Oscars: Every Best Picture Nominee Of The 2010s - Ranked Worst To Best
66. Hacksaw Ridge
The acceptance of Mel Gibson back into Hollywood's elite made this one of the decade's more controversial Best Picture nominees. While Gibson's actions shouldn't be so swiftly forgiven or forgotten, if you set them aside for a moment, what you find is a very well-crafted war movie.
Andrew Garfield gives a moving, career-best performance as Desmond Doss, a Christian pacifist who still wants to serve. It falls down on a story level by the ending being a little rushed, and the setup to the action could be stronger. But once it does get to the battlefield, it puts you right in the thick of the action, fully depicting the horrors of war and bludgeoning your sense while doing so.
JH
65. Bohemian Rhapsody
Any criticism of Bohemian Rhapsody now feels like a minefield. Are we supposed to put aside the controversies of Bryan Singer's involvement and focus on the merits of the film? Are we supposed to ignore the fact that Queen clearly led the direction of the story and chose to charitably clip of some of the ore difficult edges of their own story?
Or can we look at Rami Malek's brilliant performance? Or how great the Live Aid sequence is? Or how well Queen fans will say it celebrates Freddie Mercury? It's a good film, though it's incredibly flawed in itself, but it feels impossible to separate the material from the context now. At least we can all agree that that transition shot featuring the Galileo-ing cockerel is the greatest single edit in the history of cinema, though, right?
SG
64. The Big Short
Adam McKay's filmmaking style isn't for everyone. The way the director flitters between comedy, serious drama and fourth-wall breaks can occasionally feel a little jarring (and no doubt a nightmare for an editor), but the strongest argument for this style working has to be The Big Short.
The director's first breakout hit away from the straight, mainstream comedies he was known for, The Big Short took on a pretty intimidating real-life topic in the 2008 financial crisis, revelling in the absurdity of genuine history while offering a scathing criticism of everyone involved in the crash, with each player brilliantly brought to life by top Hollywood talent like Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale and Steve Carell.
JB
63. The Help
Buoyed by an excellent cast, on the surface, The Help appears to be the kind of thing the Academy loves: a sort of clinically tidied up version of history where everything is handily potted and the darker elements are mostly glossed over. But The Help is actually a lot better for its performances than its material.
It's also devoid of the usual emotional clawing that would typically come with this sort of story of downtrodden underdogs and pantomime villains (see !2 Years A Slave), aiming instead for laughs occasionally punctuated by dramatic heft. More than anything, we ought to be thankful to it for giving us a new improved version of Octavia Spencer and the stunning Viola Davis.
SG