2017 proved to be a remarkable year for cinema. Despite ongoing industry challenges and headlines about misconduct, the year delivered a strong mix of mainstream hits, mid‑budget surprises and bold independent films. Audiences embraced unexpected blockbusters like IT, while indie offerings such as Moonlight rose to widespread acclaim and ultimately won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Jordan Peele’s Get Out arrived as a fresh, socially aware horror hit, while streaming platforms pushed boundaries with releases from Netflix and Amazon. Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman demonstrated that female directors can generate massive box office returns and reshaped expectations for mainstream tentpoles. Below is a personal top 10 of 2017’s standout films, ranked by their artistic quality and impact. I welcome your thoughts and disagreements in the comments.
Disclaimer: To be included in this list, a film must have been released to UK audiences during the 2017 calendar year.
10. Wind River
Taylor Sheridan followed his acclaimed screenplays with Wind River, a stark, tightly written investigative thriller he both wrote and directed. Set against the harsh Wyoming landscape and scored hauntingly by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, the film uses a murder investigation to shed light on the ongoing struggles facing Native American communities, particularly women. Sheridan’s characters are imperfect and weathered, lending a sense of lived, often bleak reality to the story. Drawing on tense pacing and a measured visual approach, Wind River is a powerful, immersive drama that balances social commentary with true genre suspense.
9. Get Out
Get Out Review
Jordan Peele’s directorial debut quickly became a cultural moment: part social satire, part horror thriller. Working from his own sharp script, Peele crafts a story that interrogates race relations in contemporary America through unsettling, darkly comic suspense. Anchored by a compelling lead performance from Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out blends psychological dread with pointed political commentary, resulting in a fresh, original film that both entertains and provokes discussion.
8. 20th Century Women
Mike Mills’ intimate drama is a warm, observant study of a mother and her relationships during the social upheaval of the late 1970s. Annette Bening delivers a layered, compassionate performance as a woman navigating parenting, sexuality and aging while surrounded by three very different female influences. 20th Century Women explores stages of womanhood—youthful discovery, adult searching and reflections on mortality—in a way that feels honest and human rather than contrived, celebrating the small, everyday moments that shape a life.
7. Toni Erdmann
Toni Erdmann Review
Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann is a unique, often uproarious comedy about a strained father‑daughter relationship. Featuring standout performances from Sandra Hüller and Peter Simonischek, the film moves from awkward humor to poignant character study, examining how modern work culture, technology and individualism separate generations. Its empathetic, sometimes painfully funny moments allow the nearly three‑hour running time to feel earned rather than excessive.
6. Manchester by the Sea
Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea is an unsparing portrait of grief and family in crisis. Anchored by deeply felt performances from Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams and Lucas Hedges, the film is primarily a writer’s achievement—Lonergan’s screenplay balances quiet domestic detail with emotional depth. Rather than grand gestures, the film finds power in small, truthful moments, creating a drama that lingers for its realism and human compassion.
5. Moonlight
Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight is a lyrical, intimate exploration of identity, masculinity and the effects of poverty. Told in three chapters that follow the central character through different stages of life, the film blends poetic visuals with naturalistic performances to create an affecting portrait of a life shaped by love, pain and longing. Moonlight’s beauty lies in its quiet, precise storytelling and its refusal to simplify a complex human experience.
4. Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk is a technical and sensory achievement: a war film built around tension, time and atmosphere rather than conventional character exposition. Nolan fragments and compresses timelines across land, sea and air, crafting an experience that feels immediate and immersive on the largest screens. With precise direction, powerful sound design and striking cinematography, Dunkirk reaffirms Nolan’s mastery of large‑scale cinematic craft.
3. Mother!
Mother! Review
Darren Aronofsky’s Mother! is a divisive, confrontational work that deliberately unsettles its audience. The film operates as an allegory—whether interpreted as a critique of humanity’s treatment of women, of the environment, or of broader cultural ills—and uses shock and claustrophobic storytelling to place viewers in the protagonist’s disorientation. Challenging and at times uncomfortable, Mother! is notable for its ambition and the way it forces engagement rather than passive viewing.
2. The Handmaiden
Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden is a sumptuous, twisty psychological thriller adapted from Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith. Transposed to Korea under Japanese occupation, the film unfolds in distinct acts and viewpoints that reconfigure the narrative as it progresses. Visually lavish and erotically charged, The Handmaiden balances formal elegance with dark thematic undercurrents, making it one of the strongest international films of the year.
Honourable Mentions: A Ghost Story, Lady Macbeth, The Beguiled, Logan, The Big Sick, Blade Runner 2049.
1. La La Land
La La Land Review
Damien Chazelle’s La La Land is a modern tribute to classic Hollywood musicals that resonated with audiences and critics alike. Anchored by the charismatic pairing of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, the film blends contemporary sentiment with old‑fashioned musical spectacle. Chazelle’s direction borrows visual cues from cinematic greats while delivering a bittersweet love story underscored by memorable original music and striking production design. La La Land captures both nostalgia and modern anxieties about art and ambition, earning its place atop this list for its emotional clarity and stylistic confidence.
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