Ali Plumb's 10 Best 21st Century Indie Films

Though I've tackled many different genres in my 21st Century top fives of late, there are a few excellent movies I'm desperate to share with you that don't happily fit in the heists / comedy / time-travel sci-fi... etc brackets. Here, then, are 10 - yes, 10! - of my favourite "indie" films that are undeniably brilliant, hard to categorise and, well, not many people have seen.

I've mentioned a couple of films that I might consider for this list before, such as Slow West and Wind River in my Westerns top five, and Blue Ruin in my thrillers list, so if you're intrigued by any or all of the below, do check out my other recommendations for a few more underseen curios.

I should also point out these aren't in any particular order - so be careful before you press the "I can't BELIEVE he rates X over Y!?!?!" button on your nearest social media outlet. And if you do like these 10, let me know because there's plenty more where these came from...

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An uplifting, heartwarming coming-of-age tale of '80s Ireland, embarrassing haircuts and the perils of forming your own band at school. It features some genuinely very catchy songs, so good luck trying to get 'Drive It Like You Stole It' out of your head. You have been warned!

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Before she won her Oscar for Room and suited up to play Captain Marvel, Brie Larson was wowing the lucky audiences who saw heartfelt group home for troubled teenagers drama Short Term 12 in 2013. Full of stunning performances from a number of increasingly excellent young actors (Booksmart's Kaitlyn Dever, Atlanta's Lakeith Stanfield, Bohemian Rhapsody's Rami Malek, Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Stephanie Beatriz), this film tackles some painful topics beautifully. In other words, it is a bit of a tearjerker, and perhaps not one to watch with the young 'uns, but if you're in its zone Short Term 12 will really, really impress you.

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I put this eccentrically-named Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson comedy drama in my top 10 films of 2019 because, honestly, it's just so sweet. The bond between newcomer Zack Gottsagen and LaBeouf is just so special. It tells the story of a young man with Down's syndrome (Gottsagen) who escapes from an assisted living facility to go on the lamb with new pal Tyler (LaBeouf), giving off major Huckleberry Finn vibes, all capped off with a charming soundtrack and a great performance from Johnson to boot. Give this film some time and I promise you'll be rewarded.

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Lord Of The Rings alumnus Viggo Mortensen received an Oscar nomination for playing Captain Fantastic - not a superhero, I can assure you - in this difficult, bittersweet, powerful indie drama. I really should be clear though: some pretty tough stuff happens early on, so if you're tempted by its surface-level 'Family living wild in the Pacific Northwest wilderness' Swiss Family Robinson vibes, just know... it's not all high-fives and rainbows. Here's a beautifully delivered punch to the gut (in a good way) with Mortensen's stunning acting landing the best blows.

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I should point out that I don't just like movies where people move into the woods to go off grid, honestly, but here is the second of three I have on my list today. This is not a joke. Leave No Trace may be my favourite of them all, in fact, with the perennially under-appreciated Ben Foster (Hell Or High Water, 3:10 To Yuma) playing a military veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, living in a forest outside Portland, Oregon with precious little interaction with the outside world. His work with the daughter character (the sensational New Zealand talent Thomasin McKenzie, recently seen in Jojo Rabbit) is what powers this movie, delivering scene after scene that will stick long in the memory. I have banged on about this movie quite enough now, so I'll just have to leave it with this: watch Leave No Trace. It is excellent.

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Three teenagers carry out an unusual form of rebellion by building their own house out in the woods. As you do. This is the directorial debut of the generously bearded Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who's since gone on to direct Kong: Skull Island. The connection: they both feature... forests? Anyway, back to The Kings Of Summer: a sweet, well-observed movie about coming of age, irritating parents and the practicalities of rebuilding your life in the middle of nowhere with no money and no real life experience. Slight and sweet, it's in the same world as Son of Rambow (but less British) and The Way Way Back (but with less parental complications), but if you like either of those, you know which one to watch next.

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With this good a cast and this good a story, it feels in retrospect like it was inevitable that Pride would be great, but truly, it really is a gem. Telling the story of a group of lesbian and gay activists who raise money to help Welsh families involved in the 1984 miners' strike, Pride is an earnest crowdpleaser that wears a big heart on its sleeve. The humour is well-observed and gentle, without drawing away from the important matters at the movie's core, delivered by an avalanche of much-admired Brit actors (Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Paddy Considine, George MacKay), topped up by a very impressive performance from relative newcomer Ben Schnetzer.

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An Irish horror comedy about ghosts, possessed bread and spooky rocks, Extra Ordinary is one of those "not for everyone" dry-witted indies that relies on you getting into its particular comedic groove. Will Forte, for example, throws everything at the screen as one-hit wonder rock musician Christian Winter, and if you don't like his individual offbeat SNL-ery well... there's always the ever-excellent Maeve Higgins, a beloved Irish comedian who absolutely slays it as driving instructor-turned-ghost whisperer Rose Dooley. Yep, it's one of those movies. Take a look at the trailer, see if it tickles your fancy, then prepare yourself for Ireland's answer to What We Do In The Shadows, only even more bonkers.

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Recommending a movie directed by Hollywood legend Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Network) and starring such universally-acclaimed actors as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei and Albert Finney as a 'hidden gem' may seem like a bit of a blooper, but trust me, for whatever reason so many people still overlook this twisty, dark tale of dysfunctional families and criminal ineptitude. What makes this underseen thriller even more enjoyable is its non-linear structure - jumping back and forth in time as it unfolds its story. Not one for all the family, but deliciously dark in a very good way.

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A bloody, brutal horror-thriller from Jeremy Saulnier, who also gave us Blue Ruin, which should give you a decent idea of what to expect here. Green Room is a thoroughly nasty film that may well flat-out disturb you. Hooray! In it, a punk band crosses paths with a neo-Nazi group headed up by one Patrick Stewart, and things get pretty violent pretty quickly. Claustrophobic and undeniably grim, this is a jarring shocker buoyed up by the undeniable charms of Imogen Poots and Alia Shawkat, not forgetting Macon Blair and Stewart himself, the latter obviously relishing the kind of role he doesn't get to play with all that often. Turn the lights down low and prepare to get really quite freaked out as Jean-Luc Picard does some thoroughly despicable things here. Seriously.