As directorial debuts go, these really are the best of the best in that department.
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00:00Filmmaking is not an easy feat by any means, and that is especially evident when it comes
00:04to making your first movie. With that in mind, it's common practice in Hollywood that most
00:10filmmakers only continue to improve with the more experience they gain, but it's not uncommon for
00:15some to hit the nail on the head on their first go. An abundance of films developed over the 20th
00:21century, such as Charles Lawton's The Night of the Hunter, Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men,
00:25and Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, to name only a handful, make that abundantly clear.
00:31So, what about the best within the 21st century? Well, there's plenty more where that came from.
00:36I'm Ewan, you're watching War Culture, and here are the 10 Best Directorial Debuts of the 21st Century
00:42so far. 10. Ex Machina
00:45British writer and director Alex Garland's sci-fi thriller Ex Machina garnered critical acclaim when
00:51it was released back in 2014. Ex Machina is a claustrophobic tale exploring the relationship
00:57between humans and artificial intelligence, and how initial curiosity can lead to devastating
01:03consequences. It should be said that the picture doesn't just feature within this list due to that
01:08unforgettable dancing scene, but seriously, who knew Oscar Isaac had moves like that in his locker?
01:13Ex Machina is creepy, gripping, and keeps you hooked through immense suspense. Inhabiting a genre that
01:20historically has big money backing behind it with a mere budget of only $15 million, Ex Machina is
01:26an intimate and prescient take on subject matter that we are going to have to reckon with in the
01:31years to come. 9. The Babadook
01:34If it's in a word or it's in luck, you can't get rid of The Babadook. Jennifer Ken's 2014 horror movie
01:40The Babadook will surely go down as one of the all-time great directorial debuts. A perfect meditation on
01:47grief and depression, led by two great performances from Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman, all punctuated
01:53menacingly by the eponymous creature itself. Kent's low-budget indie horror, adapted from their own
02:00short film Monster, which she developed in 2005, focuses on a young widow and her traumatized child
02:07as they adjust to life without their husband and father respectively. Out of nowhere, a mysterious-looking
02:13children's book appears at their house, telling the story of The Babadook, a pallid Dickensian-looking
02:19monster that terrorizes those who discover its existence. What follows is a lesson in subliminal
02:25terror. The Babadook lingers on the periphery of every frame. Grief and trauma give in metaphysical
02:32form. It's a truly superb debut, and I would argue the definitive genre text on all the awful feelings
02:39that we carry with us when someone passes away. Because for all that The Babadook is a blisteringly
02:45scary time, it also has one of the most triumphant and uplifting horror movie endings. We might not be
02:51able to excise grief entirely, but as The Babadook shows us, if we can make peace with it, then we can
02:57all learn to live again. Number 8, Hereditary. Ari Aster has quickly become one of the big vanguards
03:04of the horror genre over the last several years. Aster's direction traps the audience through long
03:09takes and wide shots that work in tandem to exhibit unsettling imagery, from which the viewer is
03:15subsequently unable to escape. Hereditary itself is a wild ride that explores ancestry, witchcraft,
03:22and satanism through a modern-day American family who face a horrifying fate their lineage bestowed
03:28onto them. The movie is evenly blood-curdling and spine-chilling, boasting standout performances,
03:34in particular from Toni Collette and Alex Wolfe, with the former well and truly robbed of an Oscar
03:39nomination for her efforts. Number 7, John Wick. John Wick changed the game when it released in 2014.
03:46Directed by veteran stunt coordinator Chad Stahelski, with uncredited work by fellow stuntman
03:52David Leitch, although not the strongest of the now four-picture saga, the first John Wick burst onto
03:57the scene and effectively acted as an education to Hollywood on how to do action well, rubbishing
04:03the shaky cam of the post-born era, as well as quick-cut editing to hide bad choreography and instead
04:09giving the viewer a full picture of the carnage unfolding on screen. All with a career-best Keanu Reeves
04:16showing exactly why he's such a great performer. The first John Wick does lag in some respects
04:22behind its sequels, which up the ante in regards to action and the overall lore of Derek Kolstad's
04:28world, but it's a tight and efficient movie anchored by a truly brilliant turn from Reeves,
04:33who is perfectly suited to the screenplay's mix of tragedy, levity, and relentless action.
04:39The true star of the film, however, is Stahelski's direction. Two decades of working as a stunt
04:44coordinator trained his eye for action and being able to marshal that as a director led to one of
04:49the purest genre efforts we've ever gotten. It's not my personal favourite of the franchise,
04:54but what a great way to announce yourself as a director.
04:586. After Sun
05:00There aren't many films made in the last two decades that hit harder and cut deeper than
05:05Charlotte Wells' directorial debut, After Sun. Starring a career-best performance to date from Paul
05:11Nescal, as well as introducing many to the wickedly talented Frankie Corio, After Sun is a real gem of
05:18a movie. A dark, coming-of-age drama, After Sun explores the loving but complex relationship between
05:24a father and a daughter, as her now adult self attempts to put the pieces back together regarding
05:30how much she truly knew him and about the pain he was suffering with on their last holiday together.
05:35After Sun is undoubtedly one of the best films we've received in recent years,
05:39making its one Academy Award nomination all the more perplexing.
05:435. Nightcrawler
05:45Nightcrawler's exploration of crime journalism depicts a monstrous and immoral profession confined
05:51with an unforgiving Los Angeles. He's as despicable and dislikeable as they come,
05:56but Jake Gyllenhaal's Lewis Bloom is just a physical embodiment of the inhumane domain
06:01he inhabits for the audience to detest and, twistedly, become enchanted by.
06:06Nightcrawler offers a seasoning of strong, supporting performances from Bill Paxton,
06:11Rene Russo, and Rhys Ahmed that stand out amongst others, but it is Gyllenhaal who studies the ship
06:17so that it sails most smoothly. However, this was only made possible due to Dan Gilroy's wonderful
06:22direction and Oscar-nominated script that allowed Gyllenhaal unlimited access to investigate LA's deepest
06:28and darkest secrets.
06:304. Michael Clayton
06:32From one Gilroy brother to another now, and yeah, 2007 is kind of one of the best movie years
06:38we've ever gotten. For a brief moment in the late 2000s, we got a spirited resurgence of artful,
06:44independently crafted features like No Country for Old Men, Zodiac, There Will Be Blood, and the
06:50assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford. Truly a banger year, and one of the best efforts
06:56from it was Michael Clayton, which marked the directorial debut of one Tony Gilroy.
07:01Years before he rocked up to the galaxy far, far away and stole all the other Star Wars movies and
07:07shows' lunch money with Rogue One and Andor, Gilroy had cut his teeth as a screenwriter on the Bourne
07:12series and a few other efforts from the late 90s. However, it was Michael Clayton that truly illustrated
07:18the extent of Gilroy's talents, a film that he both wrote and directed. Starring George
07:24Clooney as the titular character, Michael Clayton is a stylish, moody, and gripping legal thriller that
07:30dives into the underbelly of the agricultural industry and the dark arts of the legal profession.
07:35It's one of Clooney's finest ever performances, with the actor perfectly selling Clayton's
07:40role in the turmoil and the high-stakes stress of the conspiracy being unraveled. And he's matched
07:45perfectly on the opposite side by Tilda Swinton, who plays a lawyer working for the agricultural
07:50giant in Clayton's sights. Truly fierce filmmaking, and one that exemplifies why 2007
07:56was such a great year for the medium. 3. Pig
08:01Pig might be one of the most slept-on movies we've gotten over the last decade. Starring Nicolas
08:06Cage as a reclusive truffle pig farmer whose prized companion is a duck did one night,
08:11Pig also marked the directorial debut of Michael Sanoski. Sanoski's film is beautifully paced,
08:17and tells a lyrical, heartbreakingly good story anchored by one of Cage's finest ever performances,
08:24a brilliant reminder of his unique talent having been afforded ideal space by the director and
08:28screenwriter Vanessa Brock to do his stuff. Pig is such an accomplished piece of work that it almost
08:34beggars believe that it's Sarnoski's directorial and screenwriting debut. As things currently stand,
08:40it's my favourite film of the 2020s, a beautifully affecting piece of cinema that dives into loss and
08:46legacy and the burdens they can bring. 2. In Bruges
08:51Martin McDonagh has to be one of the greatest filmmakers of the last two decades, and as far
08:55as directorial debuts go, they don't get much better than In Bruges. The film follows the aftermath
09:00of a botched job with hitmen Ray and Ken, expertly portrayed by Irish double act Colin Farrell and
09:07Brendan Gleeson, who find themselves stuck in the rather dull city of Bruges while they await
09:11ramifications from Ray Fiennes as Harry, their psychotic boss. In Bruges exhibits McDonagh's
09:17trademark balance of comedy and tragedy that we've all grown accustomed to. Many factors play into the
09:22film's favour and make it as popular as it is, but one overwhelming reason that literally can't be
09:28overstated is the on-screen chemistry shared and showcased by Farrell and Gleeson. Ray and Ken are
09:34the total opposites of one another, but that's what makes them work so well as a duo. Ray's temperamental
09:40nature is contradicted by Ken's thick skin, making them the idyllic yin and yang for one another.
09:46Thus, to make it work, In Bruges requires Farrell and Gleeson to bring their respective A-games to the
09:51table, and they all but deliver on that front as McDonagh exchanges Bruges' characteristic
09:56piece for purgatory. 1. Get Out
10:00If you'd asked folks 10 years ago if they thought Jordan Peele would go on to become one of the key
10:05innovators in the horror genre and develop some of the best films of the decade, they would have
10:10probably been surprised. Peele was a beloved figure on the comedy scene for years before he swapped
10:16sketch routines to the director's chair, and while talented, hadn't really intimated the feats he was
10:21capable of. This is part of what made his 2017 directorial debut, Get Out, such a phenomenon.
10:28Peele's Get Out is a genius, fluid horror satire and arguably the most essential film in the 2010s,
10:35a black-led production that takes aim at racism and the polite insidiousness in which it pervades
10:41in wide spaces. Drawing upon the Stepford Wives and Rosemary's Baby as inspiration, Peele's film is
10:47both surreal and unsettling, and a perfect announcement to the world that a new horror king was in town.
10:53And those were the 10 Best Directorial Debut Films of the 21st Century so far!
10:58What have your favorite debuts the last two decades been? Share your thoughts and recommendations down
11:03in the comments below as there are a bunch I know I like but didn't make the cut. Don't forget to like
11:08the video if you enjoyed it and hey, if you're new here and fancy more, why not hit the subscribe button
11:13too. Either way, thanks a bunch for watching, I've been Ewan and I'll catch you next time. Bye!