The Matt Damon HBO Movie That's Considered One Of The Best Of The 21st Century

After collecting ballots from prominent film lovers from around the globe, the New York Times released what they're declaratively calling "The 100 Best Movies from the 21st Century," awarding the top spot to Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" with David Lynch's magnum opus "Mulholland Drive" in second place.

As entertaining as it is to pore over this "definitive" list, the real fun comes from poring over the individual ballots that participants have sent in. They give us an illuminating look at a filmmaker or actor's particular taste, like how Julianne Moore thinks "Superbad" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" are some of the best films of the century (which they are).

These individual ballots also give us a chance to appreciate other smaller movies that didn't make the cut, like how Flight of the Conchords and "What We Do in the Shadows" star Jemaine Clement's list spotlights the excellent Iranian vampire movie "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night."

Across all these ballots, there is one film that is unique among all the others because it's the rare TV movie to be included in multiple ballots as one of the 21st century's best films: Stephen Soderbergh's HBO movie "Behind the Candelabra."

Stephen Soderbergh's career is marked by decades of experimentation, and with "Behind the Candelabra," he brought a decidedly grounded look to one of America's most flamboyant personalities. The film follows Liberace at the peak of his fame, thanks to his Las Vegas residency, and explores his efforts to hide his homosexuality from his adoring female fans as he becomes infatuated with his young and impressionable chauffeur.

Liberace, as played by Michael Douglas, is an undeniable star, and Matt Damon's performance as his lover Scott Thorson is equally compelling, playing a young man who is happy to be the recipient of Liberace's love while struggling to maintain his own self-image as Liberace transforms him both literally and figuratively.

It's not just a fantastic biopic but one of the best films of Soderbergh's very long and varied career. And while fans like Josh Safdie, Gia Coppola, and Naomie Harris nominated the film as part of their ballots, the only Soderbergh film to make the New York Times' list is his star-studded caper "Ocean's Eleven," It is rightly deserving of the title, but it's sad to see that a filmmaker who revolutionized both indie and studio filmmaking only make one appearance on the list.

Still, it's hard to imagine Soderbergh paying it too much mind. He's had an extremely busy year, having already put out two movies this year, the first-person haunted house movie "Presence" and the twisty romantic spy movie "Black Bag," with a third film set to debut in just a few short months.

So take the time and savor this spectacular look behind the curtain by watching "Behind the Candelabra" on HBO Max. It truly is one of the best of the 21st century.