Ranking What Was Really The Best Film Of Every Year 1990-2021

Actually won: American Beauty.

Sam Mendes' meditation on suburban living and mid-life crises American Beauty is by no means a poor film (even if it has aged horribly due to the off-screen actions of its star), but its simplicity and lack of charisma surely makes it a weak Oscar winner.

Any number of nominees should have taken the top award - particularly The Insider or The Green Mile - but the true Best Picture of the year was actually Magnolia, Paul Thomas Anderson's ensemble drama that somehow wasn't even nominated.

Beautifully acted, deeply philosophical and gloriously creative, Magnolia is the work of a filmmaker at the height of his powers, creating a meditative drama with originality to spare. How it was so snubbed is a mystery.