The Best Director category is one of the most important at the Academy Awards. Usually, it’s the second-to-last category announced during the ceremony, signifying its importance. Many of cinema’s greatest filmmakers have won at least one Oscar, includingJohn Ford,Wiliam Wyler,Billy Wilder,Francis Ford Coppola,Miloš Forman,Steven Spielberg,Alfonso Cuarón, and most recently,Christopher Nolan.
The 2020s have been a true embarrassment of riches for the Best Director category, with five incredibly worthy and accomplished winners who have claimed gold with career-best work that rightfully earned them acclaim. Each of the five victors has brought something unique and striking to modern cinema, and their movies represent brilliant and truly daring exercises in bold and unmatched creativity. Indeed,every Best Director winner of the 2020s is incredible, so ranking them is no easy task. Still,this list will rank the five victors in the categorybased on their achievements behind the camera, how singular their vision was, and how consistent the finished product was.
5Chloé Zhao
Won Best Director for ‘Nomadland’ (2020)
It’s important to clarify that, unlike other categories this decade,Best Director comprises a collection of five extraordinary filmmakers, all of whom are very worthy of the Oscar. However, if we had to determine someone to rank last, it would have to beChloé Zhao. It’s not thatNomadlandis a bad movie; on the contrary, it’s a tender, poignant, and intimate portrait of middle America and those struggling to overcome the hardship left behind by the Great Recession. A large reason behind its success is Zhao’s hand behind the camera and her subtle yet profoundly affecting approach to the narrative.
However, it must also be said thatNomadlandis particularly striking thanks to cinematographerJoshua James Richards, who beautifully captures the vastness of rural America through his lens, andFrances McDormand’s powerful performance, which earned her a third Oscar.Zhao’s touch is presentthroughout, but itisn’t as noteworthy as subsequent winnersof the category, whose distinct vision practically leaps off the screen. It’s true thatNomadland’s quieter approach doesn’t lend itself to a more overt display of Zhao’s abilities, which is and of itself a testament to her gifts. However, it also results in a film that’sless about its director and more about everyone else.
4The Daniels
Won Best Director for ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (2022)
Image via Allyson Riggs/A24
Speaking of boisterous visions that practically leap off the screen,Everything Everywhere All at Onceis a parade of theDaniels' wild, unrestrained, chaotic, and utterly astounding sensitivities. This daring and maximalist blend of genres, themes, and feelings is among the most singular andimportant Best Picture winnersat the Oscars and one of the most refreshing and boldest choices the Academy has ever made. The film is simply unforgettable, and that’s largely because of the duo behind it.
The Daniels, a directing duo comprised ofDaniel KwanandDaniel Scheinert, rose to prominence with their unique, quirky, absurd, and often challenging approach to filmmaking.Their idiosyncratic methods are excellently showcasedinEverything Everywhere All at Once,a true maximalist epic that lives up to its title. The film is too much all the time yet never feels out of focus, which is all thanks to the Dnaiels' firm grasp on their storytelling. However, it is overwhelming, albeit by design, andit canoccasionallygo in circles around one repetitive idea. In those moments, it’s the cast who keeps things going, ensuring the film stays afloat despite its own devices.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
3Jane Campion
Won Best Director for ‘The Power of the Dog’ (2021)
The Power of the Dogwas the rightful Best Picture winner of 2022, and it’s really not up for debate. The film is a masterclass in tension, eroticism, longing, and unexpressed desire supported by a brilliant cast, includinga career-bestBenedict Cumberbatchand a deeply unsettlingKodi Smit-McPhee, and elevated by the one and onlyJane Campion. The only female director nominated twice in the category, Campion is a master of unspoken emotions, a gift that’sexcellently displayed inThe Power of the Dog.
The film thrives on the expansive spaces of the American landscapes, captured elegantly by cinematographerAri Wegner’s lens. However, the film’s true power relies onCampion’s ability to turn a simple feeling, melancholy, into a two-plus-hour movie. Every shot andevery frame is solitary and almost tormented, a piece of a larger puzzle that paints a deep and moving portrait of broken people seeking companionship in the only way they can. Campion craftsa truly riveting tale of masculinity with a distinctly female gaze, a powerful deconstruction of one of America’s oldest myths with a modern approach.The Power of the Dogdeserved so much better from the Academy, but at least Campion walked away the victor, as she should’ve.
The Power of the Dog
2Christopher Nolan
Won Best Director for ‘Oppenheimer’ (2023)
No director has been as influential or popular with both film lovers and mainstream audiences asChristopher Nolan. Arguably the best representative of the perfect intersection between art and commercialism, Nolan has blurred the line between auteurism and blockbuster cinema, constantly defying expectations and proving his most garden detractors wrong. With masterpieces likeMementoandInterstellaralready under his belt, Nolan reached new heights with the 2023 thriller biopicOppenheimer, finally claiming the Oscar gold that had long eluded him.
WithOppenheimer, Nolan reaches the apex of his directorial abilities. The film isa gargantuan achievement of execution and ambition, yet not once does Nolan’s grasp exceed his reach. The director is in full control of a vision that could’ve easily been far too daunting. Even more impressive is how Nolan can go from using a standard biopic approach to turning the narrative into a full-on oppressive and claustrophobic psychological thriller about a man’s struggle with the consequences of his ambition. Aided by an outstanding,Oscar-winning performance fromCillian Murphyand supported by his usual collaborators,Nolan makes a truly monumental picturethat ranks among the best in the new millennium.
Oppenheimer
1Bong Joon-ho
Won Best Director for ‘Parasite’ (2019)
Parasiteis arguably the best movie to win Best Picture in the 21st Century, and it’s largely thanks toBong Joon-ho’s commanding hand behind the camera. The South Korean director is behind some of modern cinema’s most thought-provoking and daring movies, from the ambitious sci-fiSnowpiercerto the emotionally poignantOkjato the underrated monster movieThe Host. However, he truly reached a peak withParasite, a modern masterpiece is ever there was one.
Bong’scommand of the film’s twisting and unyielding narrative is quite impressive, as is his ability to craft a cohesive plot despite the many tonal shifts in the story. Indeed, Bong juggles genres and themes as if it were nothing, going from bitingly and morbidly hilarious to tense and chilling from one scene to the next. The film excels as both a pitch-black comedy anda tight psychological thrillerwithout ever losing momentum.Parasiteisa work of unprecedented geniusfrom a director who has never been afraid of taking bold narrative swings. Yet, Bong never forgets about the heart at the center of his stories nor does he sacrifice substance for style. WithParasite, the South Korean director madethe ultimate deconstruction of modern society, cementing his place among the all-time greats of the seventh art.
