Oscars: Every Best Picture Nominee Of The 2010s - Ranked Worst To Best
54. Winter's Bone
Back before she was Katniss and long before she became a real Oscars fixture, Jennifer Lawrence exploded onto the scene with Winter's Bone, a breakthrough role that catapulted her squarely into everyone's faces. Her performance as Ree Dolly in this small-scale but incredibly taut drama is every bit the making of a star, with strong support from the always watchable John Hawkes.
There's an unblinking honesty to the direction that never seeks to cast any judgements, even on the most repugnant behaviour or characters and in combination with Lawrence's performance, there's a strange - almost alien in these surroundings - sense of hope and life that you wouldn't expect. Like kicking over a skull to find a microsystem beneath it.
SG
53. Amour
Amour, one of the few foreign-language films to be nominated for Best Picture so far this decade, absolutely wants you to feel miserable. About an old couple, Georges and Anne, struggling to cope and look after one another after the latter suffers a stroke, Michael Haneke's film is unrelentingly grim. The premise is ripe for affecting material regardless of how it's presented, but it only makes you so upset because of how believable this relationship is.
Georges and Anne have relied on each other forever - loved each other forever - and it's because that clear affection is communicated in every frame, through silent glances and subtle gestures, that their constant struggle, and inevitable tragedy, is all the more heartbreaking. It's the kind of film you'll only watch once, but will stick with you forever.
JB
52. Hidden Figures
There are some small criticisms to be made of Hidden Figures: the script has its fair share of issues, not least in how predictable it is, or in how it mostly lacks any kind of subtlety. A couple of cameos are wasted too.
Where Hidden Figures works, though, is as an absolute crowd-pleaser. The story of three women who played a pivotal role in the space race, only to have their stories largely ignored, manages to be extremely uplifting. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe all excel in the lead roles, and even a couple of years on from release it feels like a necessary feel-good film, if not an exceptional one.
JH
51. The Fighter
On a story level, The Fighter doesn't add a great deal new to the pantheon of acclaimed Oscar movies we've had since Rocky debuted in 1976. It's account of Micky Ward sticks to the tried-and-trusted underdog tale, which means it can be a tad predictable, but it's lifted by three superb performances.
Unfortunately, Mark Wahlberg's isn't one of them (he's fine, but not outstanding). Christian Bale shines brightly in one of his greatest transformations to date; his appearance grabs the headlines, but it's in how he makes Dicky Ecklund so well-realised and complicated that really deserve the plaudits. Likewise Melissa Leo and Amy Adams (who was more deserving than her co-star) give brilliant, nuanced turns in supporting roles, elevating The Fighter into the Best Picture race.
JH