3. Crash
In 2004, Paul Haggis won an Oscar for his over-blown, horribly insistent drama centred on social and racial tensions in Los Angeles and interweaving a maze of different storylines. It wasn't exactly the easiest film to watch, especially thanks to the overly sentimental imagery that glosses over some serious historical issues. David Cronenberg's film on the other hand takes an altogether more disturbing approach to its central drama, focusing on the rarely expressed fetish of car crashes, and the odd-ball community of deviants who get sexual kicks out of such crashes. Both films were critically lauded from some quarters, though the latter is generally less favourably considered now, despite the fact that it has transcended into a cult gem, and though the sexual element is difficult to watch, it is a far greater film than Haggis'.
Handy Watching Tip If it's all getting a little sexy, instead of a little bit Oscar-baity, you're watching the Cronenberg raunch-fest.