For audiences to identify with a character and invest in their tale, they don’t require the typical legendary traits of a hero. Antiheroes appeared in a wide array of films throughout the 2010s. Some were gun-toting badasses like dog-avenging ex-hitman John Wick, while others, like Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, were ordinary teenagers who didn’t appreciate anything their mother did for them. Below are some of the best antiheroes films from 2010s.
1. Nightcrawler (2014)
Director- Dan Gilroy
Louis Bloom is a small-time criminal. He steals steel, bronze, and copper from the streets of Los Angeles and is looking for work. Louis decides to buy a camcorder and a police scanner radio from a pawn shop after seeing a freelance filmmaker capturing an accident. He overhears Nina Romina’s name, who is in charge of a television station’s TV news, and sells his first footage. Louis learns how to better his films and enlists the assistance of the homeless Rick. When Louis learns about his opponent Joe Loder’s new van and equipment, he sabotages it, causing a serious disaster. Louis is a sociopath who sees gore as a better way to get paid for his film. As a result, he quits his job as a crime photographer to get involved in crime scenes and advance in his new occupation.
2. The Social Network (2010)
Director- David Fincher
The narrative of Facebook’s founders and the subsequent legal fights, which lasted several years. The idea for a shareable social information site came to Mark Zuckerman one night. After he hacked into his school’s database and published the images of all the ladies at the school. As told primarily in flashbacks while he gives depositions in two lawsuits. Eduardo Saverin, one of his roommates, gives the initial funding. So, Zuckerman cleverly outmanoeuvres two other students with a similar idea. Saverin’s relationship deteriorates, and he finds himself on the outside looking in. Overall, the situation paints an unpleasant picture of everyone concerned.
3. The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)
Director- Martin Scorsese
Jordan Belfort and his colleague Donny Azoff founded the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont in the early 1990s. Their company rapidly expands, as does their reputation in the trading community and on Wall Street. As their social position rises, so does the number of drugs and alcohol they abuse. As well as the number of falsehoods they tell. They attract attention like no one else. Throwing lavish parties for their employees when they score it big on high-stakes trading. Belfort is dubbed “The Wolf Of Wall Street” on the cover of Forbes Magazine as a result of this. He devises new techniques to disguise his tracks and watch his riches rise as the FBI becomes aware of his trading schemes. Belfort eventually devises a method to hide their money in a European bank.
4. Black Panther (2018)
Director- Ryan Coogler
Five African tribes are at odds over a Vibranium-rich meteorite. One warrior ingests a metal-affected “heart-shaped plant” and obtains superhuman skills, becoming the first “Black Panther.” He unifies everyone save the Jabari Tribe to build Wakanda. The Wakandans have been using Vibranium for millennia to build sophisticated technology and isolate themselves from the rest of the world by acting as a Third World country. King T’Chaka of Wakanda pays a visit to his brother N’Jobu, who is working incognito in Oakland, California, in 1992. T’Chaka accuses N’Jobu of helping Ulysses Klaue, a black-market arms dealer, steal Vibranium from Wakanda. T’Chaka’s suspicions are confirmed when N’Jobu’s accomplice exposes himself to be Zuri, another secret Wakandan.
5. A Prophet (2010)
Director- Jacques Audiard
Malik El Djebena, an illiterate eighteen-year-old Franco-Algerian, is condemned to six years in jail at Brécourt for assaulting police officers. With little money and no protection, Malik finds himself alone and vulnerable in a world of corruption and violence dominated by Corsican and Muslim gangs. César Luciani, a prominent Corsican mobster, pushes him to kill the Muslin Reyeb and then supports and protects him in his gang. Ryad befriends Malik and teaches him to read and write, and the two become great friends. Meanwhile, César employs Malik to assist him in his corrupt casino business outside of prison. Malik also learns how to trade drugs and rises through César’s mafia hierarchy.
6. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Director- Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Riggan Thomson is a British actor who played the famed superhero “Birdman” for almost two decades. Now in his forties, he’s making his Broadway debut, directing “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” a drama based on a Raymond Carver novel. He’ll play out the show previews with the help of his assistant and daughter Sam, as well as his producer Jake, even when a talented actor he hired, Mike Shiner, acts arbitrarily, the internal issues between him and the other casts, his useless maximum efforts to critics, and the unexpected voices of his old character- the Birdman, all conspire to push his sanity until the first debut show.
7. Lady Bird (2017)
Director- Greta Gerwig
Christine McPherson, sometimes known as “Lady Bird,” is an outspoken Catholic high school senior student who dreams of eventually leaving her hometown of Sacramento, California, on pins and needles to attend a prestigious New York City college. With her middling grades and a family trying to make ends meet, attending a public university closer to home would be much more affordable and safer, especially after last year’s horrific 9/11 tragedy. In the end, Lady Bird must find a way to make her goals come true despite her grades, countless college applications, blossoming teenage libido, and a strong-willed mother who is a true mother hen.
8. Driver (2011)
Director- Nicolas Winding Refn
The anonymous phlegmatic driver is defined solely by his profession: by day, he’s a technician and a daredevil stuntman for high-octane action movies, but at night, he’s a superb escape wheelman for crooks. However, when an unforeseen contact with Irene, the Driver’s sensitive neighbour and mother of a small son, sparks a passionate attraction, things quickly spiral out of control, as a hesitant job with her ex-con husband turns into a bloodbath. Now, on the run, bloodied and clutching a bag stuffed with Mafia cash, the Driver must not only defend himself, but also safeguard the helpless Irene and her kid. For years, the stoic Driver has been executing his precise getaways to perfection.
9. Joker (2019)
Director- Todd Philips
Arthur Fleck, a mentally ill street clown and failing stand-up comic struggling to make people laugh in dismal early 1980s Gotham City, wears his smudgy makeup every day to scratch out a life. Fleck’s shaky grasp on reality, mocked, bullied, and above all, marginalised, will prepare the way for a steady decline into a dark realm of unfettered violence, when a loaded pistol enters the picture, delivering the long-awaited emancipation. The drugs eventually ceased working, and Arthur’s ferocious hatred appears to be the only way out.
10. V For Vendetta (2005)
Director- James McTeigue
In the not-too-distant future, torture chambers, inequitable punishments, and discrimination against minorities will be commonplace in Britain. In the midst of all of this upheaval, one guy known simply as V dared to challenge the authority and was labelled a terrorist. V saves a sweet young woman named Evey Hammond one night, and the two form an odd friendship that leads to Evey becoming V’s ally. V, though, is charismatic and has a zeal for justice, but he is also bitter and has a personal loathing for the government because of something they did to him many years ago. As November 5th approaches, the day V declares he and those who will follow him will stand up to the government once and for all, Detective Finch becomes increasingly motivated to learn the truth about V, but his search leads him to wonder if he is on the right side.
So, what are your thoughts on the matter? Which films and actors do you think are iconic and best antiheroes films in the 2010s? Do you think the current batch of directors and writers had successfully made a film from the characters in a good way? Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section down below.
