Alfred Hitchcock used to say about great films that three things are needed: “The script. The script. The script.”. Often behind some of the greatest films ever made isn't just a great director, talented crew, and an ensemble of actors. Indeed, it’s the words on the page allowing other talented artists to bring them to life.
The 21st Century saw many great screenwriters come to fruition. Guys like Charlie Kaufman, Christopher Nolan, and Kenneth Lonergan are obvious stalwarts. While other writer-director auteurs continued their oeuvre, like Quentin Tarantino, Richard Linklater, and Paul Thomas Anderson, to name a few. Like all decades, a varied amount of storytelling — experimental and traditional — made way, birthing some incredible words, stories, and characters from the gifted pens of those who find themselves in Hollywood. Here are the best American screenplays of the 2000s.
10 Almost Famous
Cameron Crowe’s loving opus Almost Famous is an autobiographical tale of journalism and the obscure path to rock and roll stardom colliding. Based loosely on his life as a young teen covering music for Rolling Stone, Patrick Fugit plays the surrogate Crowe as a wide-eyed kid taken under the guise of a rising band. Billy Crudup and Jason Lee lead the way as they embody, or so they think, the music dream and attempt to win the kid over so that they can be painted as rock gods. The script creates dream-like moments of magic and camaraderie, the “Tiny Dancer” scene-stealing the show. But Crowe also wrote an iconic role for Kate Hudson as the effervescent Penny Lane, stealing hearts and breaking them as Fugit learns what it is to be a part of the ride to nowhere.
9 Up
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Up opens with a beautiful characterization and summation of one man's life. One of the most impactful montages in Pixar studio's history as it sets the stage for the heartbreak of growing to know and mourn someone you shared a life full of love with. Carl (Ed Asner) is the center of the story, in what supposes to be the last chapter of his life. Finally embarking on his childhood dream of exploring the world. Taking his flying house, tied with balloons, Up sets up a fantastical, mystical journey into the great unknown and what it means to rediscover the lust of life of an adventurer. It also showed the impact animation has across generations. But also, the alchemy of childlike humor with meaningful storytelling and the ability to create a deeply resonant, emotionally impactful story. Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy, and Bob Peterson's script is a testament to the power of storytelling.
8 Before Sunset
One of Richard Linklater’s greatest gifts as a director is making the slow passage of time feel tangible. He’s done that with his brilliant Before Trilogy and Before Sunset was our first glimpse at the magic of a day-in-the-life romance with Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) — the two stars share screenwriting credits with Linklater as well. The trio created an unlikely sequel and one that shows the characters older, more fragile, and jaded, with the last eight years of their life clouded by the one magical night the lovers shared. With the hypothetical of what each other is like now gone, the two embark on another day together as they rediscover what made them fall in love when they first met. Before Sunset has all the magic, romance, and chemistry to be considered one of the great romances of this generation while cementing itself as an ode to love, discovery, and heartache.
7 You Can Count On Me
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Kenneth Lonergan has used his playwright acumen and genius sparingly when it comes to feature films. But every time he does, the film is of raw, emotional power. His first still stands as one of the best of the early century. You Can Count On Me finds revelation in the smallest parts of American life and in the tiny, passing moments of familial relationships. His exploration of motherhood trauma and bringing peace to a family severely damaged by their history was incredible. The film is bought to life by two fantastic lead performances from Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo as estranged siblings. The two come together to raise Linney’s son Rudy (Rory Culkin) and focus on the brother getting his life back together so that he can be the man he ought to be. You Can Count On Me captures the feeling of being trapped in a small town. Lonergan's script is a testament to the importance of family and the raw power of love.
6 No Country For Old Men
Based upon the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy, the Coen Brothers found a text suited for their noir stylings and the existential quandaries of living in a land that continues to grow increasingly brutal. The sparse, minimalist landscape of the Texas desert peppered with the nihilism-infused dialogue were not ingredients that screamed box office success and Oscar glory. And yet, the Coen Brothers added another masterpiece to their already tight oeuvre with No Country For Old Men. With a tour de force performance of pure evil manifest, Javier Bardem wanders from place to place killing anyone and everything in his path while going on philosophical diatribes about the importance of the coin toss. “Call it Friendo.”
5 Zodiac
An epic sprawl into the heart of San Francisco, David Fincher’s Zodiac is one of the greatest films made about real-life terror. Working from the diligent script of James Vanderbilt, adapted from Robert Graysmuith’s nonfiction work, delved deep into the processes of the serial killer and the journalists and detectives that did the work to find him. But also, what it means to work so close to evil manifest and how that can ruin your life. The film is terrifyingly cold in the way it depicts the murders of the Zodiac killer, but epic in scope and execution of the bureaucratic detective processes it takes to bring a monster like the Zodiac killer to justice.
4 Mulholland Drive
David Lynch is known for his otherworldly, dimension-defying cinema, mainly for his visual and aesthetic choices. Still, he does not get enough credit for how well he shapes his scripts that are always so attuned to his directing style. Mulholland Drive is a puzzle box of a film that creates a world of body-swapping to show the shallow, fictitious nature of the Hollywood Hills. With mysterious cowboy producers, a hilarious Billy Ray Cyrus cameo, and other horrifying gems that only Lynch could create. Giving way for Naomi Watts to create an earth-shattering star performance as her life slowly decays, showing the allusions her ambitions created and the surreal nature of chasing your dreams in a world unknown.
3 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
One of the great filmmaking feats of the early century was made possible by faithfully and successfully adapting a mammoth undertaking. J.R.R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of The Rings could've been a disaster in the wrong hands, but what Peter Jackson, along with Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens, did was create a tangible script connecting three films seamlessly for an epic, mythical tale of sweeping beauty and darkness. Staying on the page, the quest to destroy the ring is film history and a rarity in the industry. Filming in succession, with strong exposition, character, and world-building, The Lord of the Rings trilogy remains a classic.
2 Inglorious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino's screenplays have long been cherished in Hollywood since his breakthrough Reservoir Dogs. Since the small-time crime thriller went explosive, Tarantino's name is a brand, selling audiences on name alone with his epic constructions, rewriting history, and commenting on specific film genres. Inglorious Basterds is his most heartfelt revenge tale in a long line of long arcs towards redemption. Crafting some of his most imitable characters like Aldo Raine, Hans Landa, and Shoshana Dreyfus, Tarantino’s script unfolds in chapters as a band of American soldiers move to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the height of The Third Reich's power. Crafted in the artful, B-movie viscera Tarantino loves to operate as he weaves together an ensemble of characters and storylines to a classic bloody conclusion. While also his tightest story yet. Basterds is one of the best scripts of the 2000s and probably the strongest of Tarantino's career.
1 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Charlie Kaufman’s scripts are surreal, silly, metaphysical projects that can undergo multiple readings. While that much is true about his concepts, what undeniable truth keeps his films together is the soft humanity and anxiety around life’s big undertakings, like falling in and out of love. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has Jim Carrey at his tragicomic best. Carrey lives a lonely life in the Long Island suburbs, attempting to erase the memories of the women he fell in love with, Clementine — a wonderfully goofy Kate Winslet — via an experimental procedure that goes awry when a crew of doctors starts getting high and drunk. Carrey winds up delving deep into his subconscious and Kaufman beautifully shows the profound importance of learning to deal with your pain. As heartbreak becomes a tangible construction that Carrey must learn to navigate.