The 411 Movies Top 5 1.29.10: Week 202 - Top 5 Performances of the Decade (2000-2009)

Posted by Trevor Snyder on 01.29.2010

Trevor Snyder, Len Archibald, and Bryan Kristopowitz offer their picks for the top performances of the past decade, from both the world of film and television.



Having already looked at the best movies and TV shows of the past decade, I figured I'd come up with an even more difficult topic to try and do this week, which is why I turned to the performances. And, because I'm crazy, I decided to make it even more difficult by not separating movies and television. That's right, this is a free-for-all battle royal between the best performances of movies and television. These are our picks for:

THE TOP 5 PERFORMANCES OF THE DECADE (2000-2009)

TREVOR SNYDER

Honorable Mentions: David Tennant, Doctor Who; Idris Elba, The Wire; and Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

5. Hugh Laurie, House (2004-Present)

Let's face it. House, like many other episodic dramas, is pretty formulaic. For the most part, you know exactly how each episode is going to play out before you even watch it. So why, then, do we keep watching it? Obviously there is more than one reason, but about 90% of the credit has to go Hugh Laurie, who made this one of the all time iconic television characters in the span of…what…one episode? Maybe that's exaggerating, but it sure didn't take long for people to realize that Laurie was doing something special here. In a decade that was arguably defined by cynicism and sarcasm, Laurie fashioned a character that made those traits both likable and seemingly necessary. Sure, he's a bastard, and yeah, it would be annoying as hell having to put up with him…but wouldn't you want this guy to be your doctor if you suddenly had a mysterious illness? And although I personally consider it to be the least important aspect of the character, let's not forget that Laurie does it all with an American accent so perfect, that even as late as the third season I was still surprising House fans by telling them that Laurie was actually British.

4. Naomi Watts, Mulholland Dr. (2001)

As many already know, David Lynch's surrealist masterpiece Mulholland Dr. was initially conceived and shot as a TV pilot, but network executives passed on it. One of their reasons for doing so, apparently, was that they felt star Naomi Watts, at 30 years old, was too old to be a TV star. Uh-huh. Their loss was the movie world's gain, as Lynch went back, shot more scenes, and re-crafted the project into its final form. One of the biggest winners as a result was Watts, whose character became even more complex and unforgettable. Watts essentially plays two characters – but only one person (if that statement doesn't make any sense, I'm guessing you haven't seen it yet), and she nails both out of the park. In the film's later sequences, in particular, Watts' depiction of a once innocent ingénue destroyed by the soul-eating realities of Hollywood is heartbreaking stuff. And check out that audition scene, where her wide-eyed naïve persona instantly transforms into one of simmering eroticism. Who knows where Watts would be today if this had been picked up for TV. But, as is, it gave her career a much deserved boost, and is – as far as I'm concerned – the female performance of the decade.

3. Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain (2005)

I think the knee-jerk reaction of most people upon hearing this week's topic would be to point to Ledger's work as The Joker. And make no doubt about it, that was one hell of a performance. But Ledger's strongest work actually came a few years prior, in a film that a lot of actors probably wouldn't have even considered doing. Ledger, at that point trying to bring more respect to a career he was not yet completely impressed with himself, took the challenge. The "gay cowboy" role could have easily been an over-the-top stereotype, but Ledger found the heart of the character, and delivered the perfect combination of old-school masculinity and a man afraid to admit his true inner feelings. Watching this performance, you really felt like you were seeing the beginning of the next great Hollywood icon. Even though Ledger was already a known name at the time, this is where his amazing talent began to shine through.

2. Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler (2008)

I think fans of professional wrestling might regard this performance a little higher than those who couldn't care less about that world. But whether you're a wrestling mark or not, it's impossible to deny the power of Rourke's work in this film. Of course, it is also impossible to talk about the role without talking about its parallels to Rourke's actual life, which is what made the performance stick out even more. This was one of those rare instances where the actor and the character were undeniably intertwined, and in Randy "The Ram" Robinson's stark realization of what a mess he has made of his life, you can see Rourke's own personal inner demons brimming to the surface. That this film cemented Rourke's return to the mainstream makes it not just one of the best performances of the decade, but probably the best comeback story of the decade.

1. Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood (2007)

Daniel Plainview is the most captivating and complex character the film world gave us this past decade, and the list of actors who could have pulled it off is a very small list indeed. And there is absolutely no one that could have done it as well as Daniel Day-Lewis, who breathed scary life into every step of Plainview's mental descent. Here is a man who seems to realize the moral implications of every decision he makes, but whose drive for success is such that he doesn't really mind. He is more than willing to sell his soul if it means he comes out on top, and even in the end, when he is an old and alone miserable old man, he still can't help but take out an old enemy just because he can. This is a performance that is both comically over-the-top and yet hauntingly real, often at the same time.

LEN ARCHIBALD

So I figured on FOURTEEN performances that I couldn't get out of my head, and since that I can't do a top fourteen or my "fourteen favorites", here are – whatever this is: Alphabetical Order.

Honorable Mentions: Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men; Charlize Theron, Monster; Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

5. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream is my favorite (note I didn't say "best" for those who have no sense of reading comprehension or grasp of the English language) movie of the decade, and the success of the picture hangs on the fingertips of Burstyn's performance as Sarah Goldfarb, the lonley widow who receives a call to appear on some sort of hybrid game-show/motivational talk show. She starts off heartbroken and scared for her son, a drug addict, and then descends into the world of addiction herself. The picture would not be as bleak if it was not for Goldfarb's downfall – and it's even more heartbreaking since her "fall" is the farthest and is truly based on good intentions (she just wants to lose a few pounds to fit into her dead husband's favorite dress.) Burstyn is a firecracker of Coney Island Jewish cheeriness, masking a deep wound of isolation and then toppling into a pit of madness. Who else could convince the audience that a refridgerator is chasing after them? A funny, mad, sad and unforgettable performance.

4. Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda (2004)

It is a simple scene, but one that speaks volumes about the weight of talent involved. Paul Russassabagina (Don Cheadle) stands in front of a mirror and attempts to put on a tie. His chin is up, he stands tall. His eyes sink. His hands shake. He can't do it. Outside, there is genocide and he must face those who attempt to slaughter many more who have found shelter in his hotel, including his wife. In this one scene, Don Cheadle went from respectable and dependable supporting hand to a powerful juggernaut of a leading performer. Every note he hits in Hotel Rwanda is pitch perfect, from his skillful improvasational negotiation tactics in the face of human monsters to his vulnerable and heroic moment where he makes the choice to let his wife and children flee to safety, leaving him to stand up to impossible odds. This is a powerhouse of acting.

3. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Antichrist (2009)

I don't think there is or was another female on planet earth that was willing to go as far as Charlotte Gainsbourg did in Lars Von Trier's tale of grief, pain and despair. As "she", a woman who suffers from the pain of losing her infant son in a freak accident while making love to her husband (Willem Dafoe), Gainsbourg is a walking, living and breathing embodiment of heightened emotional anarchy: she shakes, she cries, she laughs, she screams, she makes love to her husband (or, better yet, she f*cks him) with moans that double as both orgasmic and agonizing at the same time. She bares all – literally – LITERALLY – for the world to see, and displays a quiet, calming evil and dread before she unleashes a shit-storm of Satan's Wrath upon the cabin that she and her husband inhibits. There is no female performance as ballsy, unnerving, uncontrollable and as difficult to escape this decade than this right here.

2. Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain (2005)

The easy cop-out would be to chose the deceased actor's role as the maniacal Joker in The Dark Knight (and indeed, it is the iconic role that may define his short career) but I think as the years pass, people will understand that not only was the role of love torn ranch-hand Ennis Del Mar more difficult to play, but the ultimate paranthesis that lead to him donning that white make-up. Ledger brings all of the suffering, guilt and shame of unrequited love and internalizes it in a ball of a half-opened jawline and gritted teeth. Where in The Dark Knight, Ledger had a large ensemble, great make-up, and incredible special effects to play off, in Brokeback, all he had was a prarie landscape, Jake Gyllenhaal and those tortured eyes and broken soul. This is a man who is truly conflicted about every decision and obstacle he encounters in his life and it shows. I think his performance in The Dark Knight just simply *confirmed* how awesome he was in Ang Lee's award-winning opus.

1. Daniel-Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood (2007)

There's no other way to say this: Daniel-Day Lewis is the greatest male actor of my generation. When I was growing up and first fell in love with all things cinema, Pacino and De Niro were the go-to guys for me when I needed a great acting performance. Then I saw My Left Foot. From there, Lewis has basically created a near-perfect ocean of work that is astounding – but here, as the overly ambitious and practically heartless Daniel Plainview, Lewis took every bit of chutzpah and note taught to him in acting class and burst onto the screen like a supernova of method-acting holiness. This is over-the-top. This is larger-than-life. This is externalized emotion turned inside out to show the soul of a human being. This isn't even acting – because acting - *true* acting isn't about acting at all, but about "being" and "existing". For nearly three hours, Daniel-Day Lewis ceased to exist in our universe and only Daniel Plainview remained. We observed his life as a meager prospector, to sudden father figure, to hardened business partner, to humiliated heathen to cold-blooded and justified-in-his-mind murderer. When Plainview exclaimed, "It is finished!", I think it meant the heights and journey of Lewis' craft; that holy grail of spiritual nirvana a performer strives to obtain to perfectly blend actor and character was finally reached. It is sheer madness to think Daniel-Day Lewis, or any living actor or actress on the planet, for that matter – is capable of reaching that place anytime soon again in the very near future.

BRYAN KRISTOPOWITZ

Honorable Mentions: Dennis Haysbert, The Unit (2006-2009); Seth MacFarlane, Family Guy; Mark Harmon, NCIS

5. Bruce Campbell, Bubba Ho-tep (2002)

Campbell will probably always be known as "Ash" from the Evil Dead movies, but his 2002 collaboration with the great director Don Coscarelli and the immortal Ossie Davis will probably be the second thing he's known for (well, in the genre movie world. His current work on Burn Notice will probably generate more mainstream notoriety). I speak, of course, of Campbell's turn in Bubba Ho-tep where he played an old Elvis Presley living in a nursing home that's under attack by an old Egyptian mummy that needs souls to keep going. Campbell really makes you believe that he's an old, broken down Elvis. He handles all of the sad, quiet moments where Elvis is alone with his thoughts, trying to figure out what happened to him and how his life went to hell (plus he's got that cancerous thing on the tip of his dick which can't be a good thing). And then when the ridiculous stuff starts to happen (the bug attack, the whole "Ossie Davis is JFK" thing, not to mention the final fight where Campbell puts on the Elvis jumpsuit, attacks the mummy with a motorized wheelchair, and does kung fu on the monster) he makes it work and seamless with the heavy dramatic stuff. There isn't one false moment in Campbell's performance. Think of that last scene where Elvis drifts off into death, happy that he was able to beat the mummy and keep his soul. Despite all of the bad stuff, Elvis got to go out on top. Awesome stuff.

4. Uma Thurman, Kill Bill vol. 1 (2003)

Lots of people prefer Thurman's performance in Kill Bill vol.2 because her performance in that movie is more nuanced and she's more vulnerable in that movie than in "vol.1." But I prefer Thurman's The Bride in "vol.1" because it shows the Bride in full on revenge mode. That's what the whole Kill Bill saga is all about, right? When she comes out of her coma and realizes what happened to her she becomes a shark, a motivated, full on killing machine. She makes her death list, she gets her super sword, she kills like sixty people in a big ass kung fu sword fight, and she threatens to kill a fellow assassin's daughter. Why? Because the Bride wants fucking revenge. Thurman is so excellent in the part. She just seethes throughout the whole movie. The only quiet moment she has is in the hospital when she clutches at her stomach and finds out that her baby is no longer there. They killed it! Bill must die! She moves instantly from confused patient to motivated killer. And think about this. If Thurman wasn't believable as a full on, ass kicking killer the second movie wouldn't have made any sense and no one would have cared.

3. Ray Stevenson, Punisher: War Zone (2008)

I didn't hold out much hope for this movie when I first heard about it. The 2004 effort starring Thomas Jane was an underwhelming bore and the initial reports about the sequel that isn't a sequel didn't sound all that great (who the hell was Ray Stevenson anyway?). But then I went and saw the movie anyway because it was another Punisher movie and I wanted to see if it was as bad as I assumed it would be. It wasn't. The movie kicked ass, and Stevenson, in his first scene standing on that mobster's table with the flare and that scowl, knocked Dolph Lundgren out of the #1 spot when it came to movie Punishers. In thirty seconds, Ray Stevenson became the fucking Punisher. And his performance got better and better as the movie went on. Look at the scene on the dead FBI agent's porch. There's Castle, apologizing to the dead agent's wife and daughter for accidentally killing their husband and father, he didn't know he was working undercover, and there was nothing he could to fix what he did but he was going to try. Castle brought them the bag of money which the mother rejected (it was blood money). And then Castle didn't flinch when the mother wanted to kill him. He probably sensed that she would never do it, but he wanted to give her the chance to fix what he couldn't. "Who punishes you?" she eventually asks. That scene tells you everything you need to know about what kind of person Castle really is. He's a broken spirit.

Of course, Stevenson also kicked ass in the action scenes. Those scenes and sequences alone warrant him being on the list.

2. William Petersen, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

William Petersen's Gil Grissom is CSI moreso than any other member of the cast, because Grissom's demeanor embodies what the show is ultimately all about. Collecting evidence, looking at that evidence, and then figuring out what happened, and doing it all with a passion for the truth. But Grissom can't get to the truth until he checks out the evidence. Petersen's gravitas made Grissom more than just the conscience of the show and its ultimate symbol, he was the steady hand guiding the show along. And when he left that first time and the producers brought in Liev Schreiber for an extended guest part the show lost all of its juice and soul. It wasn't CSI anymore. And now that Petersen has left the show for good and been replaced by Larry Fishburne the show just doesn't work as well as it did before. Fishburne is good, sure, but he's not Petersen.

1. Lance Henriksen, Bone Dry (2007)

Henriksen's sadistic Jimmy in writer-director Brett A. Hart's Bone Dry is one of those performances that shows you what a great actor Henriksen can be when he has great material to work with. Right when the movie starts you assume that Henriksen is the embodiment of pure evil. Here he is dragging a confused man in a suit (Luke Goss) through the desert for reasons that aren't clear at first. The only thing we know is Jimmy has Goss' Eddie by the balls and he isn't going to let go. In fact, he may twist Eddie's balls off and there isn't much Eddie can do about it. And Jimmy puts Eddie through hell (handcuffed naked to a cactus, strapped to the hood of a truck, among other things). But why? Why is Jimmy doing this? I'm not going to spoil the flick's big twist ending, but I will say that the ending makes you think twice about Jimmy. He isn't the man you thought he was at the beginning. If you haven't seen Bone Dry yet, you really need to. You're missing out on one of the best B-movies of all time, and one of Lance Henriksen's best performances of all time. Supremely awesome stuff.