Top ten films of the noughties...

Of course it all comes down to a matter of opinion, but it seems to me that this last’s decade’s been a pretty vintage era for film, with Hollywood pedalling ever-advanced technology, foreign-cinema creeping ever-closer to mainstream acceptance and banishing the traditional “Subtitles = Boring” misconception, and, of course, British cinema going from strength to strength, with auteurs such as Danny Boyle and Shane Meadows creating globally-appreciated masterpieces.

Whether the next ten years can even attempt to compete, especially as the age-old skill of decent storytelling becomes increasingly threatened by the current Hollywood preference for special effects, is an interesting dilemma... but then, perhaps Hollywood is becoming less and less important in the world as film, as people look to all corners of the globe for big screen entertainment.

Anyway, clichéd as it may sound, it’s impossible to know what the future will hold. So whilst I sit and speculate, it never harms to look back. Here are what I believe to have been the best ten films of the last ten years.

Austin Powers in Goldmember (Roach, 2002

Everybody loves a good comedy, and one sub-genre that has really thrived in the last decade has been that of the parody. Whilst most trilogies gradually decrease in quality, it is the third instalment of the Austin Powers series that has me in the most hysterics. Yes, it’s un-P.C. Yes, it pokes fun at small people, facial-disfiguration, the Scottish, the Dutch, the Japanese, and even the English. But, of course, Mike Myers can get away with it. Never has a film been as quotable, or as laughter-inducing. And, of course, Beyoncé is just about the coolest “Bond-Girl” to have ever existed.

The Beach (Boyle, 2000)

It’s rare that films adapted from books will ever be as good as the original text. But then, Danny Boyle was never one to play by the rules was he? His adaptation of the 1996 novel by Alex Garland explores the age old dilemna of danger-fuelled seduction. No, not by a beautiful maneater or a dashing young lothario, but by the impossibility that is paradise. DiCaprio’s character is destined, as all explorers are, to learn the hard way that there’s no such thing in life as a free lunch. Beautifully shot, stunningly scored and superbly acted.

Changeling (Eastwood, 2008)

Gossip and scandal aside, there’s actually no denying that Angelina Jolie is in fact a pretty amazing actress, and this is the film that proved it. Her raw and honest portrayal of Christine Collins, a woman who refuses to give up the search for her missing son, is both stark and mesmerising, beautifully complimenting Eastwood’s direction and, of course, a harrowing and troubling narrative.

City of God (Meirelles, 2002)

Take a typical coming of age story and add in intense poverty, power-corrupt drug lords, unforgiving gun violence, and a struggle to choose between right and wrong in a dusty Brazilian shanty town which is near-impossible to leave. Immediately identifying with central protagonist Rocket, we are given an intimate and worrying insight into the lives of teenagers living in one of the most notorious favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Couple such shocking subject matter with edgy cinematography and fast-paced kinetic editing, and this is easily one of the most stunning films ever to be made.

The Descent (Marshall, 2005)

One of the scariest films of the decade (even more so in that it is based on a true story), but in a way more subtler than most, this British film initially plays on claustrophobia, a fear common amongst many. When an all-female group of cavers become trapped in a freshly discovered maze of caverns and tunnels in the American wilderness, individual tensions reach boiling point, and just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, claustrophobia becomes secondary to an even greater fear. Yes, that’s right, the girls discover that they are not alone...

Into the Wild (Penn, 2007)

Based on the biographical novel by Jon Krakauer, Penn’s award-winning piece stars the charismatic Emile Hirsch as the young Christopher McCandless, a privileged young university graduate who rejects everything to backpack across America, eventually reaching the Alaskan Wildnerness, where he seeks freedom and self-discovery. But of course, what humans really crave is company, and solitude can be a lonely place. A definite gem, made all the better for Eddie Vedder’s beautiful soundtrack.

Slumdog Millionaire (Boyle, 2009)

Not to cry at this film is like not crying at Bambi: the action of the soulless. Danny Boyle’s critically acclaimed masterpiece stars Dev Patel, otherwise known as good old Anwar from Skins, as the impoverished Jamal, growing up in the slums of Mumbai. A classic rags-to-riches tale, the film sees the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire holding the key to Jamal’s escape from a future of turmoil and struggle. Not just a sob story, the film is of course a love story at heart, with the beautiful Latika being Jamal’s ultimate goal. Superbly scored, with inspired cinematography for the legend that is Anthony Dod Mantle.

Thirteen (Hardwicke, 2003)

Hardwicke’s directorial debut, co-written with Nikki Reed, who stars as the bad-girl of the film, is a perfect example of how American indie cinema should be, in its subtlety and genuineness. This coming of age drama shows the pitfalls of teenage life, the extents to which one girl will go in order to be accepted, and how her mother struggles to come to terms with her daughter’s transformation from a girl to a woman. As shocking as it is realistic, Hardwicke succeeds in drawing the audience in to a tale of innocence lost, friendship, betrayal, and the search for identity. Delicately crafted and perfectly acted.

This is England (Meadows, 2007)

A semi-nostalgic, semi-ashamed autobiographical piece from critically acclaimed director Shane Meadows, this tale of young Shaun’s disillusionment and subsequent adoption by a group of older skinheads, and the sense of belonging and identity this brings with it, is subtly acted and evokes a great sense of its midlands location. A highly powerful and thought provoking comment on the slippery slope of violence and racism that follows acceptance into subculture.

Where the Wild Things Are (Jonze, 2009)

A beautifully crafted film to remind us all what it was like to be young. Choosing not to opt for CGI but instead, to dress people up in gigantic ten-foot monster costumes, Jonze succeeds in recreating the magic and wonder of Maurice Sendak’s 1960s children’s picture book. But by no stretch of the imagination is this just a children’s film... the loneliness of the misunderstood characters, each with their own issues and fears, is something that adults identify with and so makes viewing a delight for all the family.

By Rosanna Pound-Woods