Every Best Picture Oscar Movie Winner Of 21st Century Ranked Worst To Best

16. The Artist (2011)

What should have won: The Tree of Life.

The Artist is a sweet little film about movie magic and changing times. A nostalgic, romantic romp through the days of silent cinema, its story is told through the eyes of George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), who’s a successful actor struggling to transition his career to the "talkies" sweeping through Hollywood.

Shot in lush black-and-white and deploying every tool in its arsenal - large set pieces, big musical numbers, old-fashioned romanticism, and predictable but sincere interpersonal drama - to capture the wonder and artistic joy of cinema's early days, The Artist is self-congratulatory fluff that nonetheless works well to remind you why you fell in love with movies in the first place. 

The Artist's Oscar win is a clear example of the Academy patting itself on the back, but who can blame them? It's sappy, simple, but utterly harmless, and it's surely bound to stir the imagination of even the most cynical viewer, even if it never should have defeated Terrence Malick's majestic The Tree of Life.