Saturday 20 December 2008

Performances of the year

I'm sure I've missed some — and I've yet to see The Visitor or Changeling — but these are my favourite performances of 2008. If any of them pick up an award or two, cinematic justice will have been served.

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler


Anne Hathaway and Rosemarie DeWitt in Rachel Getting Married


Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road


Michael Fassbender in Hunger


Kristin Scott Thomas in I've Loved You So Long


Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight


Benicio Del Toro in Che


Brad Pitt in Burn After Reading

9 comments:

Gerard said...

All I've seen yet are Burn, TDK and Hunger, but I know that's a great list.

I've Loved You So Long, at least, I'll have seen by Boxing Day..

And Pitt - better in Burn than in Button? Also take it you enjoyed Hunger?

Mark Salisbury said...

Enjoy isn't a term I'd use to describe Hunger. It's tough going but marks the emergence of a dynamic new talent.

I debated and debated having Pitt for Button, and it's a brilliant performance, no question, but, well, I love him in this...

Gerard said...

And so too do I. The way he delivers that "Fuck, no!" line in the office garners a guffaw from yours truly every time...

And you're right, 'enjoy' probably wasn't the right term, but seriously, one of the very very very best of the year for me (keeping in mind I won't get to check out Let the Right One In, The Wrestler, Milk, Revolutionary Road, Timecrimes, Rachel Getting Married, Che, My Winnipeg, Doubt etc etc until next year... *kicks can*; Ben Button I won't see until Boxing Day).

Mark Salisbury said...

I still haven't seen Timecrimes!

Gerard said...

Even so, I think you're faring a tad better than me... :P

Mark Salisbury said...

Agreed.

Gerard said...

Also - I think I'll totally rip you off and do one of these later in the week after I've caught up with some Boxing Day stuff... :P

Mark Salisbury said...

Rip away...

Gerard said...

Ripped. Loved Button - loved; only real gripe was the reliance on the deathbed stuff (at times) felt a little intrusive. Saw ...So Long today, too, which I enjoyed a lot, but felt was a tad protracted and that its reasoning behind her dreadful act took the easy way out: her performance was so fantastic that you obviously wanted her to have committed the crime out of some altruistic reasoning, but, because of that, I felt it was both a) expected, and; b) less interesting that if she had have acted out of some sort of momentary lapse of reason/hateful passion and had to come to terms with it once released. But seriously, her performance? Exemplary.

ALSO: Was in a bookstore today (I'm holidaying on my lonesome in Sydney for a few nights) and saw no less than three of your books on the same shelf. Raised a smile.