Best acting performances

[Younger Brother]

Posted: 12/8/12 at 4:52pm

A friend and I were discussing the other day some of our favorite acting performances and was curious to know, what are some of yours? I thought Mo'Nique, who I don't rate as a comedian, was beyond incredible in "Precious" in such a dramatic turn and her Oscar was extremely well deserved.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/8/12 at 4:57pm

I know I'm in a very very small minority, but I found M'onique's performance to be completely limited by a script and direction that lacked any sort of nuance. I hated the famous last scene (her "Oscar scene"), I thought it was so easy for them to justify her actions with one monologue at the end of the movie.
I think of recent performances (in the past three years or so) Natalie Portman in BLACK SWAN, Charlize Theron in YOUNG ADULT, the two male leads in WEEKEND, and Tilda Swinton in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN are some of my favorites.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 12/8/12 at 5:15pm

I agree with the M'onique suggestion. She's unbelievable, especially in that last, which I've never read as any sort of justification for her character. In fact, her performance of the monologue in the last scene has always left me wondering if any of what she had to say was at all true or not.

Agreed with all those choices, Ray! I'd add Viola Davis in THE HELP.

Updated On: 12/8/12 at 05:15 PM

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 12/8/12 at 7:46pm

I agree with Ray. Monique's performance is just MEAN throughout the entire movie and the final scene doesn't justify anything for me.

It's a good performance but Oscar worthy? Only barely. Mariah gave a better performance.

[Taryn]

Posted: 12/8/12 at 11:46pm

I always think of Gregory Peck's incomparable performance in To Kill a Mockingbird.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 12/9/12 at 12:17am

Recent ones (because I will get lost in a rabbit hole doing all time in the history of film) that come to mind:

Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin
Edgar Ramirez in Carlos
Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler
Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married
Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Chris New and Tom Cullen in Weekend
Ellen Burstyn in Requiem of a Dream
Michael Fassbender in Hunger
Tom Hardy in Bronson
Ulrich Muhe in The Lives of Others
Isabelle Huppert in The Piano Teacher
Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love
Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Mysterious Skin
Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose
Michael Shannon in Take Shelter
Peter Greene in Clean, Shaven

I thought Mo'nique's performance was good but the script and source material was doing her no favors and neither was Lee Daniels directing it like an exploitation film. Some black feminism seemed lost on everybody, specifically that very last scene.

Updated On: 12/9/12 at 12:17 AM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/9/12 at 12:22am

Because I'm watching it right now, Bjork deserves a place on this list for DANCER IN THE DARK.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 12/9/12 at 12:51am

Helen Mirren in GOSFORD PARK. She's perfect.

Also, Bette Davis in NOW, VOYAGER.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 12/9/12 at 12:56am

I hated the movie, but what Fassbender did in silence in Shame was breathtaking.

I agree with Peck's Atticus Finch. Lee J Cobb was great in Twelve Angry Men. Irene Dunne in several roles. Cary in Arsenic and Old Lace is comedic brilliance, even if he didn't care much for that performance.

[east side story]

Posted: 12/9/12 at 1:37am

My personal favorites of recent years:

Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Sean Penn, Milk
Charlize Theron, Monster
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain & The Dark Knight
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 12/9/12 at 10:13am

Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Javier Bardem, Before Night Falls
Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and James Spader, Lincoln
Alicia Vikander, Anna Karenina (best thing in the movie!)
Natalie Portman, Garden State
Naomi Watts and Gemma Jones, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Amy Adams and Viola Davis, Doubt
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Katherine Keener, Capote
Rebecca Hall, Everything Must Go
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line
Elena Anaya and Antonio Banderas, The Skin I live In
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, Octavia Spencer and Alisson Janney, The Help
Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan, Happy Go Lucky
Lesley Manville, Another Year
Annette Bening, The Kids Are Alright











Updated On: 12/9/12 at 10:13 AM

[madbrian]

Posted: 12/9/12 at 12:59pm

Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame
Kathy Bates and Judy Parfitt in Dolores Claiborne

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 12/9/12 at 1:29pm

Meryl Street in Doubt
Al Pacino in Angels in America
Mary Louise Parker in Angels in America
Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire
Bette Davis in All About Eve
Elizabeth Taylor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?