You refer to it as 2017 if you want to, but for me, this will be The Year Debra Winger Comes Back to the Movies.
The actor has been a favorite of mine ever since “Urban Cowboy” in 1980, but she has said she doesn’t care about being a movie star and she regularly demonstrates that by disappearing for years at a time. So it’s fantastic news that she will co-star with Tracy Letts in “Loving,” another of those late-in-life romances that have proved popular in the last couple years.
Based on the super-creepy trailer, I’m also excited to see “A Cure for Wellness,” about a healthy guy who gets trapped in a disturbing hospital/asylum; “Dunkirk,” a World War II drama from the always-interesting Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight”); “A Monster Calls,” the coming-of-age drama that I’ve seen but need to re-watch because, the first time, I could barely see the last half of it through my heaving sobs; “Wonderstruck,” Todd Haynes’ adaptation of the gripping graphic novel by “Hugo Cabret” writer Brian Selznick; and, finally, although I’m wary of any attempt to improve on the masterful 1975 version, I’m excited to see what Kenneth Branagh — and a cast including Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz and Michelle Pfeiffer — makes of Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express.”
There’s lots of intriguing stuff on the way in The Year Debra Winger Comes Back to the Movies, but if you’re catching up on 2016’s best films, here are my top 10 picks:
‘MIDNIGHT SPECIAL’
Between this and “Loving,” writer/director Jeff Nichols produced his own double-feature this year and they’re both terrific films. “Loving” is the restrained, true story of Mildred and Richard Loving, who took their case to have the state of Virginia recognize their interracial marriage all the way to the Supreme Court. But I’m even more enamored of this heartfelt thriller, which begins with the kidnapping of a unique boy. For at least the first half of the movie, we’re not sure what’s special about him or whether his kidnappers are the good guys or the bad guys. But, as “Midnight” races to its boldly spiritual finale and half a dozen well-drawn characters come face to face with some very big questions, all of the pieces fall perfectly into place.
‘HELL OR HIGH WATER’
Here’s another thriller that has more on its mind than just thrills. Chris Pine and Ben Foster give lean, lived-in performances as desperate brothers who figure the only way to save the family’s Texas property from foreclosure is to rob banks. It gets tense in the opening robbery and the suspense never lets up as they continue their crime spree while a laconic detective (Jeff Bridges) gets closer and closer to capturing them. It’s a Western, a mystery and a devastating indictment of what happens when average people find there’s no way for them to get ahead.
‘MOONLIGHT’
It came out of nowhere last month to zip to the top of Oscar tipsheets, which is surprising only because movies this original and smart rarely get that sort of attention. In what may be the year’s most gifted ensemble, three actors play Chiron, who is growing up black and gay and who discovers that, in the absence of helpful role models, he has to figure out the gay person’s secret weapon: When the rules everyone else seems to be following don’t fit you, you have to figure things out on your own.
‘THE INVITATION’
Like “Midnight Special,” this horror movie for smart people has some big shockers up its sleeve. Initially, it seems to be a drama about an awkward dinner party, where a man and woman realize they don’t have as much in common with their friends as they once did. Uncomfortable secrets are revealed, there is talk of something that sounds very much like a cult, a guest is killed — and then things really get weird.
‘LA LA LAND’
Is it revolutionary? No. But I love the way this musical, which feels very much like the musicals from Hollywood’s golden age, makes it seem like breaking into a song-and-dance number is as natural as picking up a phone. Like “Singin’ in the Rain,” the story is your classic, kids-trying-to-get-ahead-in-show-biz deal but, ultimately, “La La Land” pulls the rug out from under the myth of Hollywood in a way that feels completely modern. Also: Emma Stone could not be more charming.
‘LOVE & FRIENDSHIP’
The funniest movie of the year (in a photo finish with “Maggie’s Plan,” featuring Julianne Moore in the year’s best comic performance) is also the funniest story of 1794, which is when Jane Austen is thought to have written the tale on which “Love & Friendship” is based. Kate Beckinsale shoots zingers like bullets as a matriarch who is hoping to find suitable matches for her daughter and, should someone who is not a complete dolt emerge, for herself. As usually happens with Austen, nobody ends up with the person you thought they would but everyone gets perfectly matched.
‘THE GREEN ROOM’
Patrick Stewart has never been more menacing than in this tense melodrama, in which he plays the leader of a group of white supremacists who murder one of their own in a cramped roadhouse, unaware that the murder was witnessed by the band that just performed there. What follows is a claustrophobic stand-off that keeps notching up the tension and the bloodshed. It’s also a sad demonstration that star Anton Yelchin, who died this year in an accident, was only just beginning to reveal his gifts.
‘CERTAIN WOMEN’
Kristen Stewart is making better choices than any other actor working today. You want evidence? Start with Kelly Reichardt’s quiet drama about the intersecting lives of three Montanans (the other two are played by Laura Dern and Michelle Williams, who was in Reichardt’s “Wendy and Lucy” and “Meek’s Cutoff”). It’s a very subtle film, one that probably played better on big screens than it will on small ones, where you may be tempted to hit the fast-forward button, but its compassion and understanding of people’s connection to the land make for a gorgeous character study.
‘AMERICAN HONEY’
Andrea Arnold’s stunningly-photographed road movie would make a fine companion piece to “Certain Women,” in that it’s also mostly interested in women, it’s not particularly plot heavy and it was made by a female director. Shia LeBeouf is the big name but the real stars are the unknowns whose partying, illegal scams and quick escapes all fit into their attempts to figure out who they are and what they want from life.
‘PETE’S DRAGON’
Disney’s remake of a not-very-good animated musical becomes a moving and empathetic drama about family and the environment. Robert Redford is ideally cast as a land lover whose daughter and granddaughter pull him into the fight to save a wily dragon and the forest it calls home.
