10 Best British Films Of The Last Decade

2. 12 Years A Slave

Honestly, any of Steve McQueen's (Hunger, Shame) three movies, all of which were released this decade, could've made this list, but his 2013 Best Picture-winning masterpiece is undeniably the summation of everything he's made up to this point.

Though it might seem a tad icky to discuss which film is the "definitive" document of American slavery, there's not a single other movie that captures the sheer horror of the subject matter in as uncompromising fashion as 12 Years a Slave

From McQueen's fearless direction to sublime performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o, Michael Fassbender and Paul Dano in particular, this is a peerless period film that's extremely unpleasant to watch, but anything else would be patently dishonest.

Just make sure you've got an evening cleared to digest it, because you probably won't want to do much afterwards (except maybe pour yourself a tall drink).