10) Locke
Those who’ve never seen Locke might wonder how a film about a man driving a car and talking down the phone about concrete could have the critical standing that it does. And while the reason for its power can’t all be laid at the feet of its leading man – writer-director Steven Knight’s script is incredible, like a theatre piece made into a social-realist thriller – it does feature one of the best performances of recent times, in Tom Hardy’s portrayal of embattled construction worker Ivan Locke.
Hardy is so good not just because of Knight’s words or because production forced the actor to perform the script straight through in its entirety every night. The actor’s power, and the power of Knight’s film, comes from the fact that the camera is pointed at Hardy throughout without distraction, almost in recognition of the fact that this is an actor that alone is compelling enough to hold an audience’s attention. And Hardy, with his mellifluous Welsh accent, implacable drive, and everyman quality, is absolutely the real deal, in his greatest acting turn to date.