20 Essential Movie Performances That Will Define 2017

7. Armie Hammer - Oliver (Call Me By Your Name)

The Role: A 24-year-old academic who comes to live with the parents of 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) in Italy in the 1980s. Before long, an all-consuming relationship develops between the two young men.

Why It'll Define 2017: Early reviews out of Sundance have suggested that Armie Hammer could earn a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his searing work in Luca Guadagnino's (I Am Love, A Bigger Splash) understated coming-of-age drama.

It'd be quite a victory for Hammer, who after winning fans with his sublime work as the Winklevoss twins in 2010's The Social Network, fell off a cliff somewhat with a string of turns in flop movies such as J. Edgar, The Lone Ranger and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (though he was actually fine in all of them).

Few could've seen Hammer being an Oscar contender this time last year, but the early word is that he might be in the midst of a legendary career turnaround. What a sight that would be.