25 Best Film Directors of the 21st Century (So Far)
Which directors have received the best reviews from professional critics since 2000? Find out below, where we rank this century's top filmmakers by their average Metascores.
To be included, a director must have four or more eligible films. Such films have seven or more reviews from professional critics and were first released (in any country) on or after January 1, 2000, and must have been released (including as a straight-to-Netflix streaming release) at some point in the USA. Multi-director anthology films are excluded, as are theatrical re-releases of older films. Averages were calculated using Metascores from July 12, 2017, and include films released through July 7, 2017.
#2
Alexander Payne
Payne has received an Oscar nomination for directing each of his last three films, though his two Oscar wins came for co-writing Sideways and The Descendants. Payne has never received anything lower than a 64 for his directorial efforts, though his writing and producing credits include a few duds. Due in theaters in December after opening the Venice Film Festival next month, his next film is the oddball sci-fi dramedy Downsizing.
| Films directed, 2000-2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| ▣ | Sideways | 2004 |
| ▣ | Nebraska | 2013 |
| ▣ | About Schmidt | 2002 |
| ▣ | The Descendants | 2011 |