Another decade of movies has come to an end, and film buffs are reflecting on which movies were the best of the 2010s. It was a great decade for drama movies, but there was also plenty of shameless Oscar bait.
Drama is a very broad film genre. All movies that aren’t comedies are essentially dramas, but some do a much better job of tapping into complex human emotions than others. A lot of dramas fall into the trappings of melodrama and clich[tldr_position], but those movies just make the ones that capture something authentic and touching seem even better by comparison.
10 Best: The Social Network (2010)
Over the past decade, revelations about the unscrupulous practices of Facebook have made the events of The Social Network look tame. But the origin story of Mark Zuckerberg’s site is still a compelling cinematic masterpiece. The modern setting of the tech industry is expertly contrasted with the Greek tragedy-esque themes of the story: betrayal, power, trust etc.
Since Zuckerberg wasn’t attached as an executive producer, David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin were free to paint him as villainous as they wanted, and they didn’t pull any punches.
9 Worst: Serena (2014)
In an attempt to recapture the spark between Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook, the two were reteamed for Serena.
Unfortunately, even with these two well-matched stars and a director with a proven track record, Serena inspires little more than boredom.
8 Best: Manchester By The Sea (2016)
Kenneth Lonergan has always had a gift for writing naturalistic dialogue that feels like real conversations between real people. The peak of that ability can be seen in Manchester by the Sea, a movie that teaches us not to judge people by their worst mistake. It opens with Lee Chandler's (Casey Affleck) dying brother naming him as the guardian of his son, which confuses both Lee and the rest of the family. It’s later revealed that Lee accidentally lit a house fire that killed his own children, so raising his nephew gives him a second chance.
The heartbreaking reunion between Lee and his ex-wife, Randi (Michelle Williams), is a masterclass in emotional acting. Movies about dealing with loss often fall short of capturing their weighty subject, but Manchester by the Sea nails it.
7 Worst: Charlie St. Cloud (2010)
Where Manchester by the Sea is a prime example of a drama about loss and grief that tackles the subject masterfully, Charlie St. Cloud is an example of one that bungles it.
Zac Efron stars as a man with survivor’s guilt who gains the supernatural gift to see his dead brother, and later other dead people he knows. The movie makes death seem weirdly okay.
6 Best: Son Of Saul (2015)
A lot of movies about the Holocaust bite off more than they can chew, trying to cover the magnitude of the entire tragedy. László Nemes’ Son of Saul takes the opposite approach, focusing on a day-and-a-half in the life of one man imprisoned at Auschwitz, and it’s infinitely more effective.
By honing in on a single subject, Nemes provided an intimate portrait of the horrors of the Holocaust. The director utilized a lot of long takes and simplistic over-the-shoulder composition, depicting daily life in Auschwitz as it was, because something as horrible as living in a concentration camp requires no embellishment to be shocking.
5 Worst: The Mountain Between Us (2017)
The setup of The Mountain Between Us, which follows three plane crash survivors — two humans and one dog — into the snow is utterly ridiculous.
Idris Elba and Kate Winslet are both fantastic actors, but they have no chemistry in this, and the plot fails to build conflict.
4 Best: Moonlight (2016)
Barry Jenkins’ film adaptation of In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, the unproduced play by Tarell Alvin McCraney, is one of the most touching dramas ever put to film. It’s a poignant coming-of-age tale chronicling the life of Chiron Harris, who deals with bullying, sexual identity, and his mother’s drug addiction.
The stellar performances of Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, and Alex Hibbert as Chiron at different ages give a rounded portrait of the character, while Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali give breathtaking supporting performances.
3 Worst: Dear John (2010)
Adapted from the Nicholas Sparks bestseller of the same name, Dear John is a predictable love story about a soldier sending letters to the love of his life from a warzone.
Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried share enough on-screen chemistry to carry the movie, but director Lasse Hallström doesn’t seem interested in making an emotional connection.
2 Best: Roma (2018)
At its very best, cinema has the ability to capture the indescribable beauty of life. It’s a form of magic act, so not a lot of filmmakers have managed to pull it off, but Alfonso Cuarón did with his semi-autobiographical masterpiece, Roma, set in Mexico City in 1970.
The movie captures its characters at their best and worst, with scenes ranging from life-affirming joy to heart-wrenching tragedy. It’s a deeply personal portrait of a middle-class family and their live-in housekeeper, with the contemporary political climate permeating in the background.
1 Worst: Collateral Beauty (2016)
Will Smith stars in Collateral Beauty as a man who writes letters to the abstract concepts of love, time, and death following the loss of his daughter, and the execution is as clunky as that premise makes it sound.
Keira Knightley plays Love, Jacob Latimore plays Time, and Helen Mirren plays Death. Smith gives the role his all, but he’s let down by a terrible script.
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