Top 10 Biopics Of 2020, Ranked According To IMDb

The biopic genre has been a constant for the film industry, growing more and more diverse with every passing year. 2020 was no exception. Despite delayed release dates with the pandemic, this year saw some pretty unconventional biopics. While films like Ammonite or Stardust attempted to understand a particular phase in a renowned personality’s life, Mank and The Glorias shifted between timelines, to sum up almost all of their subject’s adulthood.

Biopics aside, 2020 also saw fictional or dramatized narratives inspired by real-life figures. For instance, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was based on August Wilson’s play of the same name but featured the real-life blues legend Ma Rainey.

10 Stardust – 3.7

There were many hopes riding with the David Bowie biopic Stardust but the end-product turned out to be a tad bit disappointing as per audience and critics reviews. Singer-songwriter Johnny Flynn plays a young David Bowie as the film chronicles his first American tour in 1971 following which he created his famed alter ego Ziggy Stardust.

Rather than just celebrating Bowie’s music, the film offers a more grounded approach mostly featuring the music of the time that influenced him. As he travels with his American publicist, Stardust also bears slight undertones of a road movie.

9 Capone – 4.7

Rather than covering Al Capone’s larger-than-life mobster rule (the influence of which can be seen in many a gangster flick), Josh Trank’s Capone is an attempt to humanize the notorious criminal. Under heavy layers of makeup, Tom Hardy plays the eponymous gangster as he spends his final days in prison, suffering from dementia.

Even though the narrative and the writing didn’t fare well, viewers were still in awe of Hardy’s highly demanding lead performance. The film also adds a few bold, experimental dream sequences and self-loathing experiences, in showing the destructive state of Capone’s fading legacy.

8 Tesla – 5.0

Tesla is quite an experiment in the biopic genre. On the surface, it might seem like a biopic but it ends up being a quasi-biopic with several unconventional elements like breaking the fourth wall, intentional historic exaggerations, as well as conspiracy theories (like the fact that Nikola Tesla might have communicated with aliens). If all of this wasn’t bizarre enough, Ethan Hawke’s Tesla also performs a rendition of Everybody Wants To Rule The World!

It is still a modest attempt at attributing the Serbian-American inventor to his visionary inventions like the design of the modern Alternating Current electric supply system. His bitter friendship with his far more famous contemporary Thomas Edison is also explored.

7 The Glorias – 5.2

Based on the memoir My Life On The Road by noted feminist journalist and activist Gloria Steinem, The Glorias is a look at Steinem’s life from different perspectives. The film itself starts with a Greyhound bus filled with several Glorias, each belonging to a different age group.

The majority of the film explores her work and fight against sexism from her middle-aged and current phase in life. Oscar-winners Alicia Vikander and Julianne Moore play Steinem in these phases respectively. Even though the film got flak for its runtime, the film still serves as an empathetic tribute to its inspiration.

6 Sergio – 6.1

Sergio is a film based on Brazilian United Nations diplomat Sérgio Vieira de Mello’s life, more specifically his final mission which found him trapped in a Baghdad hotel as tensions arise after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Leda actor Wagner Moura has already had experience with historical figures, gaining fame as Pablo Escobar in Narcos.

Joined by Ana De Armas playing an economic consultant, the film is bolstered by its performances even though it might not bear strong political commentary despite the contemporary history it present. At the same time, Sergio offers considerable backstory on diplomatic negotiations with East Timor and Iraq and how de Mello had a hand in it.

5 Shirley – 6.2

The Shirley in this film’s title refers to horror and mystery author Shirley Jackson, who might be known by many modern-day audiences as the writer behind The Haunting of Hill House (that later inspired the Netflix series). Shirley is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Susan Merrell, that fictionalizes some parts of Jackson’s life.

Shirley Jackson and her husband’s everyday routine is broken down with the arrival of a newlywed couple. As the film progresses, the relationships between these couples grow intense and Jackson’s only intention is to find literary inspiration out of this turmoil. Shirley makes for a good ‘semi-biopic’ thanks to its chilling atmosphere and Elisabeth Moss in the lead role.

4 Ammonite – 6.4

A loose adaptation of paleontologist Mary Anning’s (Kate Winslet) romantic relationship with geologist Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan), Ammonite benefits greatly from its talented cast. As Anning sells fossils to help her ailing mother, a rich tourist offers her an opportunity to look after his young wife Charlotte. This results in a friendship-turned-love affair between the two women as this slow-burning period romance picks up.

There’s no real-life evidence to suggest that these two women were actually engaged in romantic affair but the film definitely speculates a ‘what if’ situation as several women played a vital role indeed in Anning’s life.

3 Hillbilly Elegy – 6.7

Ron Howard is no stranger to biopics. Hillbilly Elegy finds him exploring three different generations of a family in Middletown, Ohio, with different timelines to understand the collective sadness the family goes through. Based on JD Vance’s memoir on his upbringing, the film delves into substance abuse and mental health issues that both his grandmother and mother faced. Criticism on the ‘hillbilly’ culture in the region also finds its way to explain the social rot that Vance sees around him.

The family drama surprisingly didn’t get much critical acclaim despite pre-release hype but the audiences were lass harsher. Some consensus was also achieved with regards to Glen Close and Amy Adams’ acting.

2 Mank – 7.2

Mank is David Fincher’s latest film based on a screenplay written by his late father Jack Fincher. The stylish black-and-white period piece centers around screenwriter Herman J Mankiewicz’s rise to fame, and the way he wrote the cult classic Citizen Kane. However, that is not all, as Fincher’s enthralling epic dramedy offers a satirical picture of Hollywood’s studio system in its ‘Golden Age’ while also covering the socio-political turbulences of Mank‘s time period.

Along with masterful direction, the selling point of Mank is of course the tour de force performance by Gary Oldman, who has conveniently changed his colors in past biopics like Darkest Hour and Sid & Nancy.

1 The Trial Of The Chicago 7 – 7.8

The Trial Of The Chicago 7 is more of a ‘based on real-life’ legal-drama than a biopic. And yet, it offers a moving portrayal of several defiant flagbearers of the truth in an ever-changing America of the 1960s. It is directly based on the arrests of several members behind an anti-Vietnam War convention in Chicago and the politically-motivated trial that followed. Aaron Sorkin’s fiery writing injects the film with adrenaline while its impeccable cast adds the emotional value.

Be it Sacha Baron Cohen’s Abbie Hoffman or Eddie Redmayne’s Tom Hayden, all of these protestors seem to have a common enemy but they also carry differing views on democracy, electoral politics, and the freedom of a country’s citizens. Hence, rather than actively pursuing one ideology, the film offers enough space for debate and discussion.

About The Author

Shaurya Thapa
(727 Articles Published)

Shaurya Thapa is an Indian freelance journalist who mostly dabbles in writings on cinema, music, and human interest features. When it comes to Screen Rant, he writes lists on a wide array of subjects ranging from international films to mainstream Netflix series and comic book trivia. He also hosts a podcast called ‘BhindiWire’, an Indian parody of IndieWire.

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