15 Most Underrated Movies Of The Decade (So Far)

3. The Road

If you're being picky, The Road technically came out at the very end of the '00s, but as it didn't find its way into most cinemas until 2010 (and is in dire need of more praise) it makes the cut.

Cormac McCarthy doesn't really set himself up for big screen adaptations. Like with Gatsby, there's something about his work that feels tied to the form of literature. His novels just aren't structured with narrative at the forefront, instead investing in elaborate prose that paints an all round mesh of character, tone and story. Heck, it took the freaking Coen Brothers to adapt his pitch-black No Country For Old Men, and even then they had to tone some of it back to fit their own out-there style.

By far his most directionless book is The Road, a haunting look at the apocalypse through the eyes of a man and his boy (to up the brutality no names are given) and presented as a run of chapter-less vignettes. It was immediately classified as unfilmable upon release, making John Hilcoat's adaptation (made only three years after first publication) immediately impressive.

But far from just the "valiant attempt" many dismiss The Road as, it actually sits as a worthy take on the material; something nobody really expected. It doesn't come together as quite a soul-breaking experience as the novel (what could?), but there's a commitment to the overbearingly bleak tone, ingrained in the film from the dour performance Viggo Mortensen gives to the wide, permanently cloudy landscapes, that leaves you in a similar emotional place come the end.