It takes an immensely talented team to take actual events and translate them into a story compelling enough for film. Some writers, like Aaron Sorkin, have made a name for themselves by adapting the real into entertaining scripts with song-like dialogue that hits at just the right time to keep fans entertained. Directors like David Fincher have found their niche in turning those real-life scripts into on-screen narratives that viewers can’t take their eyes off of.
True stories are often stranger than fiction, making them the best stories to adapt for the screen. Whether it’s a tale of true determination getting a man where no other has gone before, or a story of true crimes that are still, to this day, unsolved, true stories can be the greatest source of inspiration for storytellers.
10 The Social Network Has Quick And Smart Dialogue
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From director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network tells the tumultuous origin story of Facebook. What had the potential to be mundane and repetitive given the film following a pair of intellectual property depositions, the film is instead arguably one of the best legal dramas of the 21st century.
With powerhouse performances from Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield, The Social Network features quippy dialogue delivered perfectly from Sorkin’s screenplay. The film also features an addictive score from Trent Reznor, who picked up the Academy Award for Best Original Score and Sorkin for Best Adapted Screenplay.
9 Wolf Of Wall Street Boasts Incredible Performances
Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Jordan Belfort’s memoir is The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Belfort. It follows Belfort’s rise in the ranks from a small-time stock broker to his downfall from being a corrupt CEO of his own brokerage.
The film, which also features one of Jonah Hill’s best performances, shows how quickly an excess of wealth can corrupt people. Margot Robbie also features in a breakout role as Belfort’s second wife, Naomi Lapaglia. Many fans of the film have said that this is one of DiCaprio’s best performances, and while his next role in The Revenant won him his first Oscar, his role as Belfort was more deserving of an Oscar win.
8 Lion's Story Is Too Crazy To Be Fiction
Dev Patel stars in Lion, a biopic on Saroo Brierly based on his memoir A Long Way Home. It follows Saroo’s life after being separated from his family and home village in Khandwa, India, and is adopted by an Australian family.
Lion also features Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman, and was praised for its cast’s impressive performance. At the 89th Academy Awards, Lion received six nominations, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Patel), Best Supporting Actress (Kidman), and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film also had striking cinematography, utilizing the landscapes of Saroo’s home village and other regions of India to make the film visually stunning for viewers.
7 Loving Depicts The True Fight To Marry Who You Love
Jeff Nichols moves away from science fiction for a biopic with Loving, where he recounts the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Loving v. Virginia and the couple's story that led to the decision. Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton play Mildred and Richard Loving, an interracial couple who had their marriage outlawed by the state of Virginia and were forced to leave the state in order to stay married.
Rather than writing the film to be a procedural courthouse drama, Nichols focuses on Richard and Mildred’s relationship outside of the courtroom, and how the couple made do with what they had, showing that their love for each other had no boundaries regardless of what the state and federal laws said about their marriage. While Loving is less known than some other famous true stories, it is an emotional and well-acted film that deserves to be watched at least once for the important story it tells.
6 First Man Looks At The Man Behind The Moon Landing
Damien Chazelle may be better known for his musical features with La La Land and Whiplash. Still, his look into the life of Neil Armstrong with First Man is an emotional and poignant story that deserves more attention than it receives. While Neil Armstrong is known for being the first man to set foot on the Moon, Damien Chazelle delves into his life leading up to the 1967 Apollo 11 moon landing, starting in 1961.
Ryan Gosling plays Neil Armstrong in a restrained performance that encapsulates his personality to a tee. Though First Man didn’t receive much public attention, it did receive four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Visual Effects.
5 The Big Short Makes Economics Understandable
The Big Short follows the concurrent stories of different investors on the precipice of the 2007 housing market crash. Directed by Adam McKay and co-written by McKay and Charles Randolph, the film uses several accessible methods to explain otherwise confusing economic terms, like fourth-wall breaking and cameos (like the famous cameo featuring Margot Robbie explaining subprime mortgages from a bathtub).
The ensemble cast includes Christian Bale as Michael Burry, Steve Carrel as Mark Baum, and Ryan Gosling as Jared Vennett, who also serves as the film's narrator. The Big Short won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, which was well-deserved for making a movie about economics engaging and, for the most part, easy to understand.
4 Ford v Ferrari Makes Car Racing Entertaining For Everyone
Ford v Ferrari stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale as automotive designer Carroll Shelby and his driver, Ken Miles, who are tasked by Ford to design a new Ford race car (the Ford GT40) and finally have a chance to beat Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France.
James Mangold, known for Logan, directed the film, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival to critical acclaim and went on to gross $255 Million worldwide. It was also nominated for Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards.
3 Terrence Malick's First Film Takes From True Crime
Terrence Malick’s directorial debut is the 1973 film Badlands, which is based on a real-life murder spree that occurred in 1958. Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek play a young couple that run away together after the father of the girl disapproves of the relationship. Shortly after, the pair begin a killing spree, starting with Holly (Spacek)’s father, and spanning the midwest.
Badlands has appeared on several “best of” lists, including Roger Ebert’s 2011 “Great Movies” list, and Martin Sheen was once quoted as saying it was the best script he’d ever read.
2 Zodiac Tells The Story Of The Serial Killer That Was Never Caught
David Fincher’s 2006 film Zodiac is adapted from Robert Graysmith’s nonfiction novels Zodiac and Zodiac Unmasked. It follows Graysmith (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), who worked at the San Francisco Chronicle during the many years of the Zodiac Killer’s attacks in San Francisco. The events of the film span from 1969 to 1983, following Graysmith’s extensive research on the potential Zodiac leads.
Zodiac boasts action, tension, and perhaps one of the most frightening scenes in film history (with the famous basement scene). In 2016, the BBC conducted a critic’s poll which voted Zodiac as the 12th greatest film of the 21st century.
1 Zero Dark Thirty Tells The Story Of The Most Famous Manhunt Ever
Writing/directing duo Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow reunited in 2012 for Zero Dark Thirty, a dramatization of the international manhunt for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Starring Jessica Chastain as a CIA intelligence analyst named Maya, a composite character, the film spans from 2003, when she was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan, until bin Laden’s death in 2011.
The film received critical acclaim for Bigelow’s direction, Boal’s writing, and Chastain’s performance. As a result, the film has landed on several top ten lists and has received numerous award nominations.