Roadtrip! Whether it’s through a zombie apocalypse (Zombieland), a nation at war with itself (Civil War), or a rock band tour (Almost Famous), taking a long ride through the countryside is an inherently fun and exciting way to tell a story. It’s so unpredictable. Anyone can join the ride at any time, and any character can be left on the side of the road. Likewise, anything can happen outside the vehicle, and the characters can either watch it pass them by or get out and engage. The world is the writer’s oyster, unbound by conventional storytelling and expansive in geographical scope. Some ofthe best road movies of this centuryare also simply among the best movies of the century.
With the endless possibilities at their disposal, the best road movies know better than to just let everything unfold at random. Like most of the greats, they are character-driven (get it?)—never losing sight of the plot and themes that revved these asphalt odysseys into life in the first place. The following ten works follow that narrative map, refuse to veer off course for no reason, and wind up in the land of perfection.
10’Midnight Run' (1988)
Directed by Martin Brest
Robert de Niro’s best moviestend to be more serious, butMidnight Runshows that he can do comedy just as well. As Jack Walsh, he plays a bad-tempered bounty hunter who’s tasked with escorting a man called The Duke (Charles Gordon) from New York City to Las Vegas. The volatile relationship these two men have makes for a buddy action-comedy that’s consistently fun, and the music throughout (especially that electric slide guitar) set the tone perfectly.
Another bounty hunter, a crime boss, and the FBI all want The Duke, too. This results in hilarious team-ups, betrayals, and negotiations. The car chases are great, and Jack’s character arc over the course of the movie is surprisingly compelling.We sympathize more and more with the guyas the movie progresses, and the final scene is both rewarding and well-earned. A movie like this could have just been phoned in, but its nuances help keep the audience guessing, laughing, thrilled, and totally invested in these characters.
Midnight Run
9’Easy Rider' (1969)
Directed by Dennis Hopper
One of the most influential counterculture moviesstarts off with some cocaine. No surprises there.Easy Rideris about two hippies (Peter FondaandDennis Hopper) taking to the road on their Harleys for Mardi Gras. Stellar music comes with them, which is even less surprising from one of the quintessential 60s movies. When Wyatt (Fonda) leaves his watch behind, he’s leaving behind anything that can prevent him from being totally free, grounded, at one with the world.
Easy Ridervery much has the feel of an independent film. It has some unorthodox transitions, for instance; a scene tends to flicker into the next, as if the viewer were blinking awake from one space and time into another. Perhaps it evokes how, every day, these friends discover a new way of living.Jack Nicholson’s breakout role as a lawyer with a drinking habit sticks around for less than half the movie, but he certainly makes a big impression while he’s here. His character’s speech sums up what this unconventional, seminal narrative is about: freedom, the tragic search for self-discovery, and prejudice.
Easy Rider
8’Nebraska' (2013)
Directed by Alexander Payne
Bruce Derndeservedly won Best Actor at Cannes for his performance as a stubborn old man who tries to walk from Montana to Nebraska. He thinks he’s won a huge sweepstakes prize, even though everyone around him knows it’s clearly a scam. But the man is so persistent that his estranged son (Will Forte) drives him there, leading to one of the best comedy-dramas of the century so far.
Directed byAlexander Payne,Nebraskais a story in which this aging patriarch is given an opportunity for redemption. This farce of a road trip becomes a journey to the past, one where the guy’s kids and the audience learn just how complicated he is. WithJune Squibbplaying his wife (for which she got an Oscar nod), this movie has lots of humor, pathos, and moments of discovery. It also has one of the best soundtracks of the 2010s, effectively making it one ofthe best black-and-white movies of the centuryso far.
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Directed by George Miller
Mad Max: Fury Roadis basically a two-hour chase, so the action sequences and practical effects better be on point. They are, and at a time when the modern blockbuster had become largely dependent on CGI and green screen. Critics hailed it for its strong direction and impressively comprehensive action sequences—especially given how complex some of them are.
Another thing this film has going for it would be its minimal dialogue.Charlize TheronandTom Hardyare able to use their faces and bodies to express their characters' motivations and development throughout this violent story. This is one ofthe best desert movies of all time, but it’s also one of the most aggressive. With an extremely satisfying ending and more than enough nuance to set itself far above the previousMad Maxmovies, this is just about as perfect as action films get. Buckle up.
Mad Max: Fury Road
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6’Bonnie and Clyde' (1967)
Directed by Arthur Penn
One of the movies thatsparked the Hollywood New Wave,Bonnie and Clydeis based on a string of bank robberies during the Great Depression.Warren BeattyandFaye Dunawayestar as the crime-savvy couple the film is about. Clyde persuades Bonnie to join him in his life of crime, but it turns out that life with him isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. At a time when anti-establishment sentiments were high,Bonnie and Clydeheavily influenced the counter-culture wave of films that closed out the sixties and continued afterward.
This road movie was so well done that it also more or less started the trend of movies that would largely take place on the road, have criminals as the protagonists, and lead to a tragic end (including a few movies on this list). It’s hard for a free narrative structure to maintain a good pace and not get bogged down in meandering scenes, butBonnie and Clydeshowed everybody how not to fall into that trap.
Bonnie and Clyde
5’Y Tu Mamá También' (2001)
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuaron’sY Tu Mamá Tambiénbegins with sex scenes the two main characters (played byDiego LunaandJulio Zapata) have with their respective girlfriends. They’re teenagers, they’re immature, and they’re horny. After her husband admits to cheating, Luisa (Maribel Verdu) decides to join them on a trip to a beach they made up on the spot to impress her. It seems every time the narrator speaks, he brings up death, wealth disparity, social upheaval, or backstory that deepens our understanding of each person. Notice how the camera pans away from the main characters enjoying themselves to show the viewers a car accident, or restaurant staff cleaning dishes.
The narration is key, as it gives this coming-of-age tale a darker, more mature undertone that looks at the big picture. This isn’t a silly comedy about a few misfits; this is a celebration of living life to the fullest and becoming aware of the outside world as you learn about yourself. Though some scenes are too explicit for many people’s taste, those who can get past that will find this to be a beautiful story of friendship, class, betrayal, and love.
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4’Thelma and Louise' (1991)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Wonderfully written byCallie Khouri,Thelma & Louisetakes theBonnie and Clydearchetype and puts a comedic, feminist twist on it.Susan SarandonandGeena Daviswere each nominated for their impeccable performances. One of the funniest moments is when Thelma calls her husband and immediately knows he’s called the police.Christopher McDonaldis hilarious, andHarvey Keitelcombines his no-nonsense persona with sympathy for the women he’s chasing.
Ridley Scott, known so well for creating alternative and unfamiliar worlds, presents a point of view that was so rare in popular cinema at the time that, to many viewers, this story about two women on the run might have appeared similarly otherworldly. It’s difficult to balance such dark material with humor, but the script, score, performances, and direction keep the tone in all the right lanes. The result is a tragic yet life-affirming film that helped pave the way for more female-empowering stories.
Thelma & Louise
3’Badlands' (1973)
Directed by Terrence Malick
Terrence Malick’s 1973 debut is one of his best works, and it’s certainly his easiest to follow. Based on the true story of a 1958 killing spree carried out by a man (Martin Sheen) and a high school girl (Sissy Spacek),Badlandstakes a much more contemplative take on theBonnie and Clydestructure. Malick’s narrators can be a bit overdone in his later works, but Spacek does a great job of sounding real (if detached) and immersing the audience in the action.
Beautifully directed with what feels like emotionless objectivity towards the senseless murders,Badlandsavoids an explicit message and leaves the audience in a state of meditation. How weird to inspire wonder for the human condition in a story about a sociopathic former trash collector killing innocent people. Nihilism meets Malick’s mysticism in whatRoger Ebertcalleda film with “no symbols to note or lessons to learn. What comes through more than anything is the enormous loneliness of the lives these two characters lived, together and apart.”
2’Little Miss Sunshine' (2006)
Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Little Miss Sunshinerecounts a trip from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Redondo Beach, California. The dysfunctional Hoover family, including a moody teenager who has taken a vow of silence (Paul Dano) and a man who has just gone through the darkest event in his life (Steve Carell), pack themselves into the yellow family van to take Olive (Abigail Breslin) to a kids' beauty pageant competition. This is on the sadder side of comedy, but ultimately turns out to be an encouraging and heart-warming tale.
Frank and Dwayne have absolutely no interest in this journey, Grandpa (Alan Arkinputs in an Oscar-winning performance) has no filter, Richard (Greg Kinnear) is having a business dry spell, and the van isn’t in the best condition. Everyone’s personalities coalesce into a hilarious and emotionally resonant story about perseverance, self-worth, support, and family. The pageant itself is an excellent piece of satire, too, culminating in one of the greatest road movies of all time.
Little Miss Sunshine
1’Drive My Car' (2021)
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Some might think that road movies have to constantly travel from point A to point B the entire time, but do they?Ryusuke Hamagachi’sDrive My Cardoesn’t fit that mold, and yet so much of it either takes place on the road or right next to a vehicle that this theater director’s car feels as inherent to his world as the sky above his head and the ground beneath his feet.Hidetoshi Nishijimaplays a widower whose deceased wife’s infidelity leaves the grieving process all the more complicated. The protagonist’s wife (Reika Kirishima) would record herself, and he constantly plays her narrations in the car.
When he is hired to direct a multilingual play in Hiroshima, he is given a personal chauffeur (Toko Miura) for insurance purposes. The bond that they develop over time is so organically conveyed that it’s a wonder to behold. This is a heavily contemplative and atmospheric three-hour film, but the patient viewer will find this to be one of the most powerful movies about language, grief, and friendship ever made. Winner of Best Screenplay at Cannes and Best International Feature Film at the Oscars,Drive My Carhas steered the potential for road movies into mesmerizing new territory.
