The 10 best films of 2014

2014 has not been a vintage year for cinema – we were promised a lot but many of the films failed to live up to expectations. The new Hunger Games film was tedious, as was the new Planet of the Apes offering and the so-called ‘cerebral’ offerings such as The Imitation Game simply didn’t cut the mustard. Having said all this, there have been a few wonderful films released this year, many of which sadly were’t seen by a mass audience. Here are the best films of 2014 by UK release date.

10. AMERICAN HUSTLE

This terrific 70’s romp from David O’Russell was all about the big hair and the big personalities. A great cast including Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams and Robert De Niro and a Scorsese lite plot, made for a great film.

9. LOCKE

It shows what a ‘left field’ film year it was when a movie that just shows Tom Hardy driving to London in a car for an hour and a half was not the most experimental movie of the year. It’s so gripping though – the M40 never before looked this interesting!

8. CITIZENFOUR

The year’s best documentary was based around an interview that Laura Poitras conducted with Edward Snowden. Gripping and disturbing in equal measure, an Oscar nomination would not come as a surprise.

7. TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT

The Dardenne brothers may never stray out of their comfort zone but they are the best proponents of social realism working in cinema today. Two Days, One Night is the latest addition to their already phenomenal filmography.

6. OUT OF THE FURNACE

One of the most perplexingly underrated films of 2014, Out of the Furnace is a wonderful tale of revenge and sacrifice in America’s ‘rust belt’. An all-star cast including Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Forest Whitaker and Willem Dafoe blew viewers away.

5. DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

What more is there to say about this film that hasn’t already been said? This film ticked all the right boxes and was a joy to watch. Jared Leto’s performance as a transgender woman was particularly commendable.

4. STARRED UP

Jack O’Connell was without doubt 2014’s most impressive actor and was terrific in this gritty prison drama directed by David Mackenzie.

3. ’71

O’Connell again starred in this film set in Northern Ireland during the troubles. He plays a squaddie who gets separated from his unit in Belfast – the psychopathic Sean Harris plays a captain in the Military Reaction Force tasked with getting him back.

2. NIGHTCRAWLER

One of the year’s unexpected successes, Nightcrawler was a fascinating meditation upon the 21st century’s obsession with visceral, emotive images. With Jake Gyllenhaal putting in the best performance of his life, Nightcrawler is very much the spiritual sequel to Cronenberg’s Crash (the 1996 film not the 2004 film!)

1. BOYHOOD

It says a lot about the cinema of 2014 that the best film this year probably wouldn’t have made the top ten in a decent film year. Having said all this, Boyhood was a wonderfully innovative movie, having been filmed over the course of twelve years. It’s quite simply a must watch.