Hi Folks! As the year reaches its end, I wanted to share with you my choices for my favorite 20 movie performances of the year. Initially, I was going to rank these, but instead, I decided just to present them in an alphabetical list (by actor first name). This decision was partly made because some actors appeared in multiple movies I saw this year and wanted to shout them out for all of those. So, let’s get to it! (Also, if I left someone out, there is a good chance that I didn’t get to see that movie yet!)
- Adam Driver (Marriage Story/Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker)
Driver has been one of the biggest stars on the rise for the past few years, and it is possible that he will hit Oscar paydirt this year for his role in Marriage Story. Driver has a presence that captivates the audience and a physicality that helps him tower over his costars. He shows vulnerability, he’s conflicted, yet he has a certain charm and a wonderful delivery that is capable of evoking any reaction from laughs to tears. He has a range that few actors of his generation show, which has helped him land roles in huge blockbusters and smaller indie movies, in addition to working with a who’s who of great directors. If you aren’t on the Driver train already, hop on, cause he is on the rise. - Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems)
I never thought I would have Sandler on a best performances of the year list, but 2019 is a strange time. His performance in Uncut Gems is a masterclass, a high energy, high tension performance that has to do so many things and keep so many plates spinning or else the movie falls completely apart. Sandler is the glue that keeps the whole thing together, and without him, the movie wouldn’t work the same. This is a perfect example of actor and character being a hand in glove fit. This movie could be the thing that completely reinvents Sandler, and I hope he continues to do great work like this. - Beanie Feldstein/Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart)
I’m bending my own selection of twenty choices here, but I truly felt like the performance of one succeeds in large part due to the strength of the other. Feldstein and Dever have remarkable chemistry in this film, and they play so well off each other in both the comedic and more dramatic moments. While this movie will immediately evoke comparisons to Superbad, the performance of the two leads differentiate this movie more than enough to keep it from being a carbon copy and create its own unique feel. - Bill Hader (It: Chapter Two)
The second Saturday Night Live alumni on this list, Hader also is in a movie and performance that you wouldn’t expect from someone of his comedic gifts. However, his work as Richie Tozier helps keep the second part of this Stephen King story afloat (couldn’t resist). He brings a certain heart yet also a kind of sadness to the story, and the little nuances of his performance are more than enough to add some real humanity to this character. He provides laughs of course, but also delivers the real emotional crux of the movie. - Christian Bale (Ford V. Ferrari)
I found Bale’s performance in this movie to be quite unique because I was having a hard time placing it in the collection of his characters. I don’t remember seeing him play this sort of character before, an underdog who seems like a genuinely good person just in need of a break. The closest is perhaps his character in The Fighter but even that is different. Bale is a chameleon who will do whatever it takes to accurately portray a character, so it should come as no surprise that he has range, but it’s still lovely to see him surprising us with a character like this one at this stage of his career. - Ensemble (Knives Out)
Ok, it’s probably cheating to say ensemble here, but honestly, how do you choose between Daniel Craig with a Southern accent, Chris Evans in the cable knit sweater, and Ana De Armas in a star-making role? Not to mention Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Don Johnson (side note: does anyone play the asshole who you still can’t help but like in spite of yourself better than this guy?), Lakeith Stanfield, Riki Lindhome, Edi Patterson, Frank Oz, and CHRISTOPHER FREAKING PLUMMER. The Avengers may have had more stars, and Little Women and Jojo Rabbit have lovely ensembles as well, but the year’s best ensemble goes to this whodunnit. - Florence Pugh (Fighting With My Family/Little Women/Midsommar)
I’m not sure I saw more range out of one actor this year than I did out of Florence Pugh. She is equally believable as a professional wrestler with a chip on her shoulder in Fighting With My Family as she is as Amy March, the sister who believes she is always in the shadow of her older siblings in Little Women. Not to mention her crowning performance in Midsommar as a woman dealing with the aftermath of a horrible accident involving her family while being on trip with her boyfriend who is clearly going through the motions of any sort of relationship. Each of these characters are distinct, each one different, each played masterfully on Pugh. Buy stock in her right now, because she has nowhere to go but up. - Jake Gyllenhaal (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
Gyllenhaal’s long history with Spider-Man (he was in talks to replace Tobey Maguire for Spider-Man 2 following a back injury by Maguire) finally comes to its terminus as he plays Mysterio in Far From Home. Gyllenhaal has reinvented himself as an actor over the past decade and it paid off for this role where he is clearly having the time of his life. He pulls out all the stops in this performance, as the character pulls out all the stops in his efforts to defeat Spider-Man, delivering one of the best comic book villain performances in recent memory. - James McAvoy (Glass)
While Glass was not as strong a film I hoped it would be, the followup to both Unbreakable and Split featured one great performance from James McAvoy, who reprises his role as a man with 23 split personalities. McAvoy is able to shift from one to the next, his physicality and subtle touches telling you exactly which personality you are dealing with before you hear him say a word. The movie may not totally come together, but it’s worth watching for his performance alone. - Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers)
Lopez is an actress that has shown she is capable of delivering a great performance when the material is there and she has passion for the character. Both of those things are evident in this performance. She owns this movie from the first second she is on the screen, and she draws you in just as the character draws in her unsuspecting victims. She takes no prisoners as a woman who believes she is long overdue for what’s coming to her, and she is going to take it. I don’t know if this performance is worthy of Oscar gold, but J-Lo gives a noble effort, and if she does win, she earned it. - Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
The immediate question everyone has with this performance is “Who is the best Joker?” And while I don’t feel like getting into that, I will say that Phoenix’s portrayal of this character is unlike any of the other ones because we really are seeing the mental break more so than the mayhem. Phoenix has an ability as an actor to dive deep into his characters and this is no exception. He brings a humanity to a character that by all accounts the audience should not sympathize with, and in doing so, allows you to be sucked into the story. While I can’t say if he will be the second actor to win an Oscar for this character, I do believe that he has delivered one of the performances of the year. - Keanu Reeves (Always Be My Maybe/John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum/Toy Story 4)
I don’t know any actor has grown in my estimation in the past 5 years than Keanu Reeves. I am all in on Keanu. He was hilarious as himself in Always Be My Maybe, he gets the sad backstory in Toy Story 4 (while also being very funny as Canadian daredevil toy Duke Kaboom), and he continued to kick ass in the third John Wick film. Keanu also has John Wick 4, The Matrix 4, Bill and Ted 3, and a cameo in the new Spongebob movie on the horizon. So yeah, I’m thinking he’s back. - Leonardo Dicaprio/Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time….In Hollywood)
As with Booksmart, this duo deserves special mention together. Dicaprio has a few directors that he works really well with. Scorsese is obviously one of them, but between this film and Django Unchained, it’s safe to say that Tarantino is another. Dicaprio gives a performance that does a lot of things, such as showcase his intensity while also tapping into his charm and sense of humor. In the pantheon of great Dicaprio performances, his turn as Rick F***ing Dalton will certainly be among them. As for Pitt, he has long been described as a character actor in a leading man’s body, and I think there is a lot of truth to that. In some ways, I think Pitt’s astonishing good looks have kept him from being taken more seriously as an actor. However, if you want a great example of both his acting chops, and his Movie Star bonafides, then make sure you watch his performance in this movie. You won’t be disappointed with it. - Lupita Nyong’o (Us)
I can’t think of too many movies where one actor plays both the lead protagonist and lead antagonist of the story, and I can think of fewer actors who are actually capable of pulling it off, but Lupita Nyong’o does so masterfully in Jordan Peele’s Us. Her portrayals of Adelaide and Red are so different, yet equally captivating. Of course, most of her costars also pull double duty in this film, but it falls on Nyong’o’s shoulders to truly do justice to this story. - Robert DeNiro/Al Pacino/Joe Pesci (The Irishman)
This trio of Academy Award winning actors deliver some of their best work in years in Scorsese’s latest film (no surprise that DeNiro and Pesci would do great stuff with Scorsese, a group that has lots of history working together) about the crime family surrounding Jimmy Hoffa. The chemistry between all three of them is incredible, each pair creating a unique relationship while also all being clearly defined as solo characters. All three could earn Oscar nominations, and it would be just the latest jewel in the crowns of these terrific actors storied careers. - Robert Downey Jr. (Avengers: Endgame)
Downey Jr. has played Tony Stark since 2008, and that chapter comes to a close following the events of Endgame (barring future cameos). I believe he gives his best performance of the character yet in this film. Downey has played Stark remarkably as they built this empire on his back, and given us a flawed hero who ultimately does whatever he must to save the day. If this is truly goodbye, what a sendoff for a character that has become an icon in 21st century movies. We love you 3000. - Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: Endgame/Jojo Rabbit/Marriage Story)
Scar Jo had quite the busy year, staring as Black Widow in Endgame (and despite what happened in that movie, will have her own solo film next year), then as the mother of the titular character in Jojo Rabbit, and finally as the woman divorcing Adam Driver in Marriage Story. Each of these characters showcased a different portion of Johansson’s ample range, and she delivers wonderfully no matter which role she is portraying. Marriage Story is likely to net her an Oscar nomination, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that she pulls the double nom with a supporting nod for Jojo. Either way, a tip of the cap to a wonderful year for a wonderful performer. - Taika Watiti (Jojo Rabbit)
Taika Watiti was also in Endgame, reprising his role as Korg, but I specifically want to talk about his work in Jojo Rabbit. In addition to writing and directing the film, Watiti plays Adolf Hitler, or at least Hitler through the eyes of our main character Jojo, who imagines Hitler there with him. Watiti is somehow able to make Hitler funny, a feat that practically no one outside of Mel Brooks and Charlie Chaplin has been able to accomplish. More than that, he subtly becomes worse and worse as Hitler as Jojo’s worldview shifts over the course of the movie. It’s a well done piece of acting, in addition to some masterful directing and writing of this WWII satire. - Taron Egerton (Rocketman)
Egerton brings Elton John to life in a very unique way in this film. The movie really wants to capture both the dark parts and the over the top panache of Elton John’s life, and Egerton is more than up to the task. There are surreal moments, there are tender moments, there are heartbreaking moments, and Egerton handles them all with aplomb, while also doing his own singing in the movie (something that doesn’t always happen in these movies). Even if you are tired of the musical biopic (there are a lot), Egerton’s performance makes this one more than worth your time. - Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood/Toy Story 4)
Hanks has been one of the greatest actors in Hollywood for quite some time, and he shows us once again that he hasn’t lost his touch in his portrayal of Mr. Rogers. Hanks captures that unique quality that Mr. Rogers had of making us all feel special and the connection that he forged with everyone that watched the show, while also showing the “real” side of Rogers, which is in fact, very similar to the “character.” Rogers makes us aspire to be the best version of ourselves, to see the good in everyone, and Hanks captures that wonderfully. In addition, he reprises his role as Sheriff Woody in Toy Story 4 and gives us another wonderful outing with that character in what may be the final installment of that franchise. If it is, we will long remember the bond that the actor and character shared over the years.
So, there you have it, my 20(-ish) favorite performances of the year. What were some of yours? Make sure you keep an eye out all this week for our other year end and decade end lists!