Sitting comfortably? I hope so. This is it, the opinion piece you’ve been waiting 10 years for… here is the (nowhere-near) definitive list of the films that truly embody the spirit of this quick, painful decade.
Yes, it may have been absmal, full of caution, panic and retrograde mentalities, but at least we’ve been rewarded by filmmakers with a feast of cinematic treats to sink our teeth into. This article barely skims the surface, refusing to purport to the final word on this contentious matter. The approach is far more scatter-shot…
A film a year, and any that just missed the top spot.
So with all that said, tuck into a mince pie as I begin…
2000
Winner: Sexy Beast
The best British gangster film since The Long Good Friday, with one of the great modern villains. Don Logan, played by the notoriously capricious Ben Kingsley, is a dangerous mix of jealousy, paranoia and downward-spiralling temper. In a sizzling film blessed with a terrific cast on top form, Kingsley owns every scene… even when he’s not there.
Runners-up: Memento, In the Mood for Love, Battle Royale
2001
Winner: Mulholland Dr.
2001 was a fairly bloodless year for human stories, but that’s a charge that certainly can’t be levelled at Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. Adapted from what was originally planned to be a TV series, the result was a horrifically compulsive, compulsively horrific trip to the dark side of the human psyche, the kind that only Lynch can pull off. No other film of this decade has touched such a nerve with audiences, offering a mysterious puzzle-box that seems to only become more confusing and crpytic the harder we try to open it.
Runners-up: Donnie Darko, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Gosford Park
2002
Winner: City of God
This Brazilian crime epic is as essential as your backbone. A sprawling tale that compels from start to circular finish, not only does it balance a bristling narrative intensity with a dreamy atmosphere, the film is a thought-provoking allegory of youth on the edge and running out of time. Beautiful cinematography belies the harsh reality that the characters are living through, and the idea of fate resonates long after the credits have ended. A real wake-up call.
Runners-up: Hero, Spiderman, Minority Report
2003
Winner: Oldboy
The Asian film of the decade needs little introduction. Pushing the limits of screen anguish to new levels, Choi Min-Sik gives his signature performance as a man imprisoned without reason, suddenly released and out for revenge. Excruciating and no-holds barred film-making it may be, but Oldboy manages to reach depths of emotion and unspoken human feeling that only Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River came close to matching.
Runners-up: Mystic River, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Ong Bak
2004
Winner: Saw
A fantastic year for entertainment saw the release of the most influential horror film for twenty years. Looking back at it now, it’s still possible to see how this low-budget shocker spawned a massively lucrative global franchise and even a new genre, lovingly dubbed ‘torture porn’. The simplest movie on the list by far, Saw is just a downright belter, a brilliantly gruesome thriller and no bullshit horror flick for the ages. Forget the bloated pretenders to the crown, the original will always be the best.
Runners-up: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kung Fu Hustle, Team America: World Police
2005
Winner: A History of Violence
David Cronenberg’s subtle, menacing and typically peculiar thriller arrived in 2005 to great critical acclaim. Set in small town America, initially it seems to set itself up like a modern-day western. Being a Cronenberg though, it isn’t long before things starting hittng the fan and the traditional bonds that hold Viggo Mortenson’s family together unwind. A quiet, curious film that takes a delicate knife to any pre-conceptions.
Runners-up: Brokeback Mountain, Downfall, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
2006
Winner: Borat
Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedy sensation holds the honour of funniest film of the Noughties, amid a host of satiric rivals. Cohen’s masterful invention, Borat, is an offensive yet utterly loveable guy with enough abrasive naivety to get the most out of his US victims in this glorious mockumentary. If you haven’t watched it yet, stop reading now and go and hunt down the DVD. Even the disc menu is hilarious!
Runners-up: Pan’s Labyrinthe, Crank, Casino Royale
2007
Winner: There Will Be Blood
Daniel Day-Lewis, in the performance of the decade, is simply incredible, what must be the film of the decade. There Will Be Blood is so colossal in proportions, so grand in its scale and pretensions, and so utterly remarkable in its power and incisive commentary that it is impossible not to be swept up in the hype upon viewing it the first time. And the second. And the third.
Runners-up: No Country for Old Men, The Host, The Lives of Others
2008
Winner: Hunger
A staggering work from the folks at Film4, this small masterpiece went largely unnoticed amidst the spectacle of greedy award-munching blockbusters. Recalling the last months of Bobby Sands, imprisoned IRA terrorist turned hunger-striker, the film has a fierce realism, yet unfolds at a whimsical pace, poetical in its surrealness and stage-like in its elocution. Desperate and persuasive, it still refuses to take sides.
Runners-up: The Dark Knight, Let the Right One In, Gomorrah
2009
Winner: Up
Ending the decade on a much needed high note, this marvellous animated adventure takes the audience on an emotional journey. Dealing with life, love and death in a way that’s not only trueful but also positive and family-friendly is no small feat, but Up manages it with a tale brimming with colour and humour. Wonderous and truly original, its film a that really is for all ages and satisfies on the largest and most intimate of measures. See it!
Runners-up: Inglorious Basterds, The Hangover, The Hurt Locker
Merry Christmas!
