The Most Underrated Movies of the 2000s

Here’s a repost on a slow news day.

My list of the most underrated films of the 2010s was already published in March. Now I’ll be tackling the 2000s — a much stronger decade for film, it was coming off the indie cinema boom of the ‘90s as independent studios were starting to get bought by the likes of Fox and Sony. The definition of an independent movie started to change this decade.

As far as critics go, a good blueprint would be the massive critics poll I conducted in the summer of 2020. None of the films in the ensuing top 50 should really be counted as underrated, they all clearly have massive support. So, how about the underrated gems of the 2000s?

The term “underrated,” for me, at least, means a film that slipped under the radar and wasn’t talked about much at the time of its release, or even now. I went through my archives and, if you’re looking for good viewing recommendations, then these 30 should do the trick.

Curtis Hanson’s Wonder Boys, Sean Penn’s The Pledge, Bill Paxton’s Frailty, Peter Mullan’s The Magdalene Sisters, Jonathan Demme’s The Manchuarian Candidate, Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, Richard Kelly’s The Box, Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World, John Dahl’s Joy Ride, Joshua Marston’s Maria Full Of Grace, Jonathan Glazer’s Birth, Greg Motolla’s Adventureland, Ramin Bahrani’s Goodbye Solo, Bernardo Bertolluci’s The Dreamers, Tim Blake Nelson’s The Grey Zone, Mark Romanek’s One Hour Photo, Tom McCarthy’s The Station Agent, Gus Van Sant’s Gerry, Wes Craven’s Red Eye, Scott Frank’s The Lookout, Guillame Canet’s Tell No One, Joe Carnahan’s Narc, David Mamet’s Heist, Steven Soderbergh’s Solaris, Duncan Jones’ Moon, Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto, Tom Tykwer’s Perfume, Liliana Cavani’s Ripley’s Game, Ridley Scott’s Matchstick Men, Mabrouk El Mechri’s JCVD

Time for some recommendations. What are your undervalued movies of 2010s?