Oscar season is upon us, which means studios are working overtime to ensure that their films get duly recognized by the appropriate awards bodies in the lead up to the Academy Awards. With the fall film festival behind us, we already have our frontrunners (hello,A Star Is Born), and the next two months are about the major contenders jockeying to get into the conversation. There’s always room for a spoiler or two (hello,Christopher PlummerinAll the Money in the World), but by and large a lot of the chess board has already been set.
Which is why I wanted to take a beat to highlight some great performances from 2018 thataren’tin this frontrunner conversation at the moment. It’s easy to get bogged down with what’s expected, but it’s important to remember that Academy voters don’t start making their choices until January 5th, which means there’s still a lot of time for folks to watch those screeners and consider who deserves to be on their ballots. A lot of this, sadly, depends on how much money a studio can spend on campaigns—it stands to reason that the more you see ads toutingBenedict CumberbatchforThe Imitation Game, the more likely you are to remember his name when it comes time to fill out your ballot.
So before things get too settled, here are 15 truly great and somewhat underrated performances from 2018 that deserve to be part of the Oscar conversation.
Carey Mulligan – Wildlife
Carey Mulliganhas been making films for nearly 15 years, but she delivers the best performance of her career thus far inPaul Dano’s sorely underrated dramaWildlife. The 1960-set film charts the dissolution of a family as seen through the eyes of a teenage boy, but Mulligan imbues the matriarch with a complexity and messiness that’s rarely seen in female characters, let alone mothers—especially in a non-judgmental way. Her character Jeanette is, above all else,human, and anchored by a tremendous screenplay from Dano andZoe Kazan, Mulligan absolutely nails it. Her performance is astounding as she’s given a female character with the shadings and darkness usually reserved for leading male roles that go on to win Oscars. I get thatWildlifeis a small movie, but Mulligan should absolutely be in the Best Actress conversation this year.
Ethan Hawke – First Reformed
I’m not exactly sure whenEthan Hawkebecame one of our greatest living actors, but it happened, and his talents are on full display inPaul Schrader’s bold dramaFirst Reformed. Hawke’s reserved, despairing reverend goes to some wild places towards the end of the film, and so it’s on Hawke to ensure that the arc fully charts for the audience. He traverses the path beautifully, and while the film has drawn comparisons toTaxi Driver, I’d say Hawke’s more understated work here is just as challenging asRobert De Niro’s groundbreaking turn in that Schrader-written 1976 masterpiece. It’s a bold, perplexing ,and ultimately deeply impactful performance.
Michael B. Jordan – Black Panther
Many Oscar pundits haveMichael B. Jordanalready shortlisted for a Best Supporting Actor nomination, but I felt it necessary to include him on this list because, well, you never know. But yes, Jordan delivers one of the year’s best performances as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most interesting villain thus far.Black Panther’s Killmonger is a thematic foil to T’Challa, and their push-and-pull is the beating heart of the film. It’s a testament to Jordan’s performance that you empathize deeply with Killmonger’s motivations, even if you disagree with his means.
Kathryn Hahn – Private Life
Kathryn Hahn’s performance inPrivate Lifeis not just one of the best “Best Actress” performances of the year, it’s one of the best performances of the year full-stop. Hahn plays a woman who, with her husband (played terrifically byPaul Giamatti), has been trying to get pregnant for years. Writer/directorTamara Jenkins’ drama charts the emotional ups and downs of IVF through the eyes of this one middle-aged couple, but it’s Hahn’s turn that haunts the picture. She’s endearing and funny, but also complicated and wonderfully dimensional. The story of IVF is not all good or all bad—people are going to have their moments, and Hahn charts this heartbreaking arc beautifully. We’ve known from work likeStep BrothersandParks and Recreationthat Hahn is hilarious, but withPrivate Lifeshe proves she has incredible dramatic chops.
John David Washington – BlacKkKlansman
BlacKkKlansmanis one of the best filmsSpike Leehas ever made, and it’s all anchored by a deceptively simple performance fromJohn David Washington. In filling the role of Ron Stallworth, Washington has to navigate both racial politics and police relations in the 1970s, and that’s all before the Ku Klux Klan comes into the picture.BlacKkKlansmanis a film that can be very funny at times, and Washington nails that humor, but when the tone turns deadly serious Washington nails it. It’s a tricky role, and given the tonal ambition of the entire piece a lot of the film’s success is due to Washington’s work here. The film is expected to pick up some major Oscar nominations, but Washington’s performance shouldn’t be forgotten.
Toni Collette – Hereditary
One of the year’s first major Oscar contenders wasToni Collette’s brilliant performance in the profoundly disturbing horror filmHereditary. Collette is still in the mix, but the race has only gotten more crowded since that time. Regardless, her brave, dynamic turn remains one of the year’s most striking performances. For all the terrifyingotherstuff in the film,Hereditaryis, ultimately, a story about grief, and it manifests in various ways in Collette’s characters. She vacillates between denial, anger, frustration, elation, and despair without ever hitting a false note. It’s enough to make your head spin.
John C. Reilly – The Sisters Brothers
Destined to go down as one of 2018’s most underrated films,The Sisters Brothersis a contemplative, endearing Western that also happens to feature a downright terrific performance fromJohn C. Reilly. BeforeTalladega NightsorStep Brothers, Reilly made a name for himself with stellar dramatic turns in films likeThe AviatorandChicago, and in that veinSisters Brothersis something of a return to form. Reilly’s heartbreaking turn as Eli Sisters, the more mild-mannered and meek brother to hot-headed Charlie Sisters (Joaquin Phoenix), is a complicated one, as the narrative begins to invert halfway through and Eli is forced to step up and take the lead position for once. Reilly charts the arc beautifully, and while Eli and Charlie are killers by hire, the actor never loses Eli’s humanity. It’s a deeply soulful performance that may just be Reilly’s best.
Rosamund Pike – A Private War
In her best performance since her Oscar-nominated work inGone Girl,Rosamund Pikewholly transforms inMatthew Heineman’s true-story dramaA Private War. It’s an ambitious turn from Pike, who plays brave war journalistMarie Colvin, whose life-threatening reporting on events such as the Arab Spring proved invaluable. Pike gets at the courage of Colvin’s character while also showing shades of what makes her tick, as the film asks what kind of person it takes to continue going back into deadly war zones to witness horrors first hand so that the people back home don’t have to. It’s a bold, important performance—especially for 2018.
Thomasin McKenzie – Leave No Trace
Eight years ago, filmmakerDebra Granikmade a star out ofJennifer LawrenceinWinter’s Bone, and if there’s any justice the young performer of her long-awaited follow-upLeave No Trace,Thomasin McKenzie, will similarly be recognized for a star-making performance of her own. In chronicling the story of a father and daughter living off the land in the Pacific Northwest, McKenzie toes the fine line between obedient child and curious teenager, and as the film charts her own coming-of-age, McKenzie’s subtle and thoughtful performance absolutely shines. She doesn’t go to obvious places, but the emotional impact is all the better for it, and the fact that she more than holds her own opposite a veteran performer likeBen Fosteris proof positive she’s got a long career ahead of her.
Dakota Johnson – Suspiria
It’s a bit weird that a year afterLuca Guadagninohelmed one of the season’s most critically acclaimed and accomplished films inCall Me by Your Name, his follow-up featureSuspiriaisn’t getting the same attention. Such is the awards race when you’re an incredibly strange horror film I suppose, butDakota Johnson’s performance in the horror redo is remarkable nonetheless. It’s tough to discuss the impressiveness of Johnson’s turn without getting into spoilers, but suffice it to say when the film goes to somecrazyplaces, it’s Johnson’s arc throughout the course of the film that keeps the audience’s feet planted firmly on the ground. This is one that’s going to age really, really well.
