The Daniels just won the DGA’s top award for their maximalist hitEverything Everywhere All at Once. Their victory cements them as the favorite to take the Oscar for Best Director, trumpingThe Fabelmans’Steven Spielberg, long presumed to be the favorite.
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It’s genuinely impressive that a pair as daring as the Daniels could receive such mainstream criticism from the usually high-brow industry. However, it’s happening, and both the industry and audiences are embracing more experimental directors who keep delivering groundbreaking and risk-taking efforts that redefine what it means to have a true and compelling cinematic experience.
10The Daniels
The Daniels made their feature film directorial debut with the 2016 absurdist comedySwiss Army Man. The film concerns a man who uses a flatulent corpse to escape a deserted island. Back on the mainland, the man drags the talking corpse on a journey through the wilderness.
With their second film,Everything Everywhere All at Once, the duo cemented themselves as two of the most daring directors in the business. Their films are unconventional and over-the-top, intentionally absurdist looks into thought-provoking themes like life, death, and purpose.The Daniels recently won the DGAfor directingEverything Everywhere, an impressive feat for such unconventional directors.
9Robert Eggers
Known for his intense, challenging films,Robert Eggersis a force to be reckoned with. The director debuted with 2015’s psychological horrorThe Witch, following up with 2018’s equally demanding genre-bending filmThe Lighthouseand the 2022 Viking epicThe Northman.
Eggers' films are ambiguous, confrontational, and discomforting, tough cinematic experiences that demand the most from their audience. The director’s approach is tough and outside mainstream audiences' tastes, making it all the more impressive that Hollywood gives him such creative freedom to deliver his unique projects. However, modern cinema is all the better for having a voice like Eggers among the crowd.
8David Cronenberg
David Cronenberghas been delivering his brand of horny body horror since the mid-1970s, amassing a large army of loyal fans among audiences and critics. Cronenberg’s visual style is often jarring and unsettling, with the director using sci-fi to explore thorny themes about the complexities of human existence.
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Films likeCrash,eXistenZ, andA History of Violencecement him as a singular voice, unafraid to explore the darkest sides of the human psyche through the lens of sexuality, violence, and survival instinct. Cronenberg’s movies are not easy to watch, but they are worthy and rewarding cinematic experiences that transcend genres.
7Brandon Cronenberg
Like father, like son.Brandon Cronenbergis a provocateur, a singular director using science fiction and horror to deconstruct the ugliest and darkest sides of the human experience.Cronenberg’s movies are arguably tougher than his father’s, with the director opting for an in-your-face approach to his storytelling, employing striking imagery to provoke a reaction.
His most recent offering,Infinity Pool, continues his streak of confident yet polarizing films. Unafraid to explore the most perverse sides of humanity, Cronenberg delivers increasingly visceral projects meant to challenge and arouse, mixing shock with artistry in a way few others can.
6Yorgos Lanthimos
Caustic yet engrossing,Yorgos Lanthimosis behind some ofthe 21st century’s best black comedies. The Greek director’s unique style separates him from nearly every other director in the business, a sensibility for tragedy and a deep understanding of how closely it relates to humor.
Lanthimos' films mix dread with comedy, resulting in a uniquely insightful look into human relations and dynamics. From the bleak absurdity ofThe Lobsterto the wicked and unforgiving hilarity ofThe Favourite, Lanthimos is a director whose singular sensibilities might be hard to follow but remain wholly fascinating.
5Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann’s films are visually dazzling. Anachronistic, dynamic, and hectic, Luhrmann’s style is always in overdrive; it’s larger than life, much like the characters in his movies, who seem to exist solely for the stage lights with which the director frames them.
Fromthe contagious excess ofMoulin Rouge!, to the stylish chaos ofThe Great Gatsby, to the razzle-dazzle ofElvis, Luhrmann’s movies are visual experiences unlike any other. They are as subtle as a hammer to the head, but this ball-to-the-wall approach serves his storytelling. Luhrmann might go overboard more often than not, but no one can say his efforts are boring.
4James Cameron
It’s a testament toJames Cameron’s staying power that the three all-time highest-grossing movies were all directed by him. Cameron is a true visionary, a director whose reach always exceeds his grasp; however, his grasp is leagues above almost everyone in the business, meaning his films are always the barometer against which everything else is measured.
WithAvatar: The Way of Water, Cameron took a huge gamble. The film took decades to come together, with the director overseeing the lengthy production to deliver a truly groundbreaking project. Per Cameron’s words,The Way of Waterneeded to be one of the all-time highest-grossing moviesto make a profit. But Cameron wouldn’t be Cameron if he didn’t set such high standards for himself. The huge time and money investment paid off;The Way of Watersurpassed every expectation and became the third-highest-grossing movie ever, receiving critical acclaim and cementing his reputation as a cinematic genius.
3Chloé Zhao
Naturalistic movies can often feel slow and uneventful. Yet, there’s a magic to this subdued approach that not everyone can master.Chloë Zhaomakes it look effortless, as easy as the soft yet intense light accompanying most of her visually-striking films.
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Zhao finds power in the quiet moments, capturing the beauty of everything that can be so easily taken for granted. There’s might in Zhao’s self-effacing approach to filmmaking, which explains why her large-scale detour into blockbuster territory didn’t quite stick the landing. However, even if Zhao’s restrained, winding style didn’t work with the MCU’s restraints,Eternalsremains one of the franchise’s boldest and most distinctive efforts.
2Jordan Peele
Jordan Peeleis redefining the horror genre with his continuous deconstruction of it. The comedian-turned-director keeps pushing the genre’s boundaries, mixing it with new genres and delivering compelling, disquieting stories that echo real-life societal issues in powerful and effectively eerie ways.
His 2017 game-changing psychological horrorGet Outmade him an Oscar winner and confirmed the narrative power of a well-crafted horror movie. Future effortsUsandNopefurther cemented him as a singular artist who could deliver thoughtful and acerbic societal critiques that could still work as chilling horror pieces with broad commercial appeal.
1Damien Chazelle
AlthoughDamien Chazellemight not seem like a particularly subversive director at first sight, a closer look into his filmography will confirm otherwise. The director delivered a splashy, overly-tender ode to Hollywood withLa La Landbefore making a full 180 with the quiet, introspective character study withFirst Man.
However, it’sBabylonthat truly cements him as a daring director willing to challenge and divide. Chazelle goes overboard and then some, delivering an excessive ode to excess that overwhelms the senses.Babylonmight’ve disappointed critically and commercially, but Chazelle’s desire to disrupt remains impressive nonetheless.
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