Looking back: the best films of 2018

Phantom Thread

Paul Thomas Anderson's enchanting and haunting tale about a dressmaker in 1950s London and his muse gave Daniel-Day Lewis one final role before retirement. The result? Nothing short of magical.

Black Panther

The most anticipated superhero movie of all time, Black Panther, cast with up-and-coming and established black actors, managed to perfect the Marvel movie mould as well as reinvent it.

It offered a refreshing alternative to the usual stories Hollywood feeds viewers of poverty and violence inflicted on and/or by black people. A refreshing alternative that hopefully, in years to come, will cease to be seen as 'alternative' at all.

Lady Bird

Greta Gerwig's directorial debut Lady Bird was a beyond-charming coming-of-age drama that dazzled with wit, wisdom and wonderful performances. Saoirse Ronan comes into her own, supported by brilliant boys Lucas Hedges and Timothée Chalamet, and Laurie Metcalf who almost steals the show.

It's surely got to be the finest screenplay produced this year, written by Gerwig herself. The writer-director tackles self-doubt, betrayal, sexuality, depression, religion, the menacing hum of the Iraq war (the film is set in 2002) and more in just 93 minutes.

The Square

Swedish director Ruben Östlund dissected human failings with his usual wit and precision, placing international stars like Elisabeth Moss and Dominic West in the world of contemporary art.

This is the kind of arthouse offering that should prove immensely satisfying to a wide audience, whether you like modern art or not.

Let the Sunshine In

The spellbinding master of French cinema Claire Denis teamed up with Juliette Binoche for one of the most luminous features of the year, Let the Sunshine In.

Binoche effortlessly slips into the character of Isabelle, a recently divorced painter searching for meaning and satisfaction across the lovers she meets. Isabelle suffers, yes, but all that pain is converted, by turns silly and sweet, into pure cinematic pleasure.

Hereditary

Touted as the best horror movie of the year, Hereditary was also a stunning drama about the ravages of grief and the menace of family featuring an outstanding Toni Collette.

We witness a classic American nuclear unit coming apart at the seams, erupting with unspoken resentment, regrets and fears. It’s harrowing, and it means that Hereditary has as much in common with something like August: Osage County as its horror forebears.

Leave No Trace

The latest from Winter's Bone director Debra Granik, Leave No Trace was a memorable and moving drama about those teetering on the edge of the American dream.

Like a small clutch of films on the less glitzy, groomed and glamorous people of America, such as last year’s slightly neglected The Florida Project and Lean on Pete (also set in the diverse wilds of Oregon), Leave No Trace is a bit of a dreamcatcher of a film.

Mission: Impossible — Fallout

Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett and Vanessa Kirby joined Tom Cruise for Mission: Impossible — Fallout, the stunning sixth instalment of the action film series.

If last year’s Baby Driver was a car-chase musical, Fallout is a ballet of screeching wheels and soaring bullets. It’s pure cinematic artistry, that's certain to shake even the most pretentious moviegoer.

First Reformed

Hollywood veteran Paul Schrader offered one of the darkest, most important films of the year in First Reformed – the portrait of an infinitely fascinating priest losing sight of his religion and the meaning of life altogether.

Ethan Hawke delivers a chilling central performance, while the film demands attention on a technical, emotional and wholly existential level.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

It was the sequel that never should have happened, and yet – Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again proved its worth and pulled out all the stops in a toe-tapping, bedazzling sequel.

A fresh crop of younger faces injected the story with greater emotional impact, while the soundtrack shone a light on some lesser known – but still outstanding – ABBA classics.

Cold War

The latest film from UK-based Polish director Paweł Pawlikovski offered a chilling black-and-white melodic odyssey and deeply-felt love story, through Communist Europe, Paris and beyond.

There are times when the audience can forget all about that frosty political climate, when Cold War appears more timeless than tragically of-its-time, and enchantingly so.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Based on the 2012 coming-of-age teen novel by Emily M. Danforth, the film was British-Iranian director Desiree Akhavan's follow-up to her outstanding debut, Appropriate Behavior.

Cameron Post (Chloë Grace Moretz) is sent off to a gay conversion therapy camp called God's Promise, after being caught kissing the prom queen in the backseat of a car. The exciting director and young cast take on a brave story with unashamed energy and surprising comedy.

Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians was more than a rom-com. It's the first all-Asian ensemble of a contemporary Hollywood picture in 25 years, it does away with karate-kicking, pidgin-spouting stereotypes of times past, and it presents an ensemble of well-rounded, believable characters.


And while the film remains grounded in its status as a benchmark for Asian representation, it was tour de force in escapism – depicting decadence of unimaginable heights, with a style-o-meter that takes off at rocket speed.

A Star is Born

Bradley Cooper directed and starred alongside Lady Gaga for the fourth iteration of this story – but everything about A Star Is Born still felt alive and essential.

Their chemistry was electric, the songs were infectious. It's not a film that fades at any pace, with the power of music and emotion set to last a lifetime.

Mandy

A revenge story of cosmic proportions from visionary director Panos Cosmatos featuring a career-defining performance from Nicolas Cage, Mandy had us holding on to our seat.

Does that seem too much to handle? To be honest, it probably is, but it’s a burden worth carrying. Mandy is, at its core, a resurrection story and is, in the end, in its own unusual way, uplifting.

Wildlife

A directorial debut from actor Paul Dano and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan, Wildlife is a stripped-back drama about being reckless in your quietest moments – it was one of the finest features of the year.

It's an incredibly assured piece of work and hardly a shot is wasted. Being an adaptation of a Richard Ford novel, there’s plenty of devastation lurking just under the surface of that elegant, economical style.

Widows

12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen teamed up with writer Gillian Flynn on Widows, a crime drama with an overdue feminist rage.

The film draws a critique of everyday evils and betrayal; a searing lesson on how revenge and redemption go hand in hand. As topical as it may be, it's important to remember Widows as more than 'a moment'.

Shoplifters

Innocence and experience jostled in Shoplifters, a beautiful, alchemical family drama from Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda who snapped up the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

The mismatched troupe brim with energy and infectious joy, as the film gently unfolds to reveal layer after layer of deep humanity in an unconventional setting.

Roma

Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuaron returned home with his new film Roma, a stunning and emotional story of his hometown, childhood, and one of the most important women in his life.

Roma is in turn gripping, intense, honest and real, and a true joy to watch. But it is even better to reflect upon.