12 Awesome 2014 Movies That Deserve Best Picture (But Won't Get Nominated)

5. Two Days, One Night

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96% (8.5 average) Why It Deserves Best Picture: The Dardenne brothers' latest social drama is a tremendously affecting film, following a depressed mother, Sandra (Marion Cotillard), as she fights to keep her job after her employers offer her colleagues a choice: keep her in the job or receive a sizable cash bonus each. Playing out not unlike Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men, the film consists of little more than Sandra visiting her colleagues and attempting to convince them to vote for her to keep her job, but the deep, aching humanism pouring out of every frame makes it a film incredibly difficult to look away from. Cotillard is revelatory in the central role, delivering possibly a career-best performance that deserves an Oscar nomination for sure (if not the win outright), giving one of the most nuanced and convincing depictions of anxiety and depression in long memory. Affecting without ever going overboard with cheap sentiment, Two Days, One Night is a riveting, life-affirming drama. Why It Won't Get Nominated: Despite a tidal wave of critical acclaim, it's just too minimalist and stereotypically art-house (with its long takes and handheld camerawork) to be of much interest to Oscar voters. It is Belgium's selection for Best Foreign Language Film, though has yet to really pick up the traction it needs campaign-wise to secure a nomination over other, more high-profile films. It's a shame, because given that most voters probably just elected not to watch it, they're cheating themselves out of an instant classic.