Every Best Picture Nominee of the 2010's Ranked: #45-49

Scene from The Tree of Life

As 2019 reached its end, another decade of cinema had passed. It's amazing to think about how things have evolved since 2010 when the biggest controversies were about recognizing genre movies. Things look different now, especially as genre films like The Shape of Water and Parasite are winning Best Picture and the voting body looks incredibly different with each passing year. With this period in the books, it feels like a good time to celebrate their accomplishments by ranking all 88 titles nominated for Best Picture from worst to best with the goal of seeing which films are more likely to stand the test of time. Join me every Saturday and Sunday as I count them down, five at a time. It's going to be a fun summer looking back on what was, especially as we prepare for the decade ahead and an even more interesting diversity that we haven't even begun to think of.

49. Bridge of Spies (2015) – Dir. Steven Spielberg

While one can argue that the blockbuster side of Spielberg has dulled in the past decade, he still knows how to make a captivating drama. With a story that finds him reteaming with Tom Hanks, he brings an urgent story of empathy during the Cold War as a potential spy (played perfectly by Mark Rylance) to life in ways that are entertaining, capturing the grand scale of division across the globe in ways that emotionally effective. It’s among the director’s best work in years and proves that no matter what kind of story he wants to tell, he knows how to draw in an audience, making us care about the human experience buried deep inside of it.

48. Midnight in Paris (2011) – Dir. Woody Allen

Back in the years when Allen was gazing through the majestic European landscapes, he told a story that proved to be a writer’s greatest fantasy. Why just dream about these landmarks where artists like Ernest Hemmingway and Salvador Dali gathered when you can be there with them, having these great academic conversations. It’s one of Owen Wilson’s best performances and a story full of wit and history that it’s hard not to appreciate its goofy charm. Everyone wants to meet their heroes, but are they ready to hear what they have to say when they meet you?

47. Fences (2017) - Dir. Denzel Washington

If anyone deserved to adapt August Wilson to the big screen, it was Washington. Having played this role on Broadway, he brings an expected intensity to a father figure doing everything to hold onto his pride as the world around him slips away. While some may be put-off by how stagey the film may be, it’s a masterclass in acting that never lets up its raw intensity, telling a story with raw emotion that has been one of theater’s best kept secrets for years. Along with a powerhouse performance by Viola Davis, this is a journey that will rattle you to your core, understanding the emotions of Washington’s flawed protagonist. Given that he’s scheduled to adapt all of Wilson’s plays for the big screen, let’s hope he brings the same energy to them that he does here.

46. The Tree of Life (2011) – Dir. Terrence Malick

Back before Malick reached a strange creative streak, the idea that we’d get a film less than once a decade was laughable. That alone would be the reason to consider this film an abundant miracle, creating a spiritual exercise that crosses all space and time, even going back to the age of dinosaurs, to explore how the world is unified. It’s the most anti-narrative of films on the list to the point that co-star Sean Penn claims to not know what his character is doing. Even if you don’t understand what you’re seeing, it’s hard not to be swept up in the expert emotion of every last frame, creating art that speaks to the soul and reflecting Malick as the ultimate sentimentalist. He may have grown to be a parody over the next decade, but here he was still the amazing reclusive auteur who made us question our lives in ways that no other director could.

45. Winter’s Bone (2010) – Dir. Debra Granik

If there was any film that felt like it was kicking off the decade on a high note, it was this indie that took a backwoods setting and used its colorful cast of characters to make a surreal indie. The mystery is full of breezy uncertainty, creating a subliminal paranoia that was ahead of its time, making the outdoors someplace scarier than any enclosed space. It was also the film that helped to launch Jennifer Lawrence as a generational talent, giving a performance so confident and rough around the edges that you wish she would make more roles like this in the years since. It’s an atmospheric beauty and one that encourages you to peer into the uncomfortable and see what’s on the other side. The answers are definitely strange and make for quite a unique ride.