4. Jacques Audiard
Some filmmakers bring an inherent toughness to their films. Its not necessarily the presence of violence (although that often follows), but more of a texture in the film, like the hands of a carpenter that have been made rougher and rougher over the years. Audiard is one such filmmaker. All of his films, even the love stories (Rust and Bone) carry a certain grit and hardness to them, and theyre all the better for it. Audiard has been on a roll with his last three films, 2005s The Beat That My Heart Skipped, 2009s A Prophet (winner of the Cannes Grand Jury Prize), and last years Rust and Bone. What sticks out about his work is how easily he can switch between genres; A Prophet is a layered, multi-year crime epic set in a French prison, while Rust and Bone is a more intimate, character drive piece detailing the romance between two fractured lives. Audiards ability to handle such different stories with great skill, while still retaining his personal touch, is the mark of a great filmmaker. Start with: A Prophet. Exciting, epic, and completely involving; one of (if not the) best crime movies of the last decade.