The cinephile side of Pattinson: The Brit was steeped in French cinema and beyond before he started acting.

With the release of "The Lost City of Z" and "Good Time," 2017 may well be remembered as the year Robert Pattinson officially became a critics' darling.

Some might claim the shift began in 2012, when the British actor, still best known for setting hearts aflutter in the "Twilight" movies, drew raves for his change-of-pace performance in David Cronenberg's art-house chiller "Cosmopolis." Since then Pattinson has reteamed with Cronenberg on "Maps to the Stars," done further career-redefining work in David Michod's dystopian thriller "The Rover," and earned plaudits for his appearances in films including Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" and Anton Corbijn's "Life."

But his versatility has never been