Tangled Up In Wires

Our Best of the 2000s coverage returns with a list of some truly incredible film performances. The 2000s was ripe with great acting, and we present to you the cream of the crop. As always, we’d love to get your opinion on the matter in the comments.

25. Jeff Daniels – The Squid and the Whale
Jeff Daniels is a likable guy that usually plays likable characters. But his role as a angry, elitist father turns all of that on its head while showcasing Daniels’ superb acting chops. Daniels manages to make the character completely unlikable while somehow managing to keep the door open on possibility that he’s a good man inside, which makes the performance even more devastating. Daniels makes it very understandable how Jesse Eisenberg’s Walt could put so much faith in his father while constantly being let down. (M)

24. Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James
Playing one of the two title characters, Casey Affleck gives a haunting, multi-dimensional performance, capturing the many facets of a puzzling character. Robert Ford is an enigma – a potent cocktail of jealousy, disillusion, and regret – but Affleck never loses the humanity inside of a man whose actions would turn him into one of the most hated people in the country. (J)

23. Audrey Toutou Amelie
The simplest evaluation of Audrey Tautou’s performance is that she is Amelie. She so perfectly inhabits the character and anchors her naivete that you believe the character fully. Sure, the role is meant to be sweet, but it has to be sold to the audience, which Tautou does quite ably. Tautou has had a smattering of other roles since, yet it’s a testament to her performance that she’s still thought of as Amelie.(M)

22. Robert Downey Jr – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Robert Downey Jr. gave this same basic performance three times this decade, bookended by 2000’s hilarious turn in Wonder Boys and his work as Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man. But it is here, as the fast-talking, self-aware con artist at the center of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang that Downey gives the definitive version of that role. Hilariously sardonic, Downey plays an updated, more offbeat version of pulpy detective heroes, and is the perfect center for Shane Black’s warped view of Hollywood. (J)

21. Adam Sandler – Punch Drunk Love
Who knew Billy Madison could act? If Sandler hadn’t been so likable before Punch Drunk Love, the film probably wouldn’t have worked. Revealing both the desire and ability to play dramatic roles, Sandler takes on such a depressing character without making him a mockery or overplaying it. Instead, he’s sympathetic and the audience can ignore his quirks and inadequacies to genuinely root for him in P.T. Anderson’s film. (M)

20. Helen Mirren – The Queen
The struggle between British monarchy and the government in charge was at the center of the plot of The Queen, but at the center of it all is Helen Mirren’s Academy Award winning portrayal of the title character. Playing someone currently in power is not an enviable task, yet Mirren does it with a respect and understanding that shine through in her performance. She so fully inhabits Queen Elizabeth, that at times your forget you’re who you’re actually watching.

19. Joeph Gordon-Levitt – Brick
If Joseph Gordon-Levitt hadn’t made Brick, there’s a good chance he’d only be remembered as the kid from 3rd Rock From the Sun. But investigating the murder of his girlfriend in the high school film noir, Gordon-Levitt unveiled a new side to his ability and set up a career that is beginning to take off. It’s a dark, emotional performance that manages to stay away from teenage angst while managing to play off it. Gordon-Levitt anchors the film, keeping it believable as it rumbles towards its fantastic conclusion. (M)

18. Clive Owen – Children of Men
How do you go on living when you know the world is ending, slowly, around you? If you’re Clive Owen in Children of Men, the answer is that you kind of don’t. Owen’s minimalistic, subtle work grounds the film in a humanity and becomes eerily relatable when you realize that, in 2009, he’d be 23 years old. (J)

17. Julianne Moore – Far From Heaven
Despite numerous nominations, Julianne Moore is one of the best actresses not to win an Academy Award (yet). Her role as suburban housewife faced with her husband’s homosexuality is one of her best, as she doesn’t oversell the plight of her character while managing to perfectly portray her anger and confusion. Moore brings a power to the screen few actresses possess, and without her, it’s hard to imagine the film without her in the lead. (M)

16. Christian Bale – American Psycho
Christian Bale’s manic, Tom Cruise inspired Patrick Bateman is so creepily empty, so vacant of anything resembling a human personality, that it would take someone with no knowledge of the movie or the book it was based on about 5 seconds to piece together that there’s something very wrong there. Mary Haddon’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ best book wouldn’t have had nearly the impact without such a fixating embodiment of its main character. (J)

15. Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker
There are countless movies that show what “war does to a man,” but Jeremy Renner’s performance in The Hurt Locker stands out. With Renner’s portrayal as a bomb squad technician, you get the sense that it’s not the war that has made him crazy, but instead made him sane and feel actual emotions. In the end, it’s hard to what impression is to be made of him, as he borders between sympathetic, misguided, and obsessed.(M)

14. Paul Giamatti – American Splendo
Like many of the actors on this list, Paul Giamatti has become famous for basically playing this character over and over again. But that doesn’t take anything away from just how good his work is here. Playing a real person (what’s more in a movie where said real person appears) isn’t easy, but Giamatti brings Harvey Pekar to life with an empathetic sadness and anger that totally embodies what was on the page. (J)

13. Phillip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
It would have been easy for Phillip Seymour Hoffman to slip into the familiar caricature of Truman Capote, but instead, he captures a man that becomes obsessed with a brutal murderer, which ultimately changes him. Capote himself never recovered from his involvement in the murder case that lead to his work In Cold Blood, and Hoffman’s performance reveals much more than an impression, instead showing the cracks slowly forming in the facade of a man in the face of his work. (M)

12. Laura Linney – You Can Count on Me
Kenneth Lonergan is an actor’s playwright, so its no surprise that his first (and to-date only) film as a director gave us two of the best performances of this decade. But, while Mark Ruffalo is great, we’ve got to give the edge to Laura Linney for carrying the film with compassion and depth. (J)

11. Forrest Whitaker – The Last King of Scotland
Forrest Whitaker always seemed to be striving for so much more as an actor, and with his portrayal of Idi Amin, he accomplished that. Any sense of the affable Whitaker is completely unrecognizable under the shell of the ruthless dictator he plays. But Whitaker does a more than capable job of showing that Amin wasn’t a Hitler, but more a misguided, self-obsessed ruler who’s early attempts at reform get buried under the trappings of absolute power. A stirring performance that hopefully will lead to bigger things for Whitaker. (M)

10. Adrian Brody – The Pianist
The Pianist very easily could have just been yet another film about the Holocaust. What sets it apart is Adrian Brody’s hypnotic portrayal of Szpilman. His search for dignity in the face of such inhumanity is filled with desperation and sorrow, and his transformation from a young, confident pianist to a hollowed-out shell shows the terrible impact of World War II on a personal scale. (J)

9. Johnny Depp – Pirates of the Caribbean
Among the more iconic portrayals on this list is Johnny Depp’s memorable turn in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Though the second two films declined in quality, Depp’s turn as Captain Jack Sparrow is a delight throughout the entire series, adding much need whimsy and comedy to films that prefer action set pieces to meaningful plot. Depp has made a career of bouncing between playing bizarre characters and tough guys, but he’ll almost assuredly always be remembered most as Jack Sparrow. (M)

8. Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
While Anne Hathaway seemed interested in moving beyond her Princess Diaries public image, it wasn’t until this movie than any of us realized she actually had the chops to do it. Fitting in perfectly with Jonathan Demme’s naturalistic, Hathaway doesn’t overplay her character or descend into junkie cliché. Instead, she finds Kym’s guilt and anxiety filled core and plays it spot-on. (J)

7. Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone
Already known for her gritty roles on The Wire, Amy Ryan ably took the role of the mother of a missing child in Ben Affleck’s Gone Baby Gone. Ryan’s break-out role is a stirring supporting performance that outshines those of her higher profile co-stars. Ryan expertly plays a hardened mother accustomed to her life of scrapping by, but also crushed by the loss of her daughter. But she doesn’t play it that way. Instead, she wants her daughter back while excepting that she’s gone. It’s a heartbraking role that showcases the talents of an actress who’s bound for even better work.(M)

6. Naomi Watts – Mulholland Dr.
Mulholland Drive doesn’t make sense in any sort of conventional, narrative way. So it’s a good thing that the film has Naomi Watts around, to ensure that it makes emotional sense. Naomi Watts has to be a number of things in Mulholland Drive and she is convincing as all of them, embodying all the seedy, failed promises of Hollywood. (J)

5. Billy Murray – Lost in Translation
Many were quick to jump on Bill Murray’s performance as being a version of his own career, but that seems to be oversimplifying things. Sure, Murray is playing a washed up actor in Japan to film whiskey commercials, but he’s also playing a middle aged man who hasn’t reached a midlife crisis, but has forgotten how to find joy in life. Murry doesn’t oversell the character, and his chemistry with co-star Scarlet Johansson drive the movie, making it a pleasure to watch time and time again. (M)

4. Sean Penn – Mystic River
Obviously the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Sean Penn in Mystic River is his primal screaming when he comes upon the scene where his daughter had just been murdered. But throughout the course of the film, Penn rediscovers his character’s capability for doing things as hideous. And by the end, when he shrugs off Kevin Bacon’s final, ambiguous hand gesture, its clear that Penn has become comfortable with it. (J)

3. Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
Perhaps the best villain of the decade, Javier Bardem stole the show in the Coen Brother’s grisly adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel. His performance as a sociopath killer sends chills down your spine every time he comes on screen. Credit goes to McCarthy and Joel and Ethan Coen for the way the character is written, but Bardem executes the role with startling perfection. There are few better performances of such villains. (M)

2. Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger’s Joker isn’t so much a character as an idea. He shows up in the first scene, fully formed: anti-gravity to Batman’s notions of order and justice. But, like any comedian, the Joker makes us take a second look at our value system. Heath Ledger’s commitment to the role builds a psychopath who is all too believable and invest the film with a verisimilitude that is essential to Nolan’s vision of Gotham City. (J)

1. Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
Aside from producing one of the most iconic lines of the decade, Daniel Day-Lewis’ stunning performance as oilman Daniel Plainview is the stuff legend is made of. Completely missing are any sense of the actor, left in his place a character, who, like Wells in Citizen Kane, completely inhabits a man who keeps no friends on his rise to wealth before becoming a wealthy, angry man in his old age, Day-Lewis delivers a performance that every aspiring actor should watch, admire, and study. (M)

In writing this, I’ve had a hard time separating Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance from the film itself. From his first appearance in the silent opening sequence to his now famous punctuation mark at the end of the film, Daniel Day-Lewis dominates all 158 minutes of There Will Be Blood. It is the perfect marriage of actor and material – a part so perfectly suited to what Daniel Day-Lewis can do that P.T. Anderson has said he wouldn’t have even made the movie without the star. Day-Lewis’ Daniel Plainview is driven so mad with greed that he willingly sells off his humanity, fueled with the desire to destroy anyone and anything in his way. (J)