10 Movies From The 2010s That Deserved A Best Picture Nomination (#1 Is Almost Criminal)

The Academy only nominates a handful of movies for Best Picture each year, so there are some modern classics from the 2010s that were snubbed. The list of Best Picture nominees is always one of the most contentious reveals of each Oscars cycle, as fans argue over who should win and which films were left out.

The Academy has often been criticized for fixating on specific genres and nominating films which fit a certain mold. This means that plenty of worthy movies are looked over, and this was especially rife in the 2010s. Not only did the Oscars overlook some movies that should have been nominated, but they overlooked some films which should have won Best Picture outright.

10

Prisoners (2013)

Villeneuve’s Thriller Should Have Been A Top Contender

Prisoners

8/10

Release Date

September 20, 2013

Runtime

153 minutes

Denis Villeneuve was already a critically-acclaimed director by the time he moved to Hollywood to start making English-language movies, and he made the transition with ease. Making two movies as good as Enemy and Prisoners in one year was the perfect way to announce himself to a bigger audience than ever before.

Prisoners remains one of Villeneuve’s best movies, even though he has gravitated toward sci-fi more recently. It’s a fascinating thriller that asks some uncomfortable questions about the nature of policing and criminal justice, and how these concepts relate to our real lived experience.

9

I, Tonya (2017)

Margot Robbie’s Performance Isn’t All That I, Tonya Has Going For It

I, Tonya

8/10

Release Date

December 8, 2017

Runtime

120minutes

Director

Craig Gillespie

• 

• 

The Academy seems to love biopics, so it was no real surprise to see Margot Robbie score a Best Actress nomination for her performance in I, Tonya. However, the film also deserved a Best Picture nomination. It’s a cut above some of the other biopics that the Academy has recognized.

I, Tonya doesn’t fit the typical mold of a Hollywood biopic, which might explain why it was snubbed. It refuses to treat its subjects with reverence. Although it humanizes them and reveals deep truths about the human condition, it’s also darkly funny, with the zany energy of a crime caper and a sports underdog story rolled into one.

8

Knives Out (2019)

Rian Johnson’s Mystery Movie Shook Up The Genre

Knives Out

9/10

Release Date

November 27, 2019

Runtime

130 minutes

Knives Out looks like a return to old Agatha Christie-style mystery movies, but it brings a surprisingly innovative approach to this framework. While Rian Johnson clearly has a lot of love for Christie and classic whodunit stories, Knives Out refuses to conform to the conventional structure of these mysteries.

With a great ensemble cast and an infectious sense of style, Knives Out has all the ingredients that make a classic mystery movie. What makes it stand out is the script, which shifts focus from the question of who committed the crime to something much more dangerous and unusual about halfway through. Wake Up Dead Man is set to continue Johnson’s franchise.

7

Gone Girl (2014)

David Fincher’s Crime Thriller Is Packed With Twists And Turns

Gone Girl

8/10

Release Date

October 1, 2014

Runtime

2h 29m

Gone Girl sees David Fincher returning to the crime genre once again, but his Hitchcockian thriller is a completely different offering from the likes of Fight Club, Se7en and Zodiac. It’s still one of Fincher’s best movies, but not one of his three Best Picture nominees.

Rosamund Pike’s performance received plenty of awards-season glory, including a Best Actress nomination at the Oscars. Her icy sociopathic femme fatale has become a modern cinematic icon, but her performance also overshadows a lot of Gone Girl‘s other good qualities. It has the power to stay with its audience for a long time.

6

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

The Coens’ Quasi-Biopic Still Deserves More Attention

Many of the best Coen brothers movies have enjoyed success at the Oscars, including Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men, but Inside Llewyn Davis somehow flew under the radar. It has gotten more popular since its release, and has been recognized as one of the best movies of the 21st century by several major publications.

Inside Llewyn Davis is desperately sad and disarmingly funny in equal measure, but it never suffers from unintentional tonal dissonance. As an ambitious film that attempts to capture a portrait of a life in one week, it encompasses the broad span of human experience. It’s been said that it’s a roman-à-clef about Bob Dylan, but this is just one layer of its brilliance.

5

Ex Machina (2014)

Alex Garland’s Sci-Fi Drama Continues To Age Well

Ex Machina

9/10

Release Date

April 10, 2015

Runtime

108 minutes

• 

• 

Alex Garland’s Ex Machina is the closest thing to a modern classic that the sci-fi genre has. In terms of pure science-fiction, there are very few recent movies which are so captivating and so resonant, and Ex Machina‘s exploration of artificial intelligence continues to be vindicated in real life.

Ex Machina features strong performances all-round, which is essential since the limited setting and cast leave no room for error. It’s a claustrophobic drama with a tightly written script that continually reveals more and more information about the characters. On a second watch, it’s almost a different movie.

4

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)

Spider-Man’s Unique Style Should Have Been Enough To Defy An Oscars Trend

Animated movies have historically been overlooked in the Best Picture race. That’s not to say that there should be one every year, but there should definitely have been more than Beauty and the Beast, Up and Toy Story 3 by now. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a perfect candidate.

The first Spider-Verse movie has an irreverent style, and it’s already clear to see the ripple-effect that it’s having on the animation industry. It’s a fascinating patchwork of different aesthetics, which captures its multiverse premise perfectly. Of course, this wouldn’t be worth much if the story wasn’t also outstanding.

3

Frances Ha (2013)

Noah Baumbach And Greta Gerwig’s Comedy-Drama Is A Miniature Marvel

Frances Ha

Release Date

May 17, 2013

Runtime

85 Minutes

Director

Noah Baumbach

Greta Gerwig has directed three feature-length films solo, and all three have received Best Picture nominations so far. Although she wasn’t behind the camera for Frances Ha, she co-wrote the script with Noah Baumbach, and the movie bears plenty of her artistic hallmarks. Her lead performance is also perfectly measured.

Frances Ha is a coming-of-age story about a woman in her mid-20s, which speaks to a younger generation trying to get a foothold in a perplexing modern world. By zeroing in on the specific, Frances Ha manages to expose some universal truths. It’s heartwarming, hilarious, and, above all, true.

2

Creed (2015)

Rocky’s Return Was Better Than Expected

Creed

8/10

Release Date

November 25, 2015

Runtime

2h 13m

Director

Ryan Coogler

The Academy doesn’t often pay much attention to franchise movies, but there have been a few exceptions in recent years. If Top Gun: Maverick and Mad Max: Fury Road can get Best Picture nominations, then Creed should also have been a top contender. It’s just as compelling and emotional as its predecessor Rocky, which won Best Picture.

Creed is better than fans could reasonably have hoped for after the Rocky franchise’s patchy history. Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan breathe new life into a familiar story, as Creed follows the framework of an underdog boxing movie with plenty of originality and modern quirks. The fight scenes alone are worth the price of admission.

1

Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (2019)

The French Period Romance Is A Modern Masterpiece

Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a gorgeous period romance, with practically every frame resembling an 18th century oil painting. From windswept coastal landscapes to intimate, revealing portraits, Sciamma uses her camera to tell a remarkable story.

Parasite became the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture in 2019, but Portrait of a Lady on Fire should have been in the running too. Despite being snubbed at the Oscars, its reputation continues to grow, with many critics citing it as a masterpiece.