Deborah Ross’s top five films of 2014

1. Mr Turner

Mike Leigh’s infinitely superior biopic starring a sublime, if grunty, Timothy Spall.

2. 12 Years A Slave

Harrowing – you’ll be harrowed to within an inch of your life – but it’s unflinching look at American slavery will stay powerfully with you unlike, for example, Django Unchained or The Butler

3. Boyhood

Richard Linklater’s epic, heart-warming observational chronicle explores  the banality of everyday life without ever being boring; a rare achievement in cinema.