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The art of the biopic is one that's hard to master. It's easy for a movie based on a real figure's life and work to end up feeling dull and didactic, but when a filmmaker is able to capture the spirit of their legacy and transmit it in a way that's compelling, these can be some of the most unforgettable films ever. Over the course of the last 25 years, there have been numerous exceptional biopics, but a few stand out as the best.
From exceptional mainstream works by some of Hollywood's best filmmakers, like The Social Network, to more arthouse international fare, like Downfall, the best biopics since 1999 prove that this is a genre ripe with opportunities for artistic experimentation, endless creativity, and out-of-this-world performances. These are the movies that have gripped those opportunities with particular enthusiasm.
10 'Boys Don't Cry' (1999)
Directed by Kimberly Peirce
Image via Searchlight Pictures
A preamble is necessary here. It's a well known and widely criticized fact that LGBTQ+ storytelling is often exhaustively tragic. That being said, Boys Don't Cry is an undeniably outstanding coming-of-age film. It's the story of Brandon Teena, a young transgender man navigating love and life while trying to pass as a boy in rural Nebraska. With a powerhouse lead performance by Hilary Swank, it's one of the most emotionally stirring trans movies of all time.
This harrowing film is certainly not an easily digestible one, but its commemoration of Teena's life and its depressingly still-timely critique of prejudice and discrimination against trans people in the U.S. makes it a must-see work of art. Bold, suspenseful, complex, and potently sympathetic, it's the most beautiful way possible to ensure that Brandon's memory lives on in the public consciousness for the rest of history.
Boys Don't Cry
Release Date September 2, 1999
Runtime 118 minutes
Writers Andy Bienen
9 'The Straight Story' (2019)
Directed by David Lynch
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
David Lynch is well-known for his contribution to arthouse cinema and cinematic surrealism, so it's a bit of a surprise that one of his best films is also one of his least Lynchian: The Straight Story. This G-rated Disney film is the tale of Alvin Straight, a 73-year-old man who learns that his estranged brother, Lyle, is critically ill. Unable to drive, he embarks on a journey from Iowa to Utah on a lawnmower.
Those familiar with Lynch's work know that his biggest strength lies not in his ability to tell richly mind-bending stories, but in his ability to tap into the emotional core of his stories in all sorts of moving ways. That talent is thoroughly displayed in The Straight Story, which is deeply touching but not sentimentalistic, a visually powerful and narratively arresting tribute to the larger-than-life adventure of this otherwise pretty simple man.
The Straight Story
Release Date November 3, 1999
Writers Joan Roach , Mary Sweeney
8 'Hacksaw Ridge' (2016)
Directed by Mel Gibson
Image via Lionsgate Films
Hacksaw Ridge is an action war drama about World War II American Army Medic Desmond Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa refusing to kill people or pick up a weapon, becoming the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot. With Mel Gibson's outstanding direction, Andrew Garfield's tour-de-force performance, and its hard-hitting themes of sacrifice and faith, it's one of the best WWII movies of the 21st century.
The way Gibson shoots, stages, and edits the action makes it as gripping as it is absolutely horrifying, finding the perfect balance between edge-of-your-seat suspense and war-as-hell carnage. It's a surprisingly life-affirming celebration of the courage of standing up for one's values and convictions, with a deeply compelling protagonist and a showstopping third act.
Release Date November 4, 2016
Runtime 139 minutes
Writers Robert Schenkkan , Andrew Knight
Budget $40 million
7 'Downfall' (2004)
Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
Image via Constantin Film
The idea of a biopic centered on Adolf Hitler sounds like a recipe for disaster, but German filmmaker Oliver Hirschbiegel decided to face such a daunting task with legendary actor Bruno Ganz as his right-hand man, and the result couldn't have been any greater. It's Downfall, a docudrama where Hitler's final secretary retells the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
Demonizing history's villains is a dangerous activity, running the risk of forgetting that these mistakes were the mistakes of humanity and not of any supernatural monsters. Downfall carefully and sensitively dives headfirst into the humanity of Hitler and his followers, exploring their terrifying psyche in all sorts of stunning ways. It's one of the best WWII movies ever, and proof that biopics don't need to be about good people in order to be universally engaging.
Downfall
Release Date September 16, 2004
Runtime 155 minutes
6 'Hotel Rwanda' (2004)
Directed by Terry George
Image via MGM
Another biopic based on one of the darkest chapters in the history of humanity, Hotel Rwanda is one of the most essential war movies of all time. It's about the Rwandan hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina, who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia during the Rwanda massacre. It's a harrowing film, but one so heartfelt that it's impossible to look away.
Don Cheadle gives the best performance of his career as Rusesabagina, a profoundly layered and complex protagonist that perfectly anchors this story about the power of a single man's humanitarianism in the face of genocide. Director Terry George doesn't shy away from the horror of the violence, but is clearly most deeply concerned with Rusesabagina's complexity and the deeply human heroism of his actions.
Hotel Rwanda
Release Date February 4, 2005
Runtime 121 Minutes
Writers Keir Pearson , Terry George
5 '127 Hours' (2010)
Directed by Danny Boyle
Image via Searchlight Pictures
Danny Boyle can be a bit of a hit-or-miss director, but when his movies hit, they hit hard. Rarely have they hit harder than 127 Hours, the story of mountain climber Aron Ralston. While canyoneering alone in Utah, his arm got caught under a boulder, forcing him to resort to desperate measures in order to survive. Boyle's depiction of his ordeal is a good alternative to clipping one's nails, as it's certain to have viewers biting all the way through them throughout the 94-minute runtime.
James Franco's performance is incredible and Boyle's direction is some of the best of his career.
One of the most thrilling biopics ever, 127 Hours is absolutely gut-wrenching, but it's also an inspiring celebration of the heroism found in survival and the endurance of the human spirit. James Franco's performance is incredible and Boyle's direction is some of the best of his career, making 127 Hours a biopic as triumphant as it is tense, as motivational as it is energetic.
127 Hours
Release Date November 12, 2010
Runtime 94 minutes
Budget $18 million
Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures
Directed by David Fincher
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
David Fincher is one of the most acclaimed filmmakers currently working in Hollywood, but though he's mainly built that reputation through his mastery of the thriller genre, he has also made dramas like The Social Network. It follows Mark Zuckerberg as he's sued for allegedly having stolen the idea for Facebook, jumping through time to show his time at Harvard, the creation of the social networking site, and the way success corrupted the young entrepreneur.
With an absolutely flawless script by Aaron Sorkin and some of the best acting in Fincher's whole filmography, The Social Network is a hard-hitting tale of ambition and betrayal with dialogue that flows like honey and a sense of rhythm that only a master like Fincher could have nailed this well. It's one of the most stylish and unforgettable biopics ever made, let alone of the past 25 years.
Release Date October 1, 2010
Runtime 120 minutes
Writers Aaron Sorkin
Budget $40 Million
Studio(s) Columbia Pictures , Relativity Media , Scott Rudin Productions , Michael De Luca Productions , Trigger Street Productions
3 '12 Years a Slave' (2013)
Directed by Steve McQueen
Image via Searchlight Pictures
12 Years a Slave is absolutely devastating, but it's perhaps the definitive movie about American slavery. Masterfully directed by the great Steve McQueen, it's set in the antebellum United States, when Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York was abducted and sold into slavery. Bolstered by Chiwetel Ejiofor delivering one of the best performances of the 21st century, it's a magnificent adaptation of the memoir of this fascinatingly resilient man.
The movie never flinches when depicting the harrowing brutality of its subject matter, but it does so with such sensitivity and love that it should be obligatory viewing for all. Visually striking, admirably ambitious, and realized with such rawness, honesty, and intensity that it's hard to look away from the screen at any point during the 2-hour-and-14-minute runtime, it's an exemplary display of 21st-century biopic filmmaking.
12 Years a Slave
Release Date January 9, 2014
Runtime 134minutes
Writers Steve McQueen , John Ridley
Budget $22 million
Studio(s) Searchlight Pictures
2 'The Pianist' (2002)
Directed by Roman Polanski
Image via Pathé Distribution
The WWII epic The Pianist is probably Adrien Brody's best movie. It follows the devastating story of Władysław Szpilman, an acclaimed Polish musician who faced seemingly endless struggles as he lost contact with his family during the Nazi invasion of Poland. As the situation worsened, he had to hide in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
Brody gives one of the most harrowing acting performances ever committed to celluloid, but he's far from the only factor that makes The Pianist such a masterpiece. Profoundly moving, horrifically authentic, and stunning in the way it so perfectly captures the human spirit of Szpilman and all those who suffered through situations similar to his during WWII, it's a biopic as depressing as it is life-affirming.
The Pianist
Release Date March 28, 2003
Runtime 150 Minutes
Writers Ronald Harwood , Wladyslaw Szpilman
1 'Oppenheimer' (2023)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Image via Universal Pictures
For over a couple of decades, Christopher Nolan has kept building up his reputation as one of the most respected and well-liked filmmakers in Hollywood. He has made that reputation definitive with his latest: Oppenheimer, arguably his greatest work since Memento. It chronicles the life and work of J. Robert Oppenheimer, focusing on his involvement in the development of the atomic bomb during WWII, and the fallout of his creation.
Oppenheimer is one of the best drama films of the past quarter-century, a riveting character study that sees Nolan's signature juggling of timelines at its most complex, effective, and impeccable. Cillian Murphy and the rest of the cast are incredible, Nolan's script and direction are superb, and the film's critique of its protagonist and ambition during wartime is deeply layered and powerful. It's one of the most stunning cinematic achievements of the past 25 years, and certainly the 21st century's greatest biopic.
Release Date July 21, 2023
Runtime 150 Minutes
Budget $100 Million
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