Best Films of 2018

Chaos and comedy ignite in Armando Iannucci’s acerbic satire, as Soviet officials frantically react to the passing of their glorious leader.

Harry Dean Stanton gives the performance of a lifetime as an irascible nonagenarian maverick grappling with his mortality.

Tangerine director Sean Baker presents another visionary take on the wild ups and dangerous downs of life in America’s underbelly, featuring an Oscar-nominated turn from Willem Dafoe.

Following some unexpected revelations, a celebration quickly takes a turn for the worse in Sally Potter's razor-sharp comedy.

Andrey Zvyagintsev (Elena, Leviathan) delivers a masterpiece in this caustic look at contemporary Russian society, a failed marriage and the disappearance of a child. A major prize winner at both Cannes and BFI London Film Festival.

Rupert Everett astounds as Oscar Wilde, depicting the fallen star in the final years of his life, in this heartfelt and captivating passion project.

A troubled young sheep farmer falls for a hired hand in this stunning debut from Francis Lee.

Lynne Ramsay journeys with Joaquin Phoenix into the mind of an ex-soldier gun-for-hire whose own demons are as brutal as the actions of his adversaries.

Athlete. Champion. Villain. Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) played them all…

In scintillating fashion, this compelling documentary explores the dark dreams that drove the brilliant, lamented designer, Alexander McQueen.

David Tennant is inspired as the renegade Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing, whose unorthodox therapeutic ideas chime with the radical spirit of 1960s counterculture.

Annette Bening and Jamie Bell bring to life the true story of the love affair between Gloria Grahame and young, Liverpudlian actor Peter Turner.

Three strong, independent Israeli-Palestinian women try to square their liberated, hedonistic lifestyles with the stultifying restrictions of conservative family life, in Maysaloun Hamoud's charming and vital drama.

Britain’s favourite bear returns for another adventure. Porridge rather than marmalade looks set to be Paddington's new staple after he's framed for a robbery, unless the Brown family can help solve the mystery.

Grace Jones is laid bare in this intimate and electrifying insight into the fascinating world of a pop-cultural phenomenon.

Maxine Peake plays a woman who rises above abusive relationships and crass sexist audiences of the 1970s to become a female stand-up comedian.

Being scared has never been this much fun, as Martin Freeman, Andy Nyman and Paul Whitehouse bring the chilling London stage play to the screen.

This story of a widower's struggle to reclaim his child is both a funny, moving drama and an insight into the world of New York's Yiddish-speaking Hasidic community.

Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed, gripping and timely drama about the publishing of the Pentagon Papers, featuring Tom Hanks and an Oscar-nominated performance from Meryl Streep.

A deeply religious family must decide whether to stick by their relation or abandon her, in this striking debut from Daniel Kokotajlo - a prizewinner at BFI London Film Festival 2017.