Oscars: Every Best Picture Nominee Of The 2010s - Ranked Worst To Best
50. Selma
Well before Selma came out, if you were looking ahead to 2014's releases, you'd probably have picked it out as one that the Academy would pay attention to. It's the kind of thing that not only appeals to their fascination with real history, but which also offers the institution an opportunity for some casual artistic reparations.
But Ava DuVernay's tale of the 1965 historic march earned its right to a Best Film nomination on its own merit. Sure, it's an important historical document, but it never seeks to insist of anything, instead relying on powerhouse performances - particularly by David Oyelowo, whose Martin Luther King is not a man without flaws or complexities - and the stirring power of the story. As a film it's already great, but as a FIRST film? Incredible.
SG
49. The Favourite
In a way, it's kind of surprising that The Favourite became such a frontrunner at 2019's Academy Awards. Sure, on paper, Yorgos Lanthimos' movie has everything the Academy loves: a period setting, stunning cinematography and production design, and a whole host of great performances. But it's also totally bats**t.
Each frame bubbles with a mad, chaotic energy, fuelled by a darkly comedic streak that isn't afraid to linger on the genuine horror of Queen Anne's twisted relationship with her closest allies, enemies, and herself. It's hilarious and biting, but what makes it so special is that once you peel away all the artifice and opulence, there's a real darkness lurking underneath that unnerves you as much as anything in Lanthimos' other thrillers.
JB
48. Fences
Fences took a lot of undeserved flak during the 2017 Oscar race. The period drama, all about a working-class family in the 1950s, was viewed as being something of a vanity project for director and star Denzel Washington, while some critics took aim at the film for being un-cinematic and more suited for the stage.
Those criticisms aren't necessarily unfounded, but they overlook the fact that as a character study, Fences is pretty damn remarkable. Denzel and co-star Viola Davis are stunning together as a dysfunctional husband and wife, and the two embody and humanise a script which is, admittedly, written in broad strokes that would benefit the theatre.
It's very much these performances that carry the film and, vanity project or not, they demand to be appreciated.
JB
47. Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Shown at Cannes initially to rapturous applause (always a good sign for Academy prospects), Beasts Of The Southern Wild is a difficult film to watch, in that it looks at life at the burnt end of a quickly shrinking candle. But it's about improbable hope and joy and the power of imagination - not least within the characters but also in the way this little gem was made. Cheaply and happily.
It's the kind of film that makes you happy for the occasional opportunities first time directors have to utterly floor you. Like Quvenzhané Wallis' performance as the fierce, vulnerable Hushpuppy (basically Mad Max with an afro), it bursts out of absolutely nowhere and once you've seen it, you don't know how it ever won't make essential viewing to everyone.
SG