13 Awesome 2015 Movies That Deserve Best Picture (But Won't Get Nominated)

10. Beasts Of No Nation

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90% (7.8/10) Why It Deserves Best Picture: Cary Fukunaga (True Detective) delivers one of the most uncompromising dramas of the year with this savage war film that's got much more going for it than merely being "that Idris Elba film that's on Netflix". Based on Uzodinma Iweala€™s 2005 novel, Beasts hurls the viewer into a non-descript African country and focuses on the ultimate human toll of war, the loss of a child's innocence, as exemplified so superbly by amateur actor Abraham Attah, who gives an Oscar-worthy turn in the lead role. Elba isn't far behind either, giving a career-best performance as a terrifying, charismatic phantom of a warlord. It doesn't hurt that Fukunaga, who also lensed the film himself, has made beautiful visual poetry out of the dire scenario, refusing to turn away from the grim violence or merely use it to exploit. It's not a date movie and you won't feel good after watching it, but it's easily the most potent and discomforting war movie in recent memory. Why It Won't Get Nominated: The Netflix distribution model will be enough to deter some, who may dismiss the film as a "TV movie" rather than evoking the epic sweep of a prestige pic, and the thoroughly unpleasant nature of such material has turned voters off in the past. Hopefully distributors Bleecker Street will do a mass screener mail-out and give voters no excuse not to watch it, but it'll probably still miss out.