The 15 Best Performances of 2009

The following are the 15 best performances of 2009 according to me, your friendly neighborhood film blogger. This list is filled with great actors and great actresses, and many of these roles are once-in-a-lifetime parts. A number of these names will show up again around Oscar time, so you’ve got a perfect reason to run out and rent a few of the following. After all, you don’t want to be the only person at your Oscar party who hasn’t seen a particular film, do you?

  1. Jeff Bridges from Crazy Heart – As down-and-out country singer Bad Blake, Bridges portrays a man whose health and career are both shot. But then he meets a journalist many years his junior, and his life is suddenly filled with inspiration. Tom Long of the Detroit News said, “the easy magic Bridges brings to the screen makes it all work.” Long overlooked for his talent, Bridges won a Golden Globe for this performance and is considered a frontrunner at the Oscars.
  2. Colin Firth from A Single Man - George Falconer is a homosexual English professor who lost his partner eight months prior. As he goes though his day, he looks at his past and empty future, planning to kill himself later in the evening. Nathan Rabin of the A.V. Club noted that the film is “rooted in Firth’s affecting lead performance as a man trying to keep it together for one last day after his world has fallen apart.”
  3. Sandra Bullock from The Blind Side – Bullock gives an inspiring performance as Leigh Anne Tuohy, an interior decorator who welcomes a young runaway into her home. According to critic Michael Medved, “Sandra Bullock’s Oscar worthy performance is without question the best work of her career.”
  4. Carey Mulligan from An Education – In 1960’s England, a bright schoolgirl is seduced by the dangerous life of an older man and his cohorts. Mulligan received a Hollywood Film Festival award for Best Hollywood Breakthrough Performance for a Female, and she was also nominated for a Golden Globe.
  5. Christoph Waltz from Inglourious Basterds – Waltz won a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of an intelligent and ruthless Nazi officer who specializes in hunting down Jews. Even though he’s the film’s villain, his magnificent performance has charmed audiences around the globe. Devin Faraci of Chud.com gushed, “Christoph Walt needs not an Oscar nomination but rather an actual Oscar in his hands…he must have gold.”
  6. Helen Mirren from The Last Station – Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren is once again drawing raves from critics, this time as the wife of Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Nominated for a Golden Globe, she’s also received a nomination from the Screen Actor’s Guild, and an Oscar nod is definitely in the cards.
  7. Tobey Maguire from Brothers – Delivering a complex performance, Maguire plays Sam Cahill, a devoted family man and member of the Marine Corps. After being captured and tortured, he returns home traumatized and comes to believe that his wife and brother have been having an affair. This isn’t Spider-Man, folks.
  8. Vera Farmiga from Up in the Air – A frequent flyer who begins a casual romance with fellow traveler Ryan Bingham (George Clooney). Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote that “the timing in the Clooney-Farmiga scenes is like splendid tennis.” If you weren’t a fan of Vera Farmiga, you will be after seeing this film.
  9. Meryl Streep from Julie & Julia – Streep added a Golden Globe to her collection of career awards, and you can bet that she’ll be up for yet another Oscar (thus extending her record of the most nominations by an actress). She plays famous chef Julia Child in this film, doing a spot-on impression and weaving the tale of Child’s time in Paris in the 1950s.
  10. Christopher Plummer from The Last Station – Playing famed Russian author Leo Tolstoy during the last year of his life, Plummer has received a number of award nominations, including one from the Screen Actor’s Guild.
  11. George Clooney from Up in the Air – Many critics have predicted Clooney will walk away with the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ryan Bingham, a specialist in downsizing (firing) people. As he criss-crosses the country performing his job, he slowly moves towards amassing 10 million frequent flyer miles. He also engages in a casual relationship with a female traveler and forms a bond with an efficiency-minded co-worker. With his usual big-screen charm, Clooney excels as a man who helps those around him transition from one phase of their lives to another.
  12. Joseph Gordon-Levitt from (500) Days of Summer – An architect who works at a greeting card company, Tom Hansen is a romantic who’s constantly in search of true love. He begins a relationship with Summer, a young woman who doesn’t believe in such sentimental notions as true love. As their relationship experiences highs and lows, Gordon-Levitt gets plenty of chances to show off his acting chops.
  13. Mo’Nique from Precious – Comic Mo’Nique takes on the dark role of a mentally and physically abusive mother in this anguishing film from 2009. She took home a Golden Globe for her efforts, and she’s also received recognition from the Sundance Film Festival, Boston Film Critics Awards, 2009 Satellite Awards, as well as many others.
  14. Woody Harrelson from The Messenger – The veteran actor of film and television has been getting positive buzz for his role as a Marine who must inform the families of deceased soldiers. In keeping with its status of one of the 15 best performances of 2009, the role has received prestigious nominations from the Golden Globes, Independent Spirit Awards, Satellite Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
  15. Morgan Freeman from Invictus – Nelson Mandela once told Morgan Freeman that he should play him in a movie, and the South African leader’s wish finally came true in 2009. Freeman does a masterful job of portraying Mandela as a man of vision and integrity, all while trying to unite his country under their common love of rugby.

If you’d like to read more about the best performances of 2009, be sure to check out the following articles:

And if you want to watch some of these movies on DVD, consider some of the Netflix plans that are available.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 10:10 am and is filed under Thoughts on Film. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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2 Responses to “The 15 Best Performances of 2009”

  1. The 10 Best Movies You Didn’t See in 2009 says:
    January 22, 2010 at 5:50 pm

    [...] The 15 Best Performances of 2009 [...]

  2. Good Fish Out of Water Movies says:
    April 22, 2010 at 9:03 am

    [...] 15 Best Performances of 2009 [...]

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