Critically acclaimed movies that are oscar winners or nominees in best actor - motion picture drama category

12 Years a Slave(2013)

Combined Rating:
97
Combined Critics Rating: 96

In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.



Manchester by the Sea(2016)

Combined Rating:
95
Combined Critics Rating: 95

A depressed uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.



Marriage Story(2019)

Combined Rating:
95
Combined Critics Rating: 95

Noah Baumbach's incisive and compassionate look at a marriage breaking up and a family staying together.



Call Me by Your Name(2017)

Combined Rating:
92
Combined Critics Rating: 94

In Northern Italy in 1983, seventeen year-old Elio begins a relationship with visiting Oliver, his father's research assistant, with whom he bonds over his emerging sexuality, their Jewish heritage, and the beguiling Italian landscape.



The Social Network(2010)

Combined Rating:
96
Combined Critics Rating: 94

Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, but is later sued by two brothers who claimed he stole their idea, and the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.



Phantom Thread(2017)

Combined Rating:
86
Combined Critics Rating: 92

Set in 1950's London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover.



There Will Be Blood(2007)

Combined Rating:
93
Combined Critics Rating: 91

A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.



Selma(2014)

Combined Rating:
91
Combined Critics Rating: 91

A chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.



The King's Speech(2010)

Combined Rating:
93
Combined Critics Rating: 90

The story of King George VI of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.



BlacKkKlansman(2018)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 90

Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events.



The Father(2020)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 90

A man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.



The Godfather(1972)

Combined Rating:
93
Combined Critics Rating: 90

The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.



Lincoln(2012)

Combined Rating:
91
Combined Critics Rating: 89

As the War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.



Brokeback Mountain(2005)

Combined Rating:
91
Combined Critics Rating: 88

The story of a forbidden and secretive relationship between two cowboys, and their lives over the years.



The Departed(2006)

Combined Rating:
92
Combined Critics Rating: 88

An undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.



Ford v Ferrari(2019)

Combined Rating:
91
Combined Critics Rating: 88

American car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference and the laws of physics to build a revolutionary race car for Ford in order to defeat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.



Lawrence of Arabia(1962)

Combined Rating:
91
Combined Critics Rating: 88

The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.



Milk(2008)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 87

The story of Harvey Milk, and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California's first openly gay elected official.



The Descendants(2011)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 87

A land baron tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.



Dallas Buyers Club(2013)

Combined Rating:
91
Combined Critics Rating: 87

In 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.




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