Nostalgia is high for the 2000s as we’ve entered the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the decade. Many of those audience members who came of age during that time are staring down the barrel of middle age and have instead decided to turn around and look back instead. It was an era that brought with itmany modern classics, underrated gems and whatsome might consider peak horror.
Every year in the 2000s had plenty of films that could lay claim as the best of not only their year, but even the entire decade. As much as there’s no objective best film for any given category,there are those that are undeniable masterpieces, and no conversation around the greatest for their respective years would be complete without them.These are the ten best movies from every year of the 2000s, many of which endure as all-time gems of the medium.
1’Werckmeister Harmonies' (2000)
Directed by Béla Tarr and Agnes Hranitzky
If not the most well-known or successfulfilm of the year 2000,Béla Tarrand co-directorAgnes Hranitzky’sWerckmeister Harmoniesis certainly the most mesmerizing. Deliberately paced and comprised of a minimal number of long, slow shots (39 in total), the film chronicles the societal collapse of an unnamed town after the arrival of a bizarre “circus” that has only one attraction: a stuffed whale carcass that heralds the appearance of an unseen “Prince.”
Adapted from Laszlo Krasznahorka’s novelThe Melancholy of Resistance, the film is replete with the hallmarks of Tarr’s career, from the visuals to his frequent collaborators behind the camera. It’s a film of stark imagery thatdemands attentive viewing and defies easy explanationeven for those with a wealth of knowledge regarding Hungarian history and the lapping tides of fascism.Werckmeister Harmonieslooks for order in chaos, and harmony between the two, but provides only apocalyptic possibilities.
Werckmeister Harmonies
2’Mulholland Drive' (2001)
Directed by David Lynch
Originally conceived as the pilot for an unproduced television series,David Lynch’s surreal masterpieceMulholland Driveactually benefited from its disjointed production. Lynch devised an entirely new ending to his neo-noir Hollywood saga that is more or less centered on the relationship between two women: an aspiring actress played byNaomi Wattsand an amnesiac played byLaura Harrington. Like much of Lynch’s work, the narrative isfull of confounding twists and is not easily explained, and the mid-film shift where the two actresses suddenly inhabit new roles only raises more questions.
What makesMulholland Drivesuch a must-watch mysteryis the potent combination of its fever-dream narrative and perpetually unsettling atmosphere. It’s a poison pill antidote to rote Hollywood storytelling, refusing to hold the audience’s hand unless it’s only to lead them into uncertain danger. Lynch left an unmistakable mark on the world of film that will be nigh impossible to replace with the work of any other filmmaker, andMulholland Drivemay bethe director’s best film ever.
Mulholland Drive
3’Spirited Away' (2002)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Few directors who work within the animation medium loom as large asHayao Miyazakiand his seminal work he put outthrough his Studio Ghibli. That includes one of thegreatest animated films ever made:Spirited Away, which is being included here on a technicality based on its 2002 American release, because it’s simply too good to ignore. It’sa mystical, magical fantasy masterpiecethat, despite a story that’s deeply rooted in Japanese folklore, has an emotionally resonant core that viewers of any nationality can relate to.
The film follows ten-year-old Chihiro as she becomes stuck in a magical town that exists within the spirit realm. She faces trials and tribulations in the style of numerous classic fantasy protagonists like Alice, who also experiences a transformation outside of childhood.It’s a coming-of-age by way of Japanese mysticismwithin a beautifully realized and animated world of spirits of both the good and evil varieties. With this film, Mayazaki raised the bar considerably and put major animation studios on notice that their pop-culture-reverent kiddie films were abject failures in the face of a true masterwork.
Spirited Away
4’City of God' (2003)
Directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund
There are few films as raw and upsetting while still functioning as kinetic entertainment as theBrazilian crime epicCity of God. Set in the Cidade de Deus favelas of Rio de Janeiro during the rise of organized crime in the ’60s to the early ’80s, the film maintains a gritty authenticity thanks to its frenetic 16mm cinematography, fast-paced editing and the use of almost entirely non-professional actors.
The film’s narrative is framedthrough the lens of a young photographer, as he captures the rampant poverty and violence that erupts out of it in the slums he grew up in, while another young man rises to power as a violent druglord. Many films aspire toaccurately depict the cycles of violenceand how they are perpetuated, while also avoiding glamorizing the violent acts themselves. Few are as successful in that endeavor asCity of God, whichscorches itself in the memory after a single viewing.
City of God
5’The Incredibles' (2004)
While it took Hollywood three failed (official) attempts to figure out the formula fora winningFantastic Fourmovie,Brad Birdnailed the idea of asuperhero family in one try withThe Incredibles. Coming into the Pixarfold after the commercial failure ofThe Iron Giant, Bird envisioned another retro-futuristic adventure set in a world where real superheroes have long since hung up their capes after the passing of federal legislation, attempting to lead lives as normal citizens.
Among those supers trying, and failing, to blend in are the Parr family, a quintet made up of super-strong dad Mr. Incredible, stretchy mom Elastigirl, and their children, the superfast Dash, literal invisible girl Violet and force of nature baby Jack Jack. Bird makesevery superpower and extension of their characters, exploring family dynamics amida slick, stylish James Bond-inspired adventure.
The Incredibles
6’A History of Violence' (2005)
Directed by David Cronenberg
2005 is often regarded as one of the best years for movies, thanks to the high number of unqualified classics that were released during. However, often overlooked amongthe essential films of 2005is one of the best crime thrillers of the 21st century.A History of Violencewas based on a graphic novel, which told a more conventional, if not suitably vicious, story of a seemingly normal small-town diner owner whose criminal past comes back to haunt him after he stops a robbery and becomes a local hero.
In the hands ofDavid Cronenberg,A History of Violenceisa look into the dark heart of Americawith a deep vein of gallows humor running through it.Viggo Mortensenis chillingly good in the lead role, simmering with tension that is waiting to boil over, whileMaria Bellois every bit his equal as a wife who can’t fathom the monster she may have married. Rounding out the stellar cast aretwo terrifically sinister performances byEd HarrisandWilliam Hurt(who was nominated for an Oscar) as a gangster out for revenge and the lead character’s big bad brother.
A History of Violence
7’Children of Men' (2006)
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
A trulybleak view of a dystopic future,Alfonso Cuarón’s sci-fi adaptation of the novel by P.D. James is most known for itsvirtuosic action sequences, which combine long camera takes with white-knuckle tension and explosive violence. Still, the story around those sequences is just as enthralling. Set in a future where women have become mysteriously infertile,Children of Menis an intelligent sci-fithriller that provokes as much thought as it does adrenaline while taking a look at humanity’s ability to destroy when it can no longer procreate.
Clive Owenplays a former revolutionary hollowed into a husk of a man after a personal tragedy, who is pulled back into action when he is tasked with transporting a young pregnant woman to safety. The nail-biting action punctuates the film as it charts a journey through an England that has become a police state, whereacts of revolution and terrorism are hard to discernfrom one another. What makesChildren of Mensuch a harrowing watch is how depressingly plausible its future seems.
Children of Men
8’There Will Be Blood' (2007)
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
2007 was another year with no shortage of classics, which makes choosing a singular film a futile effort based solely on personal taste and perhaps even mood. When a year contains some of the best work from filmmakers such as theCoen Brothers,David Fincher, Brad Bird andEdgar Wright, it’s silly to even consider what might be the definitive best. Still, the edge must go toPaul Thomas Anderson’s almighty masterpiece,There Will Be Blood.
Inspired by theUpton SinclairnovelOil!Anderson’s film was a major comeback for the filmmaker after several years away from the spotlight, following the more muted response to hismisunderstoodPunch Drunk Love.In this non-traditional Western,Daniel Day-Lewisplays oilman Daniel Plainview, whose thirst for black gold brings him great wealth but at the cost of his humanity and even family. Anchored by a towering performance by Day-Lewis,There Will Be Bloodis an American classic thatlays bare the bodies on which the country was built.
There Will Be Blood
9’Man on Wire' (2008)
Directed by James Marsh
WhileSlumdog Millionairewas the big, inspiring hit of 2008, it couldn’t match the inspiration of the true story behind the Oscar-winning documentaryMan on Wire. Telling the story of French high-wire acrobatPhilippe Petitand his successful 1974 walk on a tightrope strung between the Twin Towers, the film isstructured like a heist caper, as Petit gathers a motley crew to help him pull off his acrobatic feat. It’s a charming film, with Petit a daring raconteur in his talking head segments, while the real footage of the walk is quite literally breathtaking.
EvenRobert Zemeckis' big Hollywood version, which made audiences sick from its high-altitude sequences, can’t compare to the beauty and mystique ofJames Marsh’sdocumentary. It’s wonderfully inspiring while alsoa bittersweet love letter to the towers themselvesthat were lost in a horrific attack. No human being has ever accomplished what Petit did, an act that simply cannot be recreated, which only adds to the magic ofMan on Wireandits ability to make an audience feel like they’re walking on the clouds with him.
Man on Wire
10’The Hurt Locker' (2009)
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
It may not be as rewatchable as some ofthe other films of 2009, butKathryn Bigelow’sIraq War thrillerThe Hurt Lockeris an unforgettable experience, less a factual documentation of the war or its soldiers than it is an examination of a male obsession with living on a razor’s edge.Jeremy Renner’sbomb disposal expert shares the same DNA as Johnny Utah and Bodhifrom Bigelow’s cult classicPoint Break. He’s an adrenaline junkie who is only happy when he knows when he’ll get his next fix.
That adrenaline comes in the form of some of the most expertly executed suspense scenes, where the kind of explosive mayhem that fills the screen in every other Hollywood blockbuster is exactly what the characters are trying to avoid. It’s tense and gritty, made stars out of its cast, and won Bigelow a long-overdue Academy Award.The Hurt Lockerwasthe perfect punctuation to a decade of great films.
The Hurt Locker
NEXT:10 Action Movies From the 2000s That Are Just Too Boring
