Toronto International Film Festival 2018 Scorecard

Critics Consensus: Ash Is Purest White finds writer-director Zhangke Jia revisiting familiar themes while continuing to observe modern Chinese society with an urgent, empathetic eye.

Synopsis: In an industrial city in China, a young dancer named Qiao falls in love with a mobster named Bin. When a fight breaks out between... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tao Zhao, Fan Liao, Zheng Xu, Casper Liang

Directed By: Zhang-Ke Jia

Critics Consensus: Wildlife's portrait of a family in crisis is beautifully composed by director Paul Dano -- and brought brilliantly to life by a career-best performance from Carey Mulligan.

Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Joe is the only child of Jeanette and Jerry -- a housewife and a golf pro -- in a small town in the 1960s... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ed Oxenbould, Bill Camp

Directed By: Paul Dano

Critics Consensus: Understated yet ultimately deeply affecting, Shoplifters adds another powerful chapter to director Hirokazu Koreeda's richly humanistic filmography.

Synopsis: On the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders is united by fierce loyalty and a penchant for petty theft. When the young son... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lily Franky, Sakura Andô, Mayu Matsuoka, Kirin Kiki

Directed By: Hirokazu Koreeda

Critics Consensus: Deftly directed and laced with dark wit, Can You Ever Forgive Me? proves a compelling showcase for deeply affecting work from Richard E. Grant and Melissa McCarthy.

Synopsis: Lee Israel is a frustrated, hard-drinking author who can barely afford to pay her rent or bills in 1990s New York. Desperate for money, Israel... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone

Directed By: Marielle Heller

Critics Consensus: Led by a breakout turn from Amandla Stenberg, the hard-hitting The Hate U Give emphatically proves the YA genre has room for much more than magic and romance.

Synopsis: Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds -- the poor, mostly black neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy, mostly white prep school that... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, K.J. Apa

Directed By: George Tillman Jr.

Critics Consensus: Free of visual or narrative embellishments, Gloria Bell rests almost completely on Julianne Moore's performance in the title role -- and she's gloriously up to the task.

Synopsis: A free-spirited divorcee spends her nights on the dance floor, joyfully letting loose at clubs around Los Angeles. She soon finds herself thrust into an... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Michael Cera, Brad Garrett

Directed By: Sebastián Lelio

Critics Consensus: Green Book takes audiences on an excessively smooth ride through bumpy subject matter, although Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen's performances add necessary depth.

Synopsis: Dr. Don Shirley is a world-class African-American pianist who's about to embark on a concert tour in the Deep South in 1962. In need of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini, Sebastian Maniscalco

Directed By: Peter Farrelly

Critics Consensus: Too Late to Die Young uses one family's experiences as the foundation for a dreamily absorbing drama with a poignant, lingering warmth.

Synopsis: During the summer of 1990 in Chile, three kids face their first loves and fears.

Starring: Demian Hernández, Antar Machado, Magdalena Tótoro, Matías Oviedo

Directed By: Dominga Sotomayor

Critics Consensus: Meeting Gorbachev plays to filmmaker Werner Herzog's endlessly inquisitive strengths -- and reveals the fascinating story of a pivotal political figure.

Synopsis: Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, sits down with filmmaker Werner Herzog to discuss his many achievements. Topics include the talks to reduce... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mikhail Gorbachev, Werner Herzog

Directed By: Werner Herzog, André Singer

Critics Consensus: Free Solo depicts athletic feats that many viewers will find beyond reason - and grounds the attempts in passions that are all but universal.

Synopsis: Alex Honnold completes the first free solo climb of famed El Capitan's 3,000-foot vertical rock face at Yosemite National Park.

Starring: Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, Sanni McCandless, Jimmy Chin

Directed By: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin

Critics Consensus: Monrovia, Indiana finds Frederick Wiseman observing the citizens of one small American town with his typically patient - and ultimately revealing - approach.

Synopsis: Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman documents the day-to-day experiences of living and working in the farming community of Monrovia, Ind.

Directed By: Frederick Wiseman

Critics Consensus: Whether you're a guitar lover, a student of New York City history, or simply interested in celebrating a deep commitment to craft, Carmine Street Guitars strikes a chord.

Synopsis: Five days in the life of Carmine Street Guitars.

Starring: Eszter Balint, Nels Cline, Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Friedberger

Directed By: Ron Mann

Critics Consensus: Dead Souls excavates a government's sins with personal accounts that preserve the past while illuminating the problems of the present.

Synopsis: In Gansu Province, northwest China, lie the remains of countless prisoners abandoned in the Gobi Desert sixty years ago. Designated as “ultra-rightists” in the Communist... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Bing Wang

Critics Consensus: Girl uses one aspiring dancer's story as the framework for a poignant drama that approaches its difficult themes with fittingly alluring grace.

Synopsis: Lara, a 15-year-old girl who was born in a boy's body, is committed to becoming a professional ballerina.

Starring: Victor Polster, Arieh Worthalter, Oliver Bodart, Katelijne Damen

Directed By: Lukas Dhont

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: An introverted teen tries to find his place in a world of violence after he is sent to his father's ranch.

Starring: Santiago Rozo, Fernando Arze, Julia Hernández, Valentina Villalpando

Directed By: Juan Pablo Richter

Critics Consensus: What They Had finds laughter and tears in its portrait of a family at a crossroads, with writer-director Elizabeth Chomko getting outstanding performances out of a talented cast.

Synopsis: After her ailing mother wanders off during a blizzard, Bridget returns to her childhood home in Chicago, accompanied by her rebellious daughter. Forced to referee... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Robert Forster, Blythe Danner

Directed By: Elizabeth Chomko

Critics Consensus: Anthropocene: The Human Epoch offers a sobering -- and visually ravishing - look at the horrific ecological damage wrought by modern human civilization.

Synopsis: Filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky travel the globe to document the impact humans have made on the planet.

Starring: Alicia Vikander

Directed By: Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, Edward Burtynsky

Critics Consensus: The Load (Teret) sifts through the wreckage of a horrific conflict to tell the story of a man faced with impossible choices -- and their consequences.

Synopsis: During the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, a truck driver is tasked with transporting a mysterious load from Kosovo to Belgrade.

Starring: Leon Lucev, Pavle Cemerikic, Tamara Krcunovic, Ivan Lucev

Directed By: Ognjen Glavonic

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Starring: Randal Douc

Directed By: Rithy Panh

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Two young women are desperate to escape their repressive small town, but a night of bad decisions threatens their dreams of freedom -- and their... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michaela Kurimsky, Karena Evans, Callum Thompson, David Kingston

Directed By: Jasmin Mozaffari

Critics Consensus: Skin could stand to go a bit deeper below its surface, but a worthy story and a committed performance from Jamie Bell make this timely drama well worth a watch.

Synopsis: A young man makes the dangerous choice to leave the white supremacist gang he joined as a teenager. With his former friends against him, he... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle Macdonald, Daniel Henshall, Bill Camp

Directed By: Guy Nattiv

Critics Consensus: Equal parts empathy and outrage, Rosie offers a heartbreaking glimpse of economic insecurity that will hit many viewers uncomfortably close to home.

Synopsis: A woman, her husband and their four children find themselves homeless after their landlord sells their house. Over the next 36 hours, the couple desperately... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sarah Greene, Moe Dunford, Ellie O'Halloran, Ruby Dunne

Directed By: Paddy Breathnach

Critics Consensus: Searching for Ingmar Bergman serves as an engaging introduction to its subject's life and work that should entertain Bergman novices as well as diehard fans.

Synopsis: An examination of Ingmar Bergman's life and influence on filmmaking.

Starring: Liv Ullmann, Ingmar Bergman, Ruben Östlund, Mia Hansen-Løve

Directed By: Margarethe von Trotta

Critics Consensus: Roma finds writer-director Alfonso Cuarón in complete, enthralling command of his visual craft - and telling the most powerfully personal story of his career.

Synopsis: Cleo is one of two domestic workers who help Antonio and Sofía take care of their four children in 1970s Mexico City. Complications soon arise... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Marco Graf, Fernando Grediaga

Directed By: Alfonso Cuarón

Critics Consensus: Widows rounds up a stellar ensemble for a heist thriller that mixes popcorn entertainment with a message - and marks another artistic leap for director Steve McQueen.

Synopsis: A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows -- Veronica, Linda, Alice and Belle -- have... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Viola Davis, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki

Directed By: Steve McQueen

Critics Consensus: Observational, insightful, and ultimately powerful, 3 Faces adds another quietly thought-provoking chapter to writer-director Jafar Panahi's filmography.

Synopsis: Actress Behnaz Jafari is distraught when she comes across a young girl's video plea for help after her family prevents her from taking up her... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Behnaz Jafari, Jafar Panahi, Marziyeh Rezaei, Maedeh Erteghaei

Directed By: Jafar Panahi

Critics Consensus: With appealing leads, deft direction, and an affecting love story, A Star Is Born is a remake done right -- and a reminder that some stories can be just as effective in the retelling.

Synopsis: Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discovers -- and falls in love with -- struggling artist Ally. She has just about given up on her dream to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay

Directed By: Bradley Cooper

Critics Consensus: Birds of Passage traces the familiar arc of the drug crime thriller from a different direction that's as visually absorbing as it is hard-hitting.

Synopsis: The origins of the Colombian drug trade, as seen through the eyes of an indigenous Wayuu family that becomes involved in the booming business of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Carmina Martínez, Natalia Reyes, José Acosta, Jhon Narváez

Directed By: Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra

Critics Consensus: High Life is as visually arresting as it is challenging, confounding, and ultimately rewarding - which is to say it's everything film fans expect from director Claire Denis.

Synopsis: Monte and his baby daughter are the last survivors of a damned and dangerous mission to the outer reaches of the solar system. They must... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André Benjamin, Mia Goth

Directed By: Claire Denis

Critics Consensus: Mid90s tells a clear-eyed yet nostalgic coming-of-age tale that might mark the start of an auspicious new career for debuting writer-director Jonah Hill.

Synopsis: In the 1990s Los Angeles, a 13-year-old spends his summer navigating between a troubled home life and a crew of new friends he meets at... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Na-kel Smith, Gio Galicia

Directed By: Jonah Hill

Critics Consensus: Stocked with solid performances, Freaks is a clever sci-fi/horror hybrid that suggests a bright future for co-writers/co-directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein.

Synopsis: Kept locked inside the house by her father, 7-year-old Chloe lives in fear and fascination of the outside world. It's a place where Abnormals are... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Bruce Dern, Lexy Kolker, Amanda Crew

Directed By: Adam B. Stein, Zach Lipovsky

Critics Consensus: Intriguing albeit flawed, Vox Lux probes the allures and pitfalls of modern celebrity with intelligence, visual style, and an assured Natalie Portman performance.

Synopsis: Celeste is a 13-year-old music prodigy who survives a horrific school shooting in Staten Island, N.Y., in 1999. Her talent shines through during the memorial... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Natalie Portman, Raffey Cassidy, Jude Law, Stacy Martin

Directed By: Brady Corbet

Critics Consensus: With a brilliantly stark visual aesthetic to match its lean narrative, Cold War doesn't waste a moment of its brief running time -- and doesn't skimp on its bittersweet emotional impact.

Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of the 1950s Cold War in Poland, two people of differing backgrounds and temperaments begin an almost impossible romance.

Starring: Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Agata Kulesza, Borys Szyc

Directed By: Paweł Pawlikowski

Critics Consensus: Burning patiently lures audiences into a slow-burning character study that ultimately rewards the viewer's patience -- and subverts many of their expectations.

Synopsis: Jong-soo runs into Hae-mi, a girl who once lived in his neighborhood, and she asks him to watch her cat while she's out of town.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jeon Jong-seo, Kim Soo-kyung

Directed By: Lee Chang-dong

Critics Consensus: Thrilling, unpredictable, and brilliantly acted, Border (Gräns) offers a singular treat to genre fans looking for something different.

Synopsis: Customs officer Tina is known for her extraordinary sense of smell. It's almost as if she can sniff out the guilt on anyone hiding something.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Viktor Åkerblom, Matti Boustedt

Directed By: Ali Abbasi

Critics Consensus: Fahrenheit 11/9 finds Michael Moore in fine fighting form, delivering a political call to action that ranks among his most effective works.

Synopsis: Filmmaker Michael Moore predicted that Donald Trump would become the 45th President of the United States. Traveling across the country, Moore interviews American citizens to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Moore, Brooke Baldwin, Ashleigh Banfield, Steve Bannon

Directed By: Michael Moore

Critics Consensus: Brutally powerful and brilliantly filmed, Donbass illustrates man's inhumanity with visceral effectiveness.

Synopsis: In the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine, mid-2010s: a hybrid war takes place, involving an open armed conflict alongside killings and robberies on a mass... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Valeriu Andriuță, Evgeny Chistyakov, Georgiy Deliev, Vadim Dubovsky

Directed By: Sergei Loznitsa

Critics Consensus: Formally familiar but a brilliant match for its lead, Colette is a thoroughly entertaining biopic and an overdue testament to Keira Knightley's underrated gifts.

Synopsis: After moving to Paris, author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette agrees to ghostwrite a semi-autobiographical novel for her husband. Its success soon inspires her to fight for creative... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Keira Knightley, Dominic West, Denise Gough, Fiona Shaw

Directed By: Wash Westmoreland

Critics Consensus: If Beale Street Could Talk honors its source material with a beautifully filmed adaptation that finds director Barry Jenkins further strengthening his visual and narrative craft.

Synopsis: In early 1970s Harlem, daughter and wife-to-be Tish vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected her and her artist fiancé Alonzo Hunt,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Colman Domingo

Directed By: Barry Jenkins

Critics Consensus: A well-told story brought to life by a beautifully matched cast, The Old Man & the Gun is pure, easygoing entertainment for film fans - and a fitting farewell to a legend.

Synopsis: At the age of 70, Forrest Tucker makes an audacious escape from San Quentin, conducting an unprecedented string of heists that confound authorities and enchant... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robert Redford, Casey Affleck, Sissy Spacek, Danny Glover

Directed By: David Lowery

Critics Consensus: Challenging and rewarding in equal measure, Climax captures writer-director Gaspar Noé working near his technically brilliant and visually distinctive peak.

Synopsis: When members of a dance troupe are lured to an empty school, drug-laced sangria causes their jubilant rehearsal to descend into a dark and explosive... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sofia Boutella, Romain Guillermic, Souheila Yacoub, Kiddy Smile

Directed By: Gaspar Noé

Critics Consensus: Well-acted and sharply written, Non-Fiction finds writer-director Olivier Assayas working in a comedic vein that channels classic forebears while remaining utterly fresh.

Synopsis: Alain is in his 40s and runs a famous publishing house which publishes novels by his friend Léonard, a bohemian writer. Alain's wife, Selena, is... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Guillaume Canet, Juliette Binoche, Vincent Macaigne, Christa Théret

Directed By: Olivier Assayas

Critics Consensus: Rafiki tells a familiar story with bracing originality, marking director/co-writer Wanuri Kahiu as a talent to watch.

Synopsis: Kena and Ziki live very different lives in Nairobi. Kena works in her father's shop and awaits the start of nursing school, while Ziki passes... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Samantha Mugatsia, Sheila Munyiva, Jimmi Gathu, Nini Wacera

Directed By: Wanuri Kahiu

Critics Consensus: Giant Little Ones puts a complex and refreshingly nuanced spin on the traditional coming of age drama, further elevated by the admirable efforts of a talented cast.

Synopsis: Franky Winter and Ballas Kohl have been best friends since childhood. They are high school royalty: handsome, stars of the swim team, and popular with... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Josh Wiggins, Darren Mann, Taylor Hickson, Maria Bello

Directed By: Keith Behrman

Critics Consensus: Transit lives up to its title with a challenging drama that captures characters - and puts the audience - in a state of flux and exerts an unsettling pull.

Synopsis: The new masterwork from the director of Phoenix and Barbara. A film by Christian Petzold.

Starring: Franz Rogowski, Paula Beer, Godehard Giese, Barbara Auer

Directed By: Christian Petzold

Critics Consensus: A remarkable debut that sadly serves as its creator's epitaph, An Elephant Sitting Still offers an uncompromisingly grim yet poignant portrait of life in modern China.

Synopsis: A teenager injures a school bully by accident.

Starring: Yu Zhang, Yuchang Peng, Uvin Wang, Zi Xi

Directed By: Hu Bo

Critics Consensus: Maria by Callas offers an intimate look at the life of a brilliantly talented artist whose absorbing story matches the operatic heights reached by her work.

Synopsis: Never-before-seen footage and performances offer insight into the life and career of renowned opera singer Maria Callas.

Starring: Fanny Ardant, Joyce DiDonato

Directed By: Tom Volf

Critics Consensus: The Wild Pear Tree uses a young man's post-graduation experience to pose thoughtful, engaging questions about life in modern Turkey -- and the rest of the world.

Synopsis: A father's debts thwart the efforts of a young, ambitious writer to be published.

Starring: Aydin Doğu Demirkol, Murat Cemcir, Bennu Yildirimlar, Hazar Ergüclü

Directed By: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Critics Consensus: Beautifully filmed and inventively choreographed, Shadow is a thrilling and visually sumptuous wuxia epic that finds director Zhang Yimou near peak form.

Synopsis: To finally achieve victory over a rival kingdom, a brilliant general devises an intricate plan involving his wife, a look-alike and two kings.

Starring: Chao Deng, Betty Sun, Ryan Zheng, Qianyuan Wang

Directed By: Yimou Zhang

Critics Consensus: Anchored in empathy by writer-director-star Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased proves the road to complex, powerfully performed drama can also be paved with good intentions.

Synopsis: Jared Eamons, the son of a small-town Baptist pastor, must overcome the fallout after being outed as gay to his parents. His father and mother... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Joel Edgerton, Russell Crowe

Directed By: Joel Edgerton

Critics Consensus: Hotel by the River finds writer-director Hong Sang-soo revisiting familiar themes from fresh perspectives -- and telling a story that potently distills his unique creative strengths.

Synopsis: Convinced he's on the verge of death, an aging poet invites his two bickering sons to an isolated hotel for a final goodbye.

Starring: Ki Joo-bong, Kim Min-hee, Song Seon-mi, Kwon Hae-hyo

Directed By: Hong Sang-soo

Critics Consensus: First Man uses a personal focus to fuel a look back at a pivotal moment in human history - and takes audiences on a soaring dramatic journey along the way.

Synopsis: Hoping to reach the moon by the end of the decade, NASA plans a series of extremely dangerous, unprecedented missions in the early 1960s. Engineer... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler

Directed By: Damien Chazelle

Critics Consensus: Elevated by a bravura performance from Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Kindergarten Teacher is one American remake that retains its impact the second time around.

Synopsis: A teacher sees such great promise in her 5-year-old student that she goes to unreasonable lengths to protect his talent.

Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gael García Bernal, Michael Chernus, Anna Baryshnikov

Directed By: Sara Colangelo

Critics Consensus: Refreshingly understated, Ben Is Back subverts family drama stereotypes - and provides a forum for terrific performances from Lucas Hedges and Julia Roberts.

Synopsis: Nineteen-year-old Ben Burns unexpectedly returns to his family's suburban home on Christmas Eve. Ben's mom, Holly, is relieved and welcoming but wary of her son's... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges, Courtney B. Vance, Kathryn Newton

Directed By: Peter Hedges

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Starring: Lali, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Daniel Fanego

Directed By: Gonzalo Tobal

Critics Consensus: As unsettling as it is entertaining, El ángel takes an absorbingly stylish look at the horrific exploits of a real-life serial killer.

Synopsis: A teenager embarks on a murderous crime spree with a friend he hopes to impress.

Starring: Lorenzo Ferro, Chino Darín, Mercedes Morán, Daniel Fanego

Directed By: Luis Ortega

Critics Consensus: The Sisters Brothers rides familiar genre trails in occasionally unexpected ways - a satisfying journey further elevated by its well-matched leading men.

Synopsis: It's 1851, and Charlie and Eli Sisters are both brothers and assassins, boys grown to men in a savage and hostile world. The Sisters brothers... View Full Synopsis

Starring: John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed

Directed By: Jacques Audiard

Critics Consensus: Mouthpiece interrogates gender norms with wit and ingenuity, portraying its main character's inner conflict through a pair of separate performances.

Synopsis: Following her mother's sudden death, an aspiring writer grapples with reconciling her feminism with her conformist choices.

Starring: Amy Nostbakken, Norah Sadava, Taylor Belle Puterman, Sarah Camacho

Directed By: Patricia Rozema

Critics Consensus: Held together by a gripping lead performance from Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell is challenging and admittedly uneven, but ultimately worth the effort.

Synopsis: Becky Something is a talented but self-destructive musician who seems determined to alienate everyone around her -- even at the cost of her own band's... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Agyness Deyn, Cara Delevingne, Dan Stevens

Directed By: Alex Ross Perry

Critics Consensus: Destroyer's grueling narrative is as uncompromising as Nicole Kidman's central performance, which adds extra layers to a challenging film that leaves a lingering impact.

Synopsis: As a young cop, Erin Bell went undercover to infiltrate a gang in the California desert -- with tragic results. Bell continues to work as... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Sebastian Stan

Directed By: Karyn Kusama

Critics Consensus: With typically sharp work from writer-director Nicole Holofcener and finely layered performances, The Land of Steady Habits is one mid-life crisis worth watching.

Synopsis: Feeling trapped in the stifling, wealthy enclave of Westport, Conn., a man retires from his job in finance and leaves his wife in the hopes... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ben Mendelsohn, Edie Falco, Thomas Mann, Charlie Tahan

Directed By: Nicole Holofcener

Critics Consensus: Compelling performances from an outstanding cast help Driven take audiences on an enjoyably stranger-than-fiction joyride.

Synopsis: FBI informant Jim Hoffman lures troubled automobile magnate John DeLorean to an undercover sting for cocaine trafficking.

Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Lee Pace, Judy Greer, Corey Stoll

Directed By: Nick Hamm

Critics Consensus: Treating its timely themes with a deceptively light touch, Woman at War is easy to enjoy in the moment, yet its impact lingers long after the closing credits roll.

Synopsis: Halla is a 50-year-old environmental activist who crusades against the local aluminum industry in Iceland. As her actions grow bolder, her life changes in the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Jóhann Sigurðarson, Jörundur Ragnarsson, Juan Camillo Roman Estrada

Directed By: Benedikt Erlingsson

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Filmmaker Vitaliy Manskiy examines the early life of Vladimir Putin and the political machine that brought him to power.

Starring: Vitaliy Manskiy, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin

Directed By: Vitaliy Manskiy

Critics Consensus: Never Look Away fills its protracted running time with the absorbing story of an incredible life -- and its impact on the singular artist who lived it.

Synopsis: When two German art students fall in love, the girl's father, who has a devastating secret, vows to end their relationship.

Starring: Tom Schilling, Sebastian Koch, Paula Beer, Saskia Rosendahl

Directed By: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Critics Consensus: Halloween largely wipes the slate clean after decades of disappointing sequels, ignoring increasingly elaborate mythology in favor of basic - yet still effective - ingredients.

Synopsis: It's been 40 years since Laurie Strode survived a vicious attack from crazed killer Michael Myers on Halloween night. Locked up in an institution, Myers... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton

Directed By: David Gordon Green

Critics Consensus: Well-acted and visually stylish, Monsters and Men tells its timely story with enough compassion and complexity to make up for occasionally uneven execution.

Synopsis: Tensions rise when a young man records a police officer shooting a black motorist in a Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood.

Starring: John David Washington, Anthony Ramos, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chanté Adams

Directed By: Reinaldo Marcus Green

Critics Consensus: 22 July offers a hard-hitting close-up look at the aftereffects of terrorism, telling a story with a thriller's visceral impact and the lingering emotional resonance of a drama.

Synopsis: Norway's deadliest terrorist attack, in which a right-wing extremist murders 77 teens at a youth camp in 2011, is dramatized.

Starring: Anders Danielsen Lie, Jonas Strand Gravli, Jon Øigarden, Ola G. Furuseth

Directed By: Paul Greengrass

Critics Consensus: Smart, stylish, and unpredictable, Ever After puts a refreshing spin on post-apocalyptic zombie horror.

Synopsis: Two years after a zombie outbreak leaves the country in ruins, two women flee their struggling community to find a safe haven.

Starring: Swantje Kohlhof, Maja Lehrer, Barbara Philipp, Yûho Yamashita

Directed By: Carolina Hellsgård

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A poet and a monk join forces to investigate the mysterious death of a concubine.

Starring: Xuan Huang, Shôta Sometani, Yuqi Zhang, Hao Qin

Directed By: Chen Kaige

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Frustrated by his struggles as a mystery writer, Jeff Andrews (Chester Morris) visits publisher Henry Small (William Forrest). Interrupting Small's meeting with another writer, Jeff... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Chester Morris, Constance Dowling, Steven Geray, Sid Tomack

Directed By: Robert Gordon

Critics Consensus: Working Woman delivers its timely message with a polemical force that hits hard without overpowering the engrossing story.

Synopsis: With her husband's restaurant business in jeopardy, a mother of three gets a job as assistant to a powerful realtor and must fight back against... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Liron Ben-Shlush, Menashe Noy, Oshri Cohen, Sarah Markowitz

Directed By: Michal Aviad

Critics Consensus: Diamantino casts a singularly surreal eye on an ambitious array of subjects, emerging with a cinematic experience as inscrutable as it is unforgettable.

Synopsis: When Portuguese soccer hunk Diamantino blows it in the World Cup finals, he goes from superstar to laughingstock overnight. His sheltered worldview gets further shattered... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Carloto Cotta, Cleo Tavares, Anabela Moreira, Margarida Moreira

Directed By: Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Filmmaker Maxim Pozdorovkin explores the many ways in which artificial intelligence is taking over people's lives and making them increasingly obsolete.

Starring: Leon Gonzalez, Hiroshi Ishiguro

Directed By: Maxim Pozdorovkin

Critics Consensus: Beautiful Boy sees Timothée Chalamet and Steve Carell delivering showcase work that's often powerful enough to make up for the story's muted emotional impact.

Synopsis: Teenager Nicolas Sheff seems to have it all -- good grades, editor of the school newspaper, actor, artist and athlete. When Nic's addiction to meth... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney, Amy Ryan

Directed By: Felix van Groeningen

Critics Consensus: Imperfect yet intriguing, The Wind offers horror fans an admirably ambitious story further distinguished by its fresh perspective and effective scares.

Synopsis: Lizzy is a tough, resourceful frontierswoman settling a remote stretch of land on the 19th-century American frontier. Isolated from civilization in a desolate wilderness where... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Caitlin Gerard, Julia Goldani Telles, Ashley Zukerman, Miles Anderson

Directed By: Emma Tammi

Critics Consensus: Potentially insurmountable for viewers not attuned to the director's wavelength, The Image Book is typically confounding - and ultimately rewarding - late-period Godard.

Synopsis: Jean-Luc Godard provides social commentary during a montage of digitally altered, color-saturated film clips.

Starring: Jean-Luc Godard

Directed By: Jean-Luc Godard

Critics Consensus: Quincy presents an undeniably entertaining overview of its subject's remarkable life and career, albeit one that may leave some viewers wishing it had dug a little deeper.

Synopsis: An intimate look at the life of Quincy Jones, a music industry giant and winner of 27 Grammys.

Starring: Quincy Jones, Rashida Jones, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, Clarence Avant

Directed By: Rashida Jones, Alan Hicks

Critics Consensus: What You Gonna Do When the World's On Fire? traces the aftershocks of race-motivated violence in thoughtful, impressionistic fashion.

Synopsis: During the summer of 2017, a string of brutal killings of black men in the United States sent shock waves throughout the country.

Starring: Dorothy Hill

Directed By: Roberto Minervini

Critics Consensus: Dogman offers a grim character study set apart by Marcello Fonte's performance and director Matteo Garrone's tight grip on the material.

Synopsis: Marcello is a mild-mannered dog groomer who commits petty crimes for Simoncino, a former boxer who terrorizes the neighborhood. When Simoncino's abuse brings Marcello to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Marcello Fonte, Edoardo Pesce, Alida Baldari Calabria, Nunzia Schiano

Directed By: Matteo Garrone

Critics Consensus: Its depiction of real-life horror will strike some as exploitative, but Hotel Mumbai remains a well-made dramatization of tragic events.

Synopsis: November 26, 2008 ... terror struck the heart of India. From the producer of Sicario and Wind River.

Starring: Armie Hammer, Dev Patel, Nazanin Boniadi, Tilda Cobham-Hervey

Directed By: Anthony Maras

Critics Consensus: While it may leave some viewers wishing for a more in-depth exploration of its story and themes, J.T. Leroy offers a diverting dramatization of incredible real-life events.

Synopsis: A young woman named Savannah Knoop spends six years pretending to be the celebrated author JT LeRoy, the made-up literary persona of her sister-in-law.

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern, Jim Sturgess, Diane Kruger

Directed By: Justin Kelly

Critics Consensus: American Dharma offers a fascinating glimpse of a political influencer's public persona - and a frustrating missed opportunity to interrogate his actions and stated beliefs.

Synopsis: A portrait of political strategist Stephen K. Bannon.

Starring: Steve Bannon, Errol Morris

Directed By: Errol Morris

Critics Consensus: Teen Spirit tells a story we know by heart, but writer-director Max Minghella's connection to the material and Elle Fanning's remarkable performance add an effective hook.

Synopsis: A shy teenager dreams of escaping her small town and pursuing her passion to sing. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Elle Fanning, Zlatko Buric, Rebecca Hall, Agnieszka Grochowska

Directed By: Max Minghella

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A man working as a war reporter is taken hostage in Syria before heading to India after his captivity.

Starring: Suzan Anbeh, Roman Kolinka, Judith Chemla, Alex Descas

Directed By: Mia Hansen-Løve

Critics Consensus: Hold the Dark's unsettling aesthetic offers more of what filmgoers expect from director Jeremy Saulnier - and is often enough to prop up shaky narrative underpinnings.

Synopsis: Summoned to a remote Alaskan village to search for the wolves that killed three children, a wolf expert soon finds himself unraveling a harrowing mystery.

Starring: Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Skarsgård, James Badge Dale, Riley Keough

Directed By: Jeremy Saulnier

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A free-spirited woman is torn between two very different men.

Starring: Taapsee Pannu, Abhishek Bachchan, Vicky Kaushal, Jasmin Bajwa

Directed By: Anurag Kashyap

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Directed By: Janus Metz

Critics Consensus: Capernaum hits hard, but rewards viewers with a smart, compassionate, and ultimately stirring picture of lives in the balance.

Synopsis: After fleeing his negligent and abusive parents, a hardened, streetwise 12-year-old boy sues them to protest the life they've given him.

Starring: Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Kawthar Al Haddad, Fadi Yousef

Directed By: Nadine Labaki

Critics Consensus: Jirga movingly depicts the weight of a soldier's grief -- and the human capacity for change and forgiveness in the wake of awful tragedy.

Synopsis: A former Australian soldier finds the family of a civilian he accidentally killed during the war, and he returns to Afghanistan to face his demons.

Starring: Sam Smith, Muhammad Shah Majroh, Amir Shah Talash, Basheer Safi

Directed By: Benjamin Gilmour

Critics Consensus: The Good Girls uses its period setting and specific character canvas to explore the widely relatable struggle for perceived social status.

Starring: Ilse Salas, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Paulina Gaitán, Flavio Medina

Directed By: Alejandra Márquez Abella

Critics Consensus: The Command plumbs the depths of real-life disaster to tell an uneven yet reasonably diverting story of lives caught between bureaucracy and certain doom.

Synopsis: On Aug. 12, 2000, explosions aboard the Russian submarine Kursk cause it to sink during a naval exercise in the Barents Sea, leaving 23 survivors... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Matthias Schoenaerts, Léa Seydoux, Colin Firth, Peter Simonischek

Directed By: Thomas Vinterberg

Critics Consensus: Black '47 anchors its grim and gritty action in deceptively deep genre storytelling, although its epic ambitions arguably exceed its grasp.

Synopsis: In 1847 an Irish mercenary fighting for the British army abandons his post to seek revenge on those responsible for the death of his family.

Starring: Hugo Weaving, James Frecheville, Stephen Rea, Freddie Fox

Directed By: Lance Daly

Critics Consensus: Smart and well-acted, The Hummingbird Project marks a flawed yet undeniably intriguing addition to writer-director Kim Nguyen's filmography.

Synopsis: Cousins Vincent and Anton are players in the high-stakes game of high-frequency trading, where winning is measured in milliseconds. Their dream is to build a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Alexander Skarsgård, Salma Hayek, Michael Mando

Directed By: Kim Nguyen

Critics Consensus: Asako I & II's high-concept premise is anchored by thought-provoking themes and confident, compelling work from director Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

Synopsis: Asako meets and falls madly in love with drifter Baku who one day drifts right out of her life. Two years later, working in Tokyo,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Masahiro Higashide, Erika Karata, Kôji Seto, Rio Yamashita

Directed By: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Critics Consensus: Peterloo proves writer-director Mike Leigh's populist anger remains undimmed - but that righteous fury occasionally overpowers the narrative.

Synopsis: In 1819 a cavalry charge on a peaceful protest at St. Peter's Field in Manchester, England, results in the Peterloo Massacre.

Starring: Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Neil Bell, Philip Jackson

Directed By: Mike Leigh

Critics Consensus: The Front Runner exhumes the wreckage of a political campaign with well-acted wit, even if it neglects to truly analyze the issues it raises.

Synopsis: Gary Hart, former senator of Colorado, becomes the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1987. Hart's intelligence, charisma and idealism makes him popular with... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J.K. Simmons, Alfred Molina

Directed By: Jason Reitman

Critics Consensus: Solid work from the cast - particularly a scene-stealing Matthew McConaughey - helps White Boy Rick make up for a number of missed opportunities in the script.

Synopsis: Rick Wershe is a single father who's struggling to raise two teenagers during the height of the crack epidemic in the 1980s Detroit. Wershe sells... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Richie Merritt, Bel Powley, Jennifer Jason Leigh

Directed By: Yann Demange

Critics Consensus: Assassination Nation juggles exploitation and socially aware elements with mixed results, but genre fans may find it too stylish and viscerally energetic to ignore.

Synopsis: High school senior Lily and her three best friends live in a haze of texts, posts, selfies and chats -- just like the rest of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Hari Nef, Abra

Directed By: Sam Levinson

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Rejected by her fellow villagers, a mute woman relentlessly hunts down a wolf that is said to be prowling in the neighboring forest, sparking off... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Damla Sönmez, Erkan Kolcak Kostendil, Emin Gursoy, Elit Iscan

Directed By: Guillaume Giovanetti, Cagla Zencirci

Critics Consensus: An ambitious blend of comedy, thriller, and social commentary, The Fall of the American Empire lightens its heavy message with refreshing intelligence and wit.

Synopsis: A man arrives on the scene of a robbery and finds two bags full of money.

Starring: Alexandre Landry, Maripier Morin, Rémy Girard, Vincent Leclerc

Directed By: Denys Arcand

Critics Consensus: Everybody Knows is somewhat less than the sum of its parts despite the efforts of an outstanding cast - and a disappointing step back for writer-director Asghar Farhadi.

Synopsis: Laura and her two children travel from Argentina to Spain to attend her sister's wedding. The joyful reunion soon turns tragic when her older daughter... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Ricardo Darín, Eduard Fernández

Directed By: Asghar Farhadi

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: In the 1940s, Indo-Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto's artistic choices are challenged by censors.

Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rasika Dugal, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Javed Akhtar

Directed By: Nandita Das

Critics Consensus: Where Hands Touch is noteworthy for its exploration of a little-discussed corner of World War II, even if its story leaves something to be desired in the telling.

Synopsis: In 1944, a 15-year-old girl, daughter of a white German mother and a black African father, meets a member of the Hitler Youth. They become... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Amandla Stenberg, George MacKay, Abbie Cornish, Christopher Eccleston

Directed By: Amma Asante

Critics Consensus: Donnybrook has a solid cast and noble intentions, but they're overwhelmed by surface storytelling and unrelentingly grim violence.

Synopsis: A former U.S. Marine trains to compete in a vicious bare-knuckle fight where the winner gets a $100,000 prize.

Starring: Jamie Bell, Frank Grillo, Margaret Qualley, James Badge Dale

Directed By: Tim Sutton

Critics Consensus: Dazzling, but a little dull, ANIARA's impeccable production design is undermined by its underwhelming philosophical pondering.

Synopsis: When a spacecraft carrying settlers to Mars strays off course, the consumption-obsessed passengers are prompted to consider their place in the universe.

Starring: Emelie Garbers, Arvin Kananian, Bianca Cruzeiro, Anneli Martini

Directed By: Pella Kagerman, Hugo Lilja

Critics Consensus: Touch Me Not deserves admiration for its efforts to debunk stereotypes and further a necessary dialogue, even if the execution never lives up to those lofty ambitions.

Synopsis: A filmmaker and her characters begin a personal research project about intimacy.

Starring: Laura Benson, Tómas Lemarquis, Irmena Chichikova, Seani Love

Directed By: Adina Pintilie

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Two exceptionally close sisters discover secrets about each other after their father becomes ill.

Starring: Martina Gusmán, Bérénice Bejo, Edgar Ramírez, Joaquín Furriel

Directed By: Pablo Trapero

Critics Consensus: Muddy and bloody to a fault, Outlaw King doesn't skimp on the medieval battle scenes, but tends to lose track of the fact-based legend at the heart of its story.

Synopsis: After being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce is forced into exile by the English and leads a band of outlaws to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh, Billy Howle

Directed By: David Mackenzie

Critics Consensus: The Predator has violence and quips to spare, but its chaotically hollow action adds up to another missed opportunity for a franchise increasingly defined by disappointment.

Synopsis: From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. The universe's most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key

Directed By: Shane Black

Critics Consensus: While solidly cast and competently helmed, A Million Little Pieces amounts to little more than a well-intentioned but unpersuasive echo of a deeply problematic memoir.

Synopsis: A young writer checks into a Minnesota rehabilitation center for drug addiction.

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Charlie Hunnam, Billy Bob Thornton, David Dastmalchian

Directed By: Sam Taylor-Johnson

Critics Consensus: A fascinating real-life story dramatized in perplexingly dull fashion, Red Joan wastes its tale's incredible intrigue -- as well as the formidable talents of Judi Dench.

Synopsis: Joan Stanley is a widow living out a quiet retirement in the suburbs when, shockingly, the British Secret Service places her under arrest. The charge:... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tom Hughes, Tereza Srbova

Directed By: Trevor Nunn

Critics Consensus: Girls of the Sun has the best of intentions, but this worthy - and thoroughly timely - story is fatally undermined by its clumsily overbearing execution.

Synopsis: Bahar is the leader of the Girls of the Sun, a battalion of women in Kurdistan who are fighting against extremists who have conquered their... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Golshifteh Farahani, Emmanuelle Bercot, Zübeyde Bulut, Maia Shamoevi

Directed By: Eva Husson

Critics Consensus: A mawkish melodrama that means less the more it tries to say, Life Itself suggests writer-director Dan Fogelman's talents are best suited to television.

Synopsis: College sweethearts Will and Abby fall in love, get married and prepare to bring their first child into the world. As their story unfolds in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening

Directed By: Dan Fogelman

Critics Consensus: Nekrotonic has plenty of oddball energy, but this horror-comedy hybrid mashes up ingredients without much of a clear idea of what to do with them.

Synopsis: A man discovers he is a part of a secret sect of magical demon hunters called the Necromancers.

Starring: Ben O'Toole, Monica Bellucci, Dave Beamish, Mike Duncan

Directed By: Kiah Roache-Turner

Critics Consensus: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan finds writer-director Xavier Dolan flailing at profundity with a technically assured drama that never makes sense of its own ideas.

Synopsis: A young actor reminisces about a dead American TV star and the correspondence they shared.

Starring: Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Jacob Tremblay, Susan Sarandon

Directed By: Xavier Dolan