20 Best & Worst Movies From 2017 Oscar Nominees
6. Mahershala Ali
Best: Moonlight (2016)
Though he isn't in the film a great deal, Ali offers a performance of astonishing depth: you'd expect a feared drug dealer would a one dimensional exercise in cliche-writing, but his take on Juan is warm, infectious and genuinely loving. And the way he accepts his surrogate son's devastating questions about his homosexuality are the crowning glory.
He's also exceptional in Netflix's Luke Cage, but it's still too soon to forgive that show for killing him off.
Worst: Free State of Jones (2016)
Ali should be pretty happy that his "worst" performance is nowhere near the levels of other figures in the Oscar running, but there's no denying that his turn in the iffy Free State Of Jones is a step down from the high bench mark he's set elsewhere.