12. Gangs of New York (Best of the Decade)

Gangs of New York (2002)

In Martin Scorsese’s first impressive film since 1995’s Casino, he cast Leonardo Dicaprio as a poor Irish-American youth returning to his old neighborhood in Civil War-time New York. Amsterdam (Dicaprio) has returned after growing up in an orphanage because Bill “The Butcher” Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis in his first performance in five years) killed his father in a street brawl when he was a child. He wants to avenge his father’s murder. The film beautifully recreates the look and culture of nineteenth-century Manhattan. It was a time of rapid growth and urban development, but it was also a time of poverty, of war—of a draft—and of staunch cultural divides between not only black and white, but between immigrant and native born, between Irish, Italian, English, Chinese, and any other number of people. The film’s explosive opening and riotous ending are unique and well crafted. Nominated for 10 Oscars, the film won none.

13. Vanilla Sky (Best of the Decade)

Vanilla Sky (2001)

To all the people who said they didn’t understand Vanilla Sky: you simply weren’t watching closely enough. Based on the Spanish film Abre los ojos, Penélope Cruz reprises her role as Sofia, and Tom Cruise takes on the role of David Aames, heir to his father’s fortune and business as a successful publisher in New York City. The first half hour of the movie is a fairly typical romantic setup between the two, until Julie Gianni (Cameron Diaz) unleashes her wrath on David. All hell breaks loose. The story is told in roundabout ways, including directly from David, who tells the prison therapist (Kurt Russell) how he ended up in jail. In typical Cameron Crowe fashion, pop music is a large part of the story, and he utilizes some songs well. In total, Vanilla Sky is a dreamscape of lost love, an unraveling of hope. And yes, it all makes sense in the end.

14. Closer (Best of the Decade)

Closer (2004)

Closer is a brutally honest albeit heightened examination of two couples (four couples?) in modern London. The film is about dialogue and relationships—about the difference between what people say and what they do. There are four main characters: two Englishmen, played by Jude Law and Clive Owen; and two American women, played Julia Roberts and Natalie Portman. Each character says precisely what they want to say, even if it isn’t precisely what they mean to say. Director Mike Nichols has helmed many great movies. His most famous is probably The Graduate (1967), and if you remember the ending of that movie then you have an idea of the complexity of relationships he works with. Originally written for the stage, Closer is exactly what you expect in terms of verbal sparring. The characters speak realistically, and nothing is held back. Each of the four actors holds their own, giving the slight edge to Portman and Owen, whom were nominated by the Academy for their performances.

15. Zodiac (Best of the Decade)

Zodiac (2007)

Much like Fight Club, David Fincher’s Zodiac was not given the recognition it deserved upon its release. Though it’s only been a few years, I already find that people are beginning to discover how brilliant and important this film is. Jake Gyllenhaal portrays Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist working at the San Francisco Chronicle who becomes obsessed with the letters and ciphers the Zodiac killer sends to the paper in the 1960s and 70s. Robert Downey, Jr. plays journalist Robert Avery and Mark Ruffalo portrays Dave Toschi, both men looking to solve the murders. The film is long and brooding, dark in tone and color, and patient. It is not about sensationalizing murder but instead about solving a puzzle, about mind games, about obsession by both a murderer and the people trying to catch him. It will have you on the edge of your seat more than once.

16. Requiem for a Dream (Best of Decade)

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Requiem for a Dream is a disturbing look into the world of addiction. From heroin to diet pills to television, Darren Aronovsky’s follow up to his break-out success Pi portrays hopeful people plummeting into physical and emotional depravity. The film follows a family of sorts: a mother (Ellen Burstyn) who spends her time watching T.V. and becomes hooked to diet pills and speed in hopes of looking good when she appears on her favorite show; her biological son and heroin addict, who steals her prized television to score a fix (Jared Leto), and his girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly) and best friend (Marlon Wayans), both addicts. The film’s score is brilliant and instantly recognizable to anybody who has seen any number of trailers in the past decade. Aronofsky’s use of fast-cutting and what he calls hip-hop montages make for a fast and confused movie, as if he’d injected all 35mm with a cocktail of drugs himself.

17. Traffic (Best of the Decade)

Traffic (2000)

Steven Soderbergh kicked off the decade with a bang. With Erin Brockovich he directed Julia Roberts to an Academy Award, and he was nominated for Best Director for both Brockovich and Traffic, winning for the latter. Traffic is the better of the two, and it’s no surprise that a decade later many filmmakers are still trying to emulate Soderbergh’s unique photography. The film is set in Mexico and California and Washington, D.C. and Ohio, following the illegal drug trade from the cartels of Mexico and into the streets and homes of the United States. The interlocking stories work well, and there are great performances by probably a dozen actors, each with enough to do in a film with a lot of speaking roles and no clear protagonist. The best performance is by Benicio del Toro, who stood out in both The Usual Suspects and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but won an Oscar and a career for his role as Javier Rodriguez, an honest Mexican cop.

18. Moulin Rouge! (Best of the Decade)

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Moulin Rouge! kick started the current musical trend, and no other musical in the last decade had as much emotional impact or innovation. The film stars Ewan McGregor as Christian, a down-and-out writer in turn-of-the-century Paris who falls in love with a dancer at the Moulin Rouge, the beautiful Satine (Nicole Kidman). From the opening seconds of the film, we realize this is no ordinary musical. First, it is fast and confusing and about as avant-garde as mainstream films get. Second, the musical numbers are all pop songs infused into a foreign time and place. Moulin Rouge! was Baz Luhrmann’s follow up to Romeo + Juliet, another film that blurred the lines between what you see and what you hear. With Moulin Rouge! he not only gave us the best musical of the decade, but one of its best films. The Roxanne Tango is one of the best edited sequences I’ve seen on film.