The Industry's Most Respected Critics Show Love to A Monster Calls, Nocturnal Animals and Loving.
Kenneth Turan, The Los Angeles Times
Turan places two Jeff Nichols films from 2016 in the 3rd slot on his list - Loving and Midnight Special - and in doing so align the writer/director with an industry icon.
"These very different, equally persuasive films — the first a based-on-fact story made with quiet strength, the other a gripping science-fiction drama — point up the arrival of writer-director Jeff Nichols as a filmmaker with the kind of gifts and range that call Steven Spielberg to mind."
Loving, Jackie and Hail, Caeser! make Kenneth Turan's to 10 films of 2016
Joe Morganstern, The Wall Street Journal
Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Joe Morganstern includes Loving in offering his thoughts on "The Best Films of 2016: From All Over Cinema's Map".
"Radical approaches to filmmaking come in many guises. The startling thing about this film, based on a landmark civil-rights case, is its calmness."
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Coloring outside the lines, in the interest of lauding the year that was in film, Rolling Stone's Peter Travers IDs Loving at #8 on his list of the "20 Best Movies of 2016".
"The young Arkansas director Jeff Nichols may join the ranks of Eastwood and Scorsese if he continues to craft films as stirring as this one."
Travers' colleague David Fear furthers the Loving-fest in singling out Ruth Negga's turn as Mildred Loving on his list of the "25 Best Movie Performances of 2016".
"Lots of ink has been spilled already about her silent-movie-star looks, but watch how she uses that face to convey so many emotions butting into each other and then rapidly receding away. It's like an acting clinic."
Stephanie Zacharek, Time
Loving is slotted at #3, just behind Paterson and Moonlight, on Stephanie Zacharek's "The Top 10 Best Movies" for Time.
"Nichols’ beautifully restrained approach makes the Lovings’ story feel immediate and vital. It’s also a reminder that change often happens in the margins."
The Guardian
The editorial staff of The Guardian places Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals at #13 and Jeff Nichols' Loving at #14 on their list "The 50 best films of 2016 in the US".
Newsweek
Newsweek places Nocturnal Animals in the #16 slot for their list "The 21 Best Movies of 2016".
"Designer-turned-director Tom Ford’s first feature since 2009’s A Single Man is a stylish psychodrama guaranteed to rattle the nerves of most viewers, or at least inspire some stress eating."
Bob Strauss, The Orange County Register
A Monster Calls finds itself at #7 on Bob Strauss' collection for the Orange County Register.
"Who says kids movies can’t be intellectually and structurally complex? Not J.A. Bayona, who was also able to give this tale about a storytelling tree great visual flair, mythic dimension and the most powerful emotional wallop of any film this year."
"Here are the top 10 movies of 2016 - plus a few extra surprises"