The 2000s saw several critically acclaimed movies released that flopped at the box office and ended up disappearing from the public consciousness. However, while these movies aren’t talked about much today at all, they are all some of the finest movies of the 21st century, and it is time that they are rediscovered and earn the acclaim they still deserve in the streaming era.
These movies run the gamut from slow-burn dramas and overlooked gangster movies to art-house films and one of the most interesting modern-day neo-noirs of the 2000s. These movies received praise when released, but it wasn’t enough to bring in audiences. There are also films where the audience reaction was negative when the movies were in theaters, but the reappraisals have reversed in recent years.
The best thing about the current era of streaming is that many older movies have a chance to get a second life from an entirely new generation of viewers. Services like Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max, and more offer these near-perfect 2000s movies a chance to get rediscovered, and it is time that these 10 films get a lot more attention.
10
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Directed by Andrew Dominik and based on Ron Hansen’s novel, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a slow-burn Western that approaches the themes of hero worship and how dangerous that can be. Brad Pitt stars as Jesse James, while Casey Affleck is Robert Ford, a man who worships the old-school outlaw but changes his tune when he joins the gang.
This is a movie that shows how the starstruck Ford killing James helped elevate him to mythic status. While it only has a 77% Rotten Tomatoes score, it has been praised for Roger Deakins’ cinematography. The main complaints are about the slow-burn story, but that is part of the charm thanks to the visuals. It was a box office flop, but it deserves much more praise than it received.
9
Sexy Beast (2000)
Jonathan Glazer made his feature film directorial debut with Sexy Beast in 2000. The movie stars Ray Winstone as retired safecracker Gary “Gal” Dove, a man who lives in Spanish exile. He is then called out of retirement when a violent gangster named Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) demands he return to London to pull off one more heist. Without much choice, he is pulled back into a life of crime.
Sexy Beast has an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score, and it is Kingsley who received the most critical praise for his performance against type. Kingsley earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but the movie remains mostly forgotten today. It was a British independent film that has been overshadowed in the gangster genre, but it remains a near-perfect black comedy with great performances.
8
The Proposition (2005)
Directed by John Hillcoat and written and scored by Nick Cave, The Proposition is an Australian Western released in 2005. An original story, this near-perfect 2000s movie stars Guy Pearce as the outlaw, Charlie Burns, who receives a proposition he can’t refuse. He and his younger brother are captured, and he is told to kill his older brother or his younger one will be hanged.
The Proposition is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 85% rating. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis won Best Original Music Score at the 2005 Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards, and the soundtrack remains one of the best in the modern Western genre. Because it is an Australian movie, it remains underseen but is a grim, poetic outback Western.
7
Sunshine (2007)
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