February 7, 2015 - Top 20 Performances of 2014
Here are my top twenty performances of the year! Keep in mind, I haven't yet seen Whiplash, Foxcatcher, Still Alice, Two Days, One Night.
1. Michael Keaton, Birdman
Michael Keaton delivers the greatest performance of 2014 as Hollywood blockbuster star turned stage actor who is struggling to come to terms with his career and self-importance. Keaton crafts a character so engaging and involving that you completely forget you're watching Keaton playing a character that's quite similar to his real self.
2. Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Eddie Redmayne's performance as Stephen Hawking, the brilliant scientist that is diagnosed with ALS. It is not only his physical transformation that is incredible but the level of heartbreaking realism is equally affecting. Redmayne is a very close second to Keaton.
3. Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Lou Bloom, a deranged man determined to make a name for himself by filming crimes for news segments. Gyllenhaal is mesmerizing in the role and utterly unrecognizable. Lou Bloom is a very challenging role for any actor to play. He's a sick man that Gyllenhaal plays suspiciously well.
4. Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Rosamund Pike's performance as Amy Dunne, the sociopathic wife trying to frame her husband for muder, is one of the bravest of the year. She's captivating while putting the best and worst of Amy on display.
5. David Oyelowo, Selma
David Oyelowo gives one of the greatest performances of the year as Martin Luther King Jr. He manages to make MLK feel like a real human being with real human problems rather than just a figure of the Civil War.
6. Agata Kulesza, Ida
Agata Kulesza delivers one of the most underrated performances of 2014 as the aunt of a young nun who is trying to find out more about her parents. Her performance is tragic and beautiful.
7. Emma Stone, Birdman
Emma Stone delivers the best performance of her career playing Michael Keaton's character's daughter in Birdman. She's tragic, earnest, and absolutely brilliant. A career-defining role.
8. Marian Cotillard, The Immigrant
Marian Cotillard shines in this under-seen gem of early 2014. Cotillard plays a young immigrant coming to America from Poland who is forced into prostitution. The levels of innocence, resilience, and strength Cotillard brings to the role are astounding.
9. Edward Norton, Birdman
Edward Norton gives a great supporting performance as an actor who takes his roles incredibly seriously and is a bit difficult to work with. Another fun wink to the actors playing parts that are oddly similar to themselves by the writers behind Birdman. Norton is excellent in his role, proving both comedic and heartbreaking.
10. Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin
The only way to put Scarlett Johansson's performance as the alien seductress moving through Scotland is mesmerizing. Although she rarely talks, it is impossible to look away from her on screen because of this mysterious, cold, and unnerving quality about her.
11. Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Benedict Cumberbatch plays a mathematical genius who struggles to prove his talents to those around him as he grapples his with his sexuality. Cumberbatch manages to delve beneath the strong personality and get in touch with the man beneath it all.
12. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Patricia Arquette's performance is one of the most real-feeling performances of memory. Everything she does feels organic and natural, making her unexpected emotional outbursts all the more emotional and affecting.
13. Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ralph Fiennes' performance as the fancy concierge of the Grand Budapest Hotel is marvelous. It's funny, heartwarming, occasionally sad, and always vibrant.
14. Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Even if the film around him wasn't terrific, Bradley Cooper was nothing less than great as the PTSD-affected sniper.
15. Essie Davis, The Babadook
Essie Davis' turn as a mother dealing with her troubled son who begins to see monsters that may or may not be real is stellar. Davis is staggeringly submerged in her role and all of her attention for the performance is not undeserved.
16. Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Reese Witherspoon is magnificent as Cheryl Strayed, a woman on a 1,100 mile trek across America. She quite possibly gives the performance of her career, besides Election.
17. Matthew McConaughey, Interstellar
Matthew McConaughey is great as the astronaut who must leave his children behind to discover a new planet for humans. McConaughey's performance is genuine and heartbreaking.
18. Tom Hardy, Locke
Tom Hardly's turn as Ivan Locke, a man enduring a ninety-minute car ride in which his life is deconstructed in front of his eyes is stunning. Not only is he mesmerizing on screen but his role must have taken lots of preparation considering how it was shot.
19. Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Cotillard's performance in Two Days, One Night as a mother, recently out of treatment for depression, fighting for her job, is terrific. It's one of the rawest performances of the year.
20. Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Keira Knightley plays a young woman trying to crack a code that the Nazi's use to communicate in World War II and she's excellent.