Some films that were close but didn’t make this list are known to many moviegoers: The Imitation Game, The Irishman, Bohemian Rhapsody, Dallas Buyers Club… But the ones that did make this list might not be known to everyone (even though the ranking is based on the IMDb user rating as well as the sufficient amount of ratings).
Though these are definitely not superhero movies, many of the characters in these biopics were real heroes who were admired by their contemporaries and successors alike. Here are 10 Best Biopics Of The Past Decade, According To IMDb.
The Revenant (2015) - 8.0
Even if you haven’t seen The Revenant, you have definitely heard about it one way or the other. After all, this is the film that finally got Leonardo DiCaprio his first-ever Academy Award for Best Lead Actor! He went through so much on the set to make it happen (including eating raw liver).
The cinematography is amazing, the directing is stunning too, and the story captivates its audience pretty fast. This epic survival drama western is partly based on Michael Punke’s novel of the same name about frontiersman Hugh Glass’s adventures in 1823 (but the novel is in turn based on a 1915 poem called “The Song of Hugh Glass”).
Spotlight (2015) - 8.1
Speaking of Academy Award winners, Spotlight took an Oscar for Best Picture as well as for Best Original Screenplay and had a total of six nominations. Though you will be stunned by the cast (with the likes of Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, and Rachel McAdams among others), the story is what really makes this film so great.
It follows The Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” team with its investigation into cases of widespread, systemic child sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests in the Boston area. The series of stories published by the team that the screenplay for the film was based on earned The Boston Globe the Pulitzer Price for Public Service in 2003.
Hacksaw Ridge (2016) - 8.1
Hacksaw Ridge is considered one of the best war movies ever with its stellar acting and strong script. Directed by Mel Gibson, it is based on the 2004 documentary The Conscientious Objector that tells the story of Desmond Doss, an American pacifist combat medic and a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. Desmond refused to carry a weapon and was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his service at the Battle of Okinawa.
The talented Andrew Garfield stars in the lead role and there are some other notable cast members such as Hugo Weaving and Sam Worthington. It got three nominations at the Golden Globes and six nominations at Academy Awards (winning two of them).
Rush (2013) - 8.1
It is somewhat surprising that there are two auto racing sports films on this list considering that films on this topic are extremely rare. Directed by Ron Howard, Rush stars two outstanding actors in its lead roles: Chris Hemsworth (known for his role as Thor in the MCU) and Daniel Bruhl (Inglourious Basterds, Captain America: Civil War).
Getting nominations and wins both at BAFTAs and Golden Globes, Rush centers around the rivalry between the legendary Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula 1 motor-racing season. Niki Lauda himself has seen the film and said that it is quite accurate and left him positively surprised.
12 Years a Slave (2013) - 8.1
If you are upset that Lupita Nyong’o didn’t get a nomination at the latest Academy Awards, you can be happy that she actually won an Oscar for her supporting role in this film. It got a total of nine nominations winning three of them including Best Picture. With its outstanding cast (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Paul Dano among others), it was bound to be a success.
The screenplay is an adaptation of the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup Twelve Years a Slave about Northup, a free African-American man born in New York, being kidnapped by two conmen in 1841 and sold into slavery. He was then forced to work on plantations for twelve years before finally being released.
Ford v Ferrari (2019) - 8.2
The second film on this list about the auto racing sport, Ford v Ferrari is the most recent film on this list having been released in 2019. It has been nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture (but it will probably take one of the technical awards for its truly amazing sound editing).
Starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale in its two lead roles, the film tells the story of the automotive visionary Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles who have set out to create a new racing car for Ford that could be a worthy rival to Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France.
Green Book (2018) - 8.2
It is true that not everybody liked Green Book (including some people who were directly related to the main characters), but it is undeniable that it is one of the highest-rated biopics of the past decade. Besides, it even won Best Picture at the Academy Awards (as well as having two other nominations and two more wins).
Starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali in its title roles, it centers on the story of the African-American pianist Don Shirley and his Italian-American driver and bodyguard Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga as they go touring in the Deep South in 1962 when African-Americans were advised to use the so-called Green Book that showed the places were it was safe for them to appear.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - 8.2
Perhaps one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s best roles, The Wolf of Wall Street created quite the buzz when it was first released in 2013. It is based on Jordan Belfort’s memoir of the same name with Belfort once being an incredibly rich and successful but corrupt stockbroker whose actions eventually led to his downfall.
The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, four BAFTAs, two Golden Globes (with DiCaprio winning his for acting), and numerous other awards. What is also notable is that the film helped return Matthew McConaughey to the big scene and gave Margot Robbie her breakout role.
Dangal (2016) - 8.4
Dangal is by far the least obvious film on this list. It is an Indian sports film loosely based on the Phogat family. The main character is Mahavir Singh Phogat who is a Pehlwani amateur wrestler training his daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari to become India’s first world-class female wrestlers.
The film was screened at numerous international festivals winning many awards. To this day, it is the highest-grossing Indian film ever as well as being the fifth highest-grossing non-English film ever and one of the highest-grossing sports films ever made.
The Intouchables (2011) - 8.5
Considered one of the best French films ever, The Intouchables is the oldest film on this list and the highest-rated biopic of the past decade. It became one of the highest-grossing films in France and earned several nominations and wins at Cesar Awards and other film festivals and awards including BAFTAs and Golden Globes.
The film became a cultural phenomenon in many senses and even got remakes in English, Spanish, Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil. This buddy comedy-drama tells the story of Philippe, an aristocrat who hires a young man called Driss to be his caregiver after he became paralyzed.
