s Labyrinth”