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Well it's come to that time. I've been counting down the best films of the decade for the last month and I have enjoyed putting up my choices every week. I am going to take a week off naming the last 5, so I thought I would keep you entertained with some other best of stuff as well. Here I have done a list of the 10 best film performances of the last decade. There was some good, great and wonderful ones and I hope everyone agrees with me. I've also posted a few youtube links to the actors best parts in their respective films.
I would like to give a special dishonorable mention to Nicolas Cage, who has given some of the weirdest and worst performances of the decade. Not all were bad, but most of them kept me laughing the entire time so here is my list.
10. Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris, Training Day (2001)
Washington's performance as Harris is a brilliant theatrical performance that has re-defined the role of a dirty cop. Harris is just not a bad cop, he is just down right evil.
9. Bjork as Selma Jezkova, Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Director Lars Von Trier has been known to push his actors to the ends of the earth. It has been passed around that Von Trier pushed Bjork so bad that she said she will never act again. But if it is her last performance it's wonderful. She stars as Selma a mill worker who is going blind. Her performance pulls you in many ways. There really is no one else that could have played her part. Bjork herself is a very shy person and she personifies the closed off Selma perfectly. And the lavish dance numbers bring out her voice, which is amazing.
8. Heath Ledger as The Joker, The Dark Knight (2008)
I believe this is one of the best villains of the decade. Ledger takes an entire new take on the classic Batman villain. Ledgers presents the Joker as this anarchistic, mass murdering, psychopath. Each scene just creeps into your body and stays there. It's not that you are afraid of him, you are just so completely uncomfortable and squirm with the tension. Which makes the scenes even better.
7. Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, American Psycho (2000)
Before the overexposure which is Christian Bale, he got really his first big break in “American Psycho”. Bale plays the narcissistic Bateman with such bravado and energy you are frightened as well. The one scene I think demonstrates this the most is the infamous threesome scene where Bateman is looking at himself in the mirror. So frightening, but I was laughing at the same time.
6. Imelda Staunton as Vera Drake, Vera Drake (2004)
Mike Leigh is one of the best acting directors around. In his 2004 feature he let's Imelda Staunton go for the gold medal. She plays a woman who will do anything for her family and the well being of others. I do not want to give too much away, but her ethical limits are crossed. She gives the performance that has such emotion and power in it. It's purely a tour de force.
5. Heath Ledger as Enis Del Mar, Brokeback Mountain (2005)
I know it's a little lame I have two performances by the same actor on here, but Mr. Ledger really has made quite an impact on me. His performance as Delmar is something that sticks with you. You don't really know what his orientation is, but that is not the point of the character. His frustration with what he is fighting or trying to come out. His emotion amasses to outrages that are both physical and emotional. His character is never figured out, but he is amazing helping you figure out what the character is going through.
4. Mickey Rourke as Randy “The Ram” Robinson, The Wrestler (2008)
Mickey Rourke is first introduced from his back. Head down, shoulders slumped and coughing up some snot. Is it weird that you are so caught up with just this shot? Rourke returns as the aging wrestler who really has nothing left in him. He is not a perfect character, once we trust him and want him to succeed he becomes irresponsible and loses our faith. Rourke can play the tough man in this but is absolutely perfect in the quieter dialogue scenes.
3. Casey Affleck as Robert Ford, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
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