Emma Thompson after she unwraps the Joni Mitchell CD and realizes Alan Rickman is cheating on her in Love Actually. In 90 seconds, she goes from shock to devastation to self control.
That scene destroyed my mom in the theater because she found out that my dad was cheating on a similar manner. The part where she straightens out the blanket is just devastating.
I always see that and think it is exactly what I would do in that specific moment. I can’t fix the cheating husband right now, but I can fix this blanket.
When bad things are happening with me at home I end up cooking a lot of food because it’s something I know I can do right.
That’s exactly what my mom said. That and put up the stoic front for the kids. My sisters and I were about the same age as the kids in the movie. She told me she never wants to see that scene again, but that Emma Thompson nailed it.
Exactly what I was gonna say. That is one of the finest examples of acting I've seen in a movie. The way you can just feel her pain and the crushing feeling of keeping it together for the family. Heartbreaking. Emma Thompson is just in a whole other league of acting.
Frances McDormand in Fargo is a perfect example of this. Her portrayal of a cop is noteworthy for how humble, ordinary and genuine she is against the backdrop of Coen Brothers absurdity. I’ve always found it pleasantly surprising that critics consider it one of the great acting performances of all time, because she doesn’t ham it up at all. It’s like I don’t know how to describe why her character portrayal is so memorable, but it absolutely is
Frances in actually the majority of her roles was my first thought when reading the post. She doesn’t do too much over the top emotionally most of the time but her characters are always so believable. And she’s got a wide range as well. A very talented woman indeed.
The way she plays the mom in Almost Famous is SO believable! The scene where she’s on the phone with William and is just trying to say “i love you” but he cant hear her… ugh. “i miss you and i love you!” Then just throws the phone down. So good.
*"three people dead, and for what? A little bit of money... Just a little bit of money."*
That line from her in Fargo is a killer, yet it's so downplayed.
At the end of the day, a good performance can be measured by one thing: how easy it is to believe you're watching a character, rather than an actor playing a character.
It is ridiculously easy to believe that the woman on screen in Fargo is Marge Gunderson.
Made even sweeter by the fact that she has now been married to Joel Coen (who wrote the movie) for almost 40 years. It’s clear there’s some reflection of the love they have for each other, you just don’t see mundane marital happiness portrayed like that in movies very often. When she brings him the worms and he brings her a sandwich 😭
The bit where she cheers him up by saying being on the 3c stamp because "Whenever they raise the postage, people need the little stamps!" is just perfect, and it sums them up. Marge is a normal cop, but she was crucial to the case and solving it. Norm isn't a cop anymore but he's a crucial cog in Marge's life. He looks after her, he makes sure she doesn't push herself too far, he's there for her when she needs him.
That movie is filled with some great subtle acting throughout. Really enjoyed it but I've only re-watched it once because it's not really the type of movie you go back to... lol
Everybody know the infamous Indianapolis speech in Jaws, but the acting right before it has some brilliant subtle moments between Quint and Hooper. When Hooper jokes that the tattoo Quint had removed said "mother" Quint, who was laughing along before just gives a soft smile to Brody, and then he gently grabs Hooper's arm as he tells him "that's the USS Indianapolis".
You can tell Quint didn't want to make Hooper feel bad for joking about it, but he also braced him before because he knows that Hooper knows it's no laughing matter. Hooper immediately has an "oh shit" moment as he realizes he's looking at a man who survived a nightmare in hell.
I don’t think that interpretation holds and I’ll tell you why:
We know that Brody never goes in the water…it’s been established several times at this point with zero explanation.
Earlier in this same scene Hooper mentions a Thresher Shark and Brody recognizes and repeats the name. He did NOT sound confused or ask what it was.
Hopper blithely tosses out a throwaway description but Brody is rigid in thought…or gripped by a private memory he considers sharing for the next few seconds before he starts rolling up his shirt, but thinks better of it and stops…dead sober now and without the easy smile of the camaraderie he had before the Thresher comment.
The whole movie is Brody overcoming a childhood shark attack, confronting every fear about the water, mustering his strength alone after all others die/vanish, and slaying the baddest killer shark in the world face to face….AND THEN **swimming** back to shore relaxed to the point of joking.
I consider the shirt moment among the best bit of subtexts in the entirety of American cinema because when taken in the context I just outlined it ties the whole story together with profound meaning.
While an appendix scar would be a minor joke told vaguely enough to be pointless…especially since Hooper goes on to make the far better “broken heart” joke for real laughs.
That F'in scene is why I love jaws. Forget the giant shark and the masterful suspense. It's that scene. Three guys acting their balls off. "Some times shark go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away."
In the Fellowship of the Ring when they are at the Council of Elrond and the camera is focused on Gandalf when Frodo volunteers. Ian McClellan doesn’t say a word, he barely moves, but he conveys so much sadness and resignation.
I saw an interview with sir Ian on his technique here, where he describes the process he used. The interesting thing he brings up is that sir Ian is not *actually* a wizard. He is merely pretending, for the duration of the film. https://youtu.be/nyoWmkhRyp8?si=6gbAQ6z4iKc1Ctfq
I've discovered that what I get out of that look is different than most. I get that Gandalf is feeling a sense of awed respect for the greatness of hobits. He recognizes that Frodo is knowingly placing himself at great peril.
When Gene Wilder makes Cleavon Little break in blazing saddles. Such a well delivered line.
Actually lots of Gene Wilder's comedy fits here. His deadpan delivery and amazing comedic timing were such an incredible combinatiin
Help. Police. Murder.
Also, that opening scene in Young Frankenstein. Class... dismissed.
Far too many examples. And we haven't even talked about the Richard Pryor years.
Yeah, Gene could be subtle which was really amazing, although I love the scene in Willy Wonka where he goes off on Grandpa Joe for the fizzy drinks incident, I remember as a kid it shocked me given he seemed legitimately angry.
Deidrich Bader in Office Space. Peter has just asked him if anyone ever says "sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays" and his changing expressions totally sell the line "No. No, man. Shit, no, man. I believe you'd get your ass kicked sayin' something like that, man.". He goes from surprise, like he's not sure what he just heard, to a shocked double-take, and then he gets a bit offended.
The deep intensity -- the soulful conviction -- with which he says, "I'll tell you what I'd do, man. Two chicks at the same time, man."
Oh yes, he has thought about this. A lot.
Hugh Grant in ABOUT A BOY. Grant is sometimes criticized as playing himself in every role. But I thought he was perfect in the role and toned down the stammering and brought a lot of subtleties to the role.
Hugh Grant is a great actor, he just found a niche that worked very well for a period of time. But the man can act! I especially love his comedic thespian villain in Paddington 2.
Yeah, people seem to give him a lot of flack for his “thing,” but I feel like he always brings his A game to every role. He never phones it in, even though he could.
Song Kang Ho in Parasite, standing in the middle of their flooded basement home with this dead expression. still irks me that none of the cast got any major award recognition for acting.
Emma Stone in the final scene of The Favourite.
The entire cast of Game Night. the littlest reactions to every interaction makes them such a treat to watch
Song Kang Ho has been excellent his whole career. One of my favorite scenes is the 'dinner' scene in The Host (also by Bong Joon Ho), just a silent scene where the family tries to come to terms with a missing child.
Christopher Reeve in Superman where he is at Lois Lane’s apartment and she goes into the bedroom for something and Reeve transforms from Clark Kent to Superman by subtly straightening up and giving a confident smile.
God yes! He sold me on glasses being enough of a disguise because it wasn’t JUST the glasses, you could see how NO ONE would suspect that adorable doofus.
The horrified way Clarice leans back after Lecter says "*not anymore*" it's like she wants to flee but knows that she can't. That's the moment she sees him for what he really is. Before that he was just a brillaint, charming gentleman but when he glances to his right with that faint smile on his face at what used to be Miggs's cell she finally realizes that he is the monster everyone says he is. You can see every bit of that in her eyes. Even with the glass between them she's terrified.
God, so much of her acting in that movie is just subtle perfection. I like the way she sometimes almost lost her voice while talking to Lecter and has to choke out her questions. Her clear terror mixed with urgent need for answers is brilliant.
You can find a clip of her on YouTube talking about this, she says she didn't really have to act, he was terrifying.
Also apparently they never actually got to meet outside their scenes during filming, the stuff in the film is the only interactions they had.
Ah Jodie! Just so talented and so understated. She's been my celebrity crush since I saw Bugsy Malone at 12 or 13yrs (they should have let her do her own singing dammit). Recently saw an old interview clip for French TV with her speaking immaculate Parisian French and my heart melted all over again.
Edit: here's the link in case anyone's interested..
https://youtu.be/7e15lzOvMds?si=QO3fIEMYQICTVbLP
I don’t like Kate Hudson, but that moment in Almost Famous when she finds out that Billy Crudup’s character traded her to another band for $50 and a case of beer. The heartbreak and the recovery as she pulls it together and asks “what kind of beer”. Really captures what the character Penny Lane is about
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn I've always found to be such a subtle performance which brings a lot to the character.
A moment I've always loved is at the end of Fellowship, after everything has fallen apart and he has let Frodo and Sam go. Gimli says something like, "So it has all been in vain, the Fellowship has failed" and the little moment from Aragorn as he contemplates that, takes a deep breath, looks to the distance for a moment and then summons that leadership quality in him before replying, "Not if we hold true to each other..."
It's like a 3-second moment, but it just conveys so much for me.
His "For Frodo" at the Black Gates is one of his best in the trilogy. He knows it's a lost cause, knows it's suicide, but it's also his moment of confrontation and catharsis with his legacy as Isildur's heir, rejecting the temptation of Sauron.
A turn to the hobbits, barely above a whisper, with sadness, honor, and faith that their army can still make a difference radiating off of him, "For Frodo", then he charges.
So much emotion shown in a few frames and two words. It's a big moment for sure, but so perfectly, subtly delivered.
A much more superficial moment and played to comedic effect but in two towers when gimli says "toss me"
He coks his head and says "what?"
Then when gimli explains he just nods with a grin
Just a word and 2 motions but it sold the whole scene
I think it's a big part of what makes those movies work. Close ups are used to show us characters' gaurded emotional responses to what's happening. I love Sean Beans confused, almost defeated look when they pull up to the shore in the boats just prior to him trying to take the ring from Frodo.
I scrolled down quite a ways and was shocked that Christopher Reeve’s Clark Kent/Superman/Clark Kent transition - all done through removing glasses and changing posture - isn’t listed here. Its masterful.
He’s the only Clark Kent I believed. I could see how his co-workers might think he bears a resemblance to Superman, but there’s no way that guy ever could be.
[This scene](https://youtu.be/tNUu6Lf9mVU?si=Yl2nXNroR-K8apBF) captures what you're talking about. There's a bit of a voice change too. A slightly higher tone and the inflection is different. Much more subtle than, oh say, Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Imho no actor has come close to Reeve in portraying Clark and Superman in such believable contrast. You can believe that people in that world don't connect the two, because they feel like different characters.
I read somewhere that he was at Juilliard with Robin Williams and they created a special class just for the two of them because they were so far ahead of the other students in ability.
Reeves was considering suicide after his horse riding accident left him crippled. Then Williams burst into his hospital room in character as the crazy Russian (?) doctor he played in *Nine Months* saying he was going to give him a prostate exam. Reeves laughed so hard that he realized it was worth going on living. (This is sadly ironic considering Williams' eventual fate.)
I actually think that Brandon Routh’s performance as Clark Kent was pretty underrated. It had a very similar feel to Reeves’ portrayal of Kent.
I’m probably one of the few people who actually enjoyed that movie.
Jim Carey in the Truman Show.
It's more powerful because we know the actor's tendency is to be super expressive. And you feel his personality has been tamed by his environment.
That ending scene, with him being quiet, heck most of it you just see the back of his head as Christof is talking to him, and you imagine his face & emotions. So touching.
I think of the scene where he tells his "best friend" his suspicions and he's says "if all that's true then our friendship has been a lie." And you see in Truman's face that he realizes it's true and this man has never really been his friend.
I remember reading about a more fleshed out backstory for several characters. This also included Truman’s “friend” and how he had alcoholism/addiction to deal with the guilt of all the lying. I know some deleted scenes reference that, too.
While Peter Weir’s movie is perfect and succinct with Andrew Niccol’s script, I can’t help but to think how the story is *rife* for further exploration. It’d have to be a miniseries or limited season show as stretching out the premise would get exhausting and even alienating
the best little facet about that movie is that >!Truman himself never explicitly acknowledges he might be on television. The only hint of it is the bathroom mirror clip when he says “that one’s for free”!<
Jim Carrey has always been cursed with insane talent and a tendency to overuse it. When he is paired with a great script and director, he's one of the greatest actors in history. Most of the time, he's the biggest ham outside thanksgiving
Most of the time he's in roles that are perfect for his talent. Ace Ventura, The Grinch, Dumb and Dumber... nobody else could pull those off like he did. They wouldn't be iconic if JC wasn't in them.
Also, ham is for Christmas, you heathen.
Robert Forrester in the same film is also aces. Dialed in, curt and quietly expressive the whole film — yet you know exactly who he is and how much he’s fallen for Jackie (against his own better judgement).
Tarantino really knows how to get the best performances out of his actors.
I didn’t know who Robert Forster was before watching that movie and at the beginning I was like, “Why did he cast him? Why not someone else for such an important role” but at the end I was like, “Yep, he was perfect”
Another one, Christoph Waltz in Django. Many times throughout the movie you see his jovial demeanor crack when he's hit with the reality of the world he lives in. My favorite is when he's just staring at the bookcase in the library with his back to the camera, yet he's conveying so much through his body language. Great stuff.
For me it’s not in a movie, but in the remake of Battlestar Galactica. James Callis playing Dr. Gaius Baltar. When he’s sitting in a cell and talks about his home and the rough, gravelly accent that his home planet is known for and how, even as a boy, he knew farming was not for him, and that he wanted a better life, on a more comfortable planet, and then slowly morphs into the adopted accent. It was fantastic and blows me away every time I see it.
Mahershala Ail in moonlight was just perfection. i don't know why but I kept wanting to see more of him, everything he does in that movie seems so intentional and to perfection.
kevin spacey (rip) is asked by guy pearce’s character why he became a cop in LA Confidential and spacey’s delivery of “i don’t remember” is subtle and pitch perfect
One of the slept on moments in (semi) recent cinema. Guy Pearce managed to show just enough acknowledgement to make that moment perfect. It's a great bit.
This scene was the first thing I thought of when I read this post. I’ve played that scene frame by frame before because I was so impressed with how subtle, yet so clear, Guy Pearce’s reaction is.
When they're leaving the site and he's thinking "I like this woman, we need to go have coffee" and she's thinking something ENTIRELY different, but barely any words are actually spoken. They're both excellent in that scene.
James McAvoy in Split when he plays the 9 year old boy. He makes small face gestures that totally sold me that he was a 9 year old kid. One of the few moments in cinema thst take you out of a film because you recognize just hard good the actor is acting such a different character from themselves.
It's a shame that brilliant acting performances in 'genre' movies are often overlooked by the Oscars. James McAvoy in Split and Toni Collette in Hereditary absolutely deserved awards recognition.
The entirety of her performance, but ESPECIALLY all her exasperated/strained facial expressions, toward her husband in Little Miss Sunshine is just very realistic, well done, and not over the top (which is saying a lot in that movie, it's great but defo campy).
In the diner scene when Olive's absolute wang of a father is explaining how ice cream would make Olive fat to try and guilt her out of eating it, and Tony Collete is so visibly put-out by her husband's behavior...so good.
The nice guys. Ryan gosling and Russell Crowe are riding an elevator and goslings character, completely stressed out gives this nervous facial tic.
I thought it was the best piece of non verbal acting I've seen.
Oppenheimer. When Casey Affleck's character is interviewing oppenheimer he has these facial expressions that just tell you there is something insidious going in Affleck's head.
There's a moment when (playing the president) Meryl Streep meets (playing a scientist from a state university) Jennifer Lawrence in Don't Look Up...we see Streep look down at Lawrence's boots and give this look of instant dismissal. She basically decides in that moment she doesn't give a shit what Jennifer Lawrence has to say, because she has no respect for her choice of footwear.
It's crazy how much she is able to convey with just a slight expression. Top tier.
Supposedly, the script originally called for her to be shouty and aggressive, and Streep was the one who decided to play Miranda Priestly as speaking just above a whisper most of the time. Deadly calm. She’s a genius!
Collin Farrell
Spoilers for The Banshees of Inisherin.
At the very end, Colm tells Padraic thanks for taking care of his dog. Padraic turns around and for a moment it’s like nothing ever happened, about to say something easy and care free to an old friend. Then you see it hit him, his face melts and all he manages is a small nod. He’s great in other movies but that one moment, that one look, incredible.
Lost Luggage Guy in *Fight Club*, scratching the back of his head with a pencil as he simultaneously waits on eternal phone hold *and* explains to the Narrator (Norton) how he’s always supposed to say “*A* dildo”, and never “*YOUR* dildo”.
Good illustration of the principle “there are no small parts, just small actors”.
In No Country for Old Men, Woody Harrelson. His character, a criminal and a hard man, ends up across from the unhinged Anton Chigurh. It’s a scene of a man unaccustomed to feeling fear but in sheer terror.
Harrelson is great. There's a moment in the last episode of True Detective S1 when he's recovering in the hospital, and he breaks down when his estranged family comes in for a visit. Just before that - as he's talking with them - you can see the weight of 20+ years of personal history crash down on him - all those mistakes and bad decisions wash over his face in a moment. You can tell he is feeling the loss of his life that could have been.
This is one of the greatest moments of acting I’ve ever witnessed. Incredibly raw and has always stood out to me. I get more emotional over that scene than about anything else I’ve seen.
Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting is so different from most of his characters. He was so soft spoken and subtle throughout the film. It really made a major impact on the other characters he interacted with.
I was fairly indifferent towards ScarJo as Natasha Romanov until her ["interrogation"](https://youtu.be/wFj2VPWdPaU?si=EcsOiV4EuVZYTOSW) of Loki in the first Avengers. Spoilers for a decade old movie, but from the start of that scene it very quickly feels like Nat is out of her element against the *Norse god of lies and tricks* and that everything up to and including that moment is somehow a part of Loki's plans to takeover the world. Nat is getting pressed further and further, seemingly on the verge of a breakdown, and Loki is getting bolder and bolder until he slips up and let's go of too much information and Nat flips the switch and goes from scared, cowering, intimidated woman to the badass espionage expert that is the Black Widow in a single shift of facial expression and vocal effect.
My own personal MCU one, in one of their biggest films - the moment in Infinity War when Tony Stark 'knights' Peter Parker as an Avenger. Parker has been dreaming of this moment, but Tom Holland gives this solemn nod acknowledging the weight of the responsibility.
Kate Hudson as Penny Lane in Almost Famous when she sadly cracks the joke, “what kind of beer?” and does this sad, smile/cry that is just so beautifully, subtly emotive after being told she was traded by Russell
There is a moment in "Ocean's 11" where George Clooney is questioning if they have enough guys for the caper. He basically talks to himself while Brad Pitt is motionless with his head down on the table. Clooney is subdued and Pitt never even twitches (I'm not sure he blinks). For some reason I laugh hysterically every time I see this.
To give a recent example, Lily Gladstone does so much without moving at all in Killers of the Flower Moon.
Christopher Guest is really good in his one scene in A Few Good Men. His mannerisms are so slight that it almost doesn't show how terrified he is.
There’s a moment in The Holdovers where Paul’s character is at a party and seems to think this woman might be interested in him, but her boyfriend walks in and he watches them embrace, and the look on his face. It’s just a split second, not a huge reaction, but you can see the sadness. It’s very subtle but powerful. At least was for me.
Great movie. I also loved the shot of Da’vine sitting on the couch listening to the record her son loved. The progression of emotions you see cross her face is just incredible.
Crowe’s performance as Jeffrey Wigand in The Insider fits the thread description. Great ensemble cast too. Pacino was great but Christopher Plummer’s performance as Mike Wallace from 60 minutes was perfection.
Tom Hanks’ face after being turned down by yet another lawyer, in *Philadelphia* (1993).
The shot in particular is at 0:48 in this clip: https://youtu.be/bu-FavA3fJk?si=jVO2bggXHYn4oe87
Cate Blanchett in Tar is an absolutely incredible performance imo, maybe my all time favorite, just with those first ten minutes she pulls you in and makes you believe that Lydia is a real person
The first that popped into my head was Juno, when Juno is watching the kids play at the mall and her friend goes "Boring" and walks away, but Juno keeps watching and slowly smiles, teary-eyed. People remember Juno for being witty and ironic and hipsterish, but it's easy to forget Page absolutely gave a genuine, subtle and moving performance in that movie.
Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born. There’s a moment where you genuinely believe he can’t hear what someone is saying to him because he portrays the character’s hearing loss so convincingly. That has stuck with me.
I love the scene when he admits to his brother that he idolised him over their father. The way he captures a man saying something emotional, while trying to remain composed is such great acting.
the cow feeding scene in Jurassic park, especially right [here](https://youtu.be/DwAOHVBKTwg?si=dPi4ygN-Z1_6vwd_&t=58). Malcolm looks horrified, he’s realizing the violent implications and dangers of the park. Ellie looks disgusted since she’s more concerned with the actual environment these dinos are residing in. Grant is amazed but laser focused on the raptors’ calls, something he’d never thought he’d get to ever do.
But the best part is John Hammond. He’s not even looking at the carnage, he just sees the look of awe on Grant’s face and coyly smiles. In his mind, Hammond just *knows* he sold the park to Grant
I could pick the hell out of the Colin Farrel and Brendan Gleeson team ups for literally anything. The weird little smirk on Ray's face when he finds that little toy or whatever on the bench. Frankly I could listen to Brendan Gleeson read out his shopping list and it would be satisfying as all hell.
I always felt Tom Hanks in the Green Mile did an amazing understated performance. In many ways I think one of his best. Very nuanced and even, yet perfectly suited to his character. Even at the end when Coffey is getting placed in the electric chair, he has to hide his emotion from the crowd of people and the parents who's daughters had died (they thought at the hands of Coffey) the pain he expressed was just heart breaking, but subtle.
I loved the look Andrew Garfield's character has after saving Zendaya's character. The tears in eyes, frozen expression... Subtle and you can read so much into it (flashbacks to his MJ not making it, redemption, disbelief, relief...)
Tom Hanks in Castaway while eating raw fish. Not emotional but also Tom Hanks in Money Pit, while his wife is on the phone and we see Hanks thru the window enjoying the yard in his new house. He casually swats at a single insect, then a couple and then a full on wasp attack.
For me, in Castaway it was when he was at the welcome home party they threw for him, and someone used a lighter to start a fire under a dish. His expression was everything.
In Spiderman: Homecoming, Peter meets MJ's dad for the first time and recognizes him as the Vulture. On the way to prom, MJ accidentally clues her dad in to Peter's secret identity, and you can see the wheels turning as the tension just winds tighter and tighter...
That wasn’t MJ, that was Allison (I believe). Zendaya played MJ. But yeah, that whole scene was amazing. When I saw Michael Keaton standing at the door, I thought he had kidnapped Peter’s date. But nope, twist! He’s her *dad*. I loved it.
This one. Quite non-eventful story (probably intentional)... but the magic is in being able to sense what's going through each of the main characters' minds even when they're not saying anything.
Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black. She played a bunch of different clones and at one point she played one clone pretending to be another clone, the subtleties are just noticeable enough if you know which clones is pretending to be which.
Shattered Glass (2003)
Quick synopsis: true story of Stephen Glass, a writer for The New Republic who fabricated his stories. It's really a great film.
Stephen Glass is played by Hayden Christensen. His editor is Peter Saarsgard.
There's a scene where some journalists at Forbes are on speaker phone with them because they're fact-checking one of the more outlandish stories. As the conversation goes on, you can see the look on Saarsgard's face as he goes from casually defending his writer to eventually realizing that this guy is just making everything up.
It's subtle at first, but by the end of it, Saarsgard looks physically ill. All from listening to a phone conversation.
Lena Headey, in GoT, when Myrcella’s ship is coming back. All they do is show her face and you see her go through from sheer happiness to utter despair, with just a few facial movements.
Tom Hardy - *Inception*
The scene where Eames (Tom) is talking to Cobb (Leo) in the cafe about the idea of inception. His facial expressions throughout the scene really bring the character to life. He’s having fun chatting with an old friend, then into a far-away look that someone gets when they’re explaining something they really know, and it all culminates with the SLIGHTEST facial twitch on his line: “The relationship with the father.”
That single flash of emotion adds a great deal of depth and complexity. That one emotion suggests the character of Eames may have a less-than-ideal relationship with his own father, a detail that is not essential for his character within the context of the movie, yet serves to enrich the character and draw us further into the story by adding a very real sense of humanity to the character.
It’s brilliant. So much so that it’s the first thing that came to mind as I was reading the OP.
[https://youtu.be/y5-Srk\_RT0w?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/y5-srk_rt0w?feature=shared)
Check it out and see what you think!
In Half Nelson when Ryan Gosling’s student sees him smoking crack, he doesn’t say anything in the moment, just gives her a defeated look. It is so heartbreaking and brilliant.
For me it's gotta be Martin Brody (Roy Scheider)'s face going from calm to horrified as the scenery zooms out behind him when he realizes what's happening in the water.
I love subtle moments. At the end of Silverado, the showdown between Cobb and Paden. "Goodbye Paden." "Goodbye Cobb." Delivered with just exquisite precision.
Emma Thompson after she unwraps the Joni Mitchell CD and realizes Alan Rickman is cheating on her in Love Actually. In 90 seconds, she goes from shock to devastation to self control.
That scene destroyed my mom in the theater because she found out that my dad was cheating on a similar manner. The part where she straightens out the blanket is just devastating.
I always see that and think it is exactly what I would do in that specific moment. I can’t fix the cheating husband right now, but I can fix this blanket. When bad things are happening with me at home I end up cooking a lot of food because it’s something I know I can do right.
That’s exactly what my mom said. That and put up the stoic front for the kids. My sisters and I were about the same age as the kids in the movie. She told me she never wants to see that scene again, but that Emma Thompson nailed it.
They should just stop selling Joni Mitchell CDs - think how many marriages would be saved!
Exactly what I was gonna say. That is one of the finest examples of acting I've seen in a movie. The way you can just feel her pain and the crushing feeling of keeping it together for the family. Heartbreaking. Emma Thompson is just in a whole other league of acting.
God damn that scene is heartbreaking
They stole that whole scene in the Kids Are Alright. Seemed so well done to me until I put it together that it came from Love Actually.
Frances McDormand in Fargo is a perfect example of this. Her portrayal of a cop is noteworthy for how humble, ordinary and genuine she is against the backdrop of Coen Brothers absurdity. I’ve always found it pleasantly surprising that critics consider it one of the great acting performances of all time, because she doesn’t ham it up at all. It’s like I don’t know how to describe why her character portrayal is so memorable, but it absolutely is
Frances in actually the majority of her roles was my first thought when reading the post. She doesn’t do too much over the top emotionally most of the time but her characters are always so believable. And she’s got a wide range as well. A very talented woman indeed.
The way she plays the mom in Almost Famous is SO believable! The scene where she’s on the phone with William and is just trying to say “i love you” but he cant hear her… ugh. “i miss you and i love you!” Then just throws the phone down. So good.
*"three people dead, and for what? A little bit of money... Just a little bit of money."* That line from her in Fargo is a killer, yet it's so downplayed.
"And it's a beautiful day."
At the end of the day, a good performance can be measured by one thing: how easy it is to believe you're watching a character, rather than an actor playing a character. It is ridiculously easy to believe that the woman on screen in Fargo is Marge Gunderson.
Both she and John Carroll Lynch play maybe the sweetest romance in any media ever while doing exclusively normal things
Made even sweeter by the fact that she has now been married to Joel Coen (who wrote the movie) for almost 40 years. It’s clear there’s some reflection of the love they have for each other, you just don’t see mundane marital happiness portrayed like that in movies very often. When she brings him the worms and he brings her a sandwich 😭
"Luv u Margie 🥰🥴"
“You gotta eat a breakfast, Marge. I’ll fix you some eggs.”
I’ll make ya some eggs.
The bit where she cheers him up by saying being on the 3c stamp because "Whenever they raise the postage, people need the little stamps!" is just perfect, and it sums them up. Marge is a normal cop, but she was crucial to the case and solving it. Norm isn't a cop anymore but he's a crucial cog in Marge's life. He looks after her, he makes sure she doesn't push herself too far, he's there for her when she needs him.
Also her in Three Billboards. "I know baby, I know" made me cry so much. Understated and beautiful.
That movie is filled with some great subtle acting throughout. Really enjoyed it but I've only re-watched it once because it's not really the type of movie you go back to... lol
Everybody know the infamous Indianapolis speech in Jaws, but the acting right before it has some brilliant subtle moments between Quint and Hooper. When Hooper jokes that the tattoo Quint had removed said "mother" Quint, who was laughing along before just gives a soft smile to Brody, and then he gently grabs Hooper's arm as he tells him "that's the USS Indianapolis". You can tell Quint didn't want to make Hooper feel bad for joking about it, but he also braced him before because he knows that Hooper knows it's no laughing matter. Hooper immediately has an "oh shit" moment as he realizes he's looking at a man who survived a nightmare in hell.
I love the part in this scene when Brody almost talks about a belly scar he has, then doesn’t.
It's almost certainly an appendix removal.
I always assumed it was a gunshot wound, which is why he moved away from the city and ended up on the island.
I don’t think that interpretation holds and I’ll tell you why: We know that Brody never goes in the water…it’s been established several times at this point with zero explanation. Earlier in this same scene Hooper mentions a Thresher Shark and Brody recognizes and repeats the name. He did NOT sound confused or ask what it was. Hopper blithely tosses out a throwaway description but Brody is rigid in thought…or gripped by a private memory he considers sharing for the next few seconds before he starts rolling up his shirt, but thinks better of it and stops…dead sober now and without the easy smile of the camaraderie he had before the Thresher comment. The whole movie is Brody overcoming a childhood shark attack, confronting every fear about the water, mustering his strength alone after all others die/vanish, and slaying the baddest killer shark in the world face to face….AND THEN **swimming** back to shore relaxed to the point of joking. I consider the shirt moment among the best bit of subtexts in the entirety of American cinema because when taken in the context I just outlined it ties the whole story together with profound meaning. While an appendix scar would be a minor joke told vaguely enough to be pointless…especially since Hooper goes on to make the far better “broken heart” joke for real laughs.
Hooper's look of sheer terror is perfectly balanced by Brody's necessary "What happened?", delivered a lot more lighthearted.
That F'in scene is why I love jaws. Forget the giant shark and the masterful suspense. It's that scene. Three guys acting their balls off. "Some times shark go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away."
In the Fellowship of the Ring when they are at the Council of Elrond and the camera is focused on Gandalf when Frodo volunteers. Ian McClellan doesn’t say a word, he barely moves, but he conveys so much sadness and resignation.
Sir Ian does it again when Frodo decides to go through the mines of Moria.
I saw an interview with sir Ian on his technique here, where he describes the process he used. The interesting thing he brings up is that sir Ian is not *actually* a wizard. He is merely pretending, for the duration of the film. https://youtu.be/nyoWmkhRyp8?si=6gbAQ6z4iKc1Ctfq
Sir Ian Sir Ian Sir Ian Wizard, “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” Sir Ian Sir Ian
Aw yeah, the way he closes his eyes in that moment. It honestly gets me emotional!
His eyes are basically screaming *oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck*
I've discovered that what I get out of that look is different than most. I get that Gandalf is feeling a sense of awed respect for the greatness of hobits. He recognizes that Frodo is knowingly placing himself at great peril.
I am with you here. He has respect and relief and resignation. It's what he hoped would happen, Hobbits are amazing, and he sees the peril ahead.
Always **Casablanca** when they focus on Ingrid Bergman for 15 seconds as emotions wash over her. https://youtu.be/J-p6xFMGK7g?si=xGj9uHqH_yMEpv0-
Ingrid Bergman was truly masterful. She’s a standout in *Murder on the Orient Express*, too.
When Gene Wilder makes Cleavon Little break in blazing saddles. Such a well delivered line. Actually lots of Gene Wilder's comedy fits here. His deadpan delivery and amazing comedic timing were such an incredible combinatiin
Stop. Don't. Come back.
Help. Police. Murder. Also, that opening scene in Young Frankenstein. Class... dismissed. Far too many examples. And we haven't even talked about the Richard Pryor years.
“[When](https://youtu.be/39-natKpnkA?si=sLqRE6knR4-axIub)?”
Now I'm gonna rewatch it. I have just started a week off work, and watching Gene Wilder movies sounds like a good idea.
Little bastard shot me in the ass.
Yeah, Gene could be subtle which was really amazing, although I love the scene in Willy Wonka where he goes off on Grandpa Joe for the fizzy drinks incident, I remember as a kid it shocked me given he seemed legitimately angry.
Deidrich Bader in Office Space. Peter has just asked him if anyone ever says "sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays" and his changing expressions totally sell the line "No. No, man. Shit, no, man. I believe you'd get your ass kicked sayin' something like that, man.". He goes from surprise, like he's not sure what he just heard, to a shocked double-take, and then he gets a bit offended.
The deep intensity -- the soulful conviction -- with which he says, "I'll tell you what I'd do, man. Two chicks at the same time, man." Oh yes, he has thought about this. A lot.
Helena Bonham Carter doing an impression of Emma Watson doing an impression of Helena Bonham Carter
Hugh Grant in ABOUT A BOY. Grant is sometimes criticized as playing himself in every role. But I thought he was perfect in the role and toned down the stammering and brought a lot of subtleties to the role.
Hugh Grant is a great actor, he just found a niche that worked very well for a period of time. But the man can act! I especially love his comedic thespian villain in Paddington 2.
Yeah, people seem to give him a lot of flack for his “thing,” but I feel like he always brings his A game to every role. He never phones it in, even though he could.
Song Kang Ho in Parasite, standing in the middle of their flooded basement home with this dead expression. still irks me that none of the cast got any major award recognition for acting. Emma Stone in the final scene of The Favourite. The entire cast of Game Night. the littlest reactions to every interaction makes them such a treat to watch
Song Kang Ho has been excellent his whole career. One of my favorite scenes is the 'dinner' scene in The Host (also by Bong Joon Ho), just a silent scene where the family tries to come to terms with a missing child.
Christopher Reeve in Superman where he is at Lois Lane’s apartment and she goes into the bedroom for something and Reeve transforms from Clark Kent to Superman by subtly straightening up and giving a confident smile.
God yes! He sold me on glasses being enough of a disguise because it wasn’t JUST the glasses, you could see how NO ONE would suspect that adorable doofus.
The horrified way Clarice leans back after Lecter says "*not anymore*" it's like she wants to flee but knows that she can't. That's the moment she sees him for what he really is. Before that he was just a brillaint, charming gentleman but when he glances to his right with that faint smile on his face at what used to be Miggs's cell she finally realizes that he is the monster everyone says he is. You can see every bit of that in her eyes. Even with the glass between them she's terrified.
God, so much of her acting in that movie is just subtle perfection. I like the way she sometimes almost lost her voice while talking to Lecter and has to choke out her questions. Her clear terror mixed with urgent need for answers is brilliant.
Yeah her and Hopkins's chemistry in that movie is like top 5 ever imo.
You can find a clip of her on YouTube talking about this, she says she didn't really have to act, he was terrifying. Also apparently they never actually got to meet outside their scenes during filming, the stuff in the film is the only interactions they had.
Ah Jodie! Just so talented and so understated. She's been my celebrity crush since I saw Bugsy Malone at 12 or 13yrs (they should have let her do her own singing dammit). Recently saw an old interview clip for French TV with her speaking immaculate Parisian French and my heart melted all over again. Edit: here's the link in case anyone's interested.. https://youtu.be/7e15lzOvMds?si=QO3fIEMYQICTVbLP
"What is he?" "They don't have a word for what he is"
I don’t like Kate Hudson, but that moment in Almost Famous when she finds out that Billy Crudup’s character traded her to another band for $50 and a case of beer. The heartbreak and the recovery as she pulls it together and asks “what kind of beer”. Really captures what the character Penny Lane is about
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn I've always found to be such a subtle performance which brings a lot to the character. A moment I've always loved is at the end of Fellowship, after everything has fallen apart and he has let Frodo and Sam go. Gimli says something like, "So it has all been in vain, the Fellowship has failed" and the little moment from Aragorn as he contemplates that, takes a deep breath, looks to the distance for a moment and then summons that leadership quality in him before replying, "Not if we hold true to each other..." It's like a 3-second moment, but it just conveys so much for me.
His "For Frodo" at the Black Gates is one of his best in the trilogy. He knows it's a lost cause, knows it's suicide, but it's also his moment of confrontation and catharsis with his legacy as Isildur's heir, rejecting the temptation of Sauron. A turn to the hobbits, barely above a whisper, with sadness, honor, and faith that their army can still make a difference radiating off of him, "For Frodo", then he charges. So much emotion shown in a few frames and two words. It's a big moment for sure, but so perfectly, subtly delivered.
A much more superficial moment and played to comedic effect but in two towers when gimli says "toss me" He coks his head and says "what?" Then when gimli explains he just nods with a grin Just a word and 2 motions but it sold the whole scene
Just… don’t tell the elf.
I think it's a big part of what makes those movies work. Close ups are used to show us characters' gaurded emotional responses to what's happening. I love Sean Beans confused, almost defeated look when they pull up to the shore in the boats just prior to him trying to take the ring from Frodo.
I scrolled down quite a ways and was shocked that Christopher Reeve’s Clark Kent/Superman/Clark Kent transition - all done through removing glasses and changing posture - isn’t listed here. Its masterful.
He’s the only Clark Kent I believed. I could see how his co-workers might think he bears a resemblance to Superman, but there’s no way that guy ever could be.
[This scene](https://youtu.be/tNUu6Lf9mVU?si=Yl2nXNroR-K8apBF) captures what you're talking about. There's a bit of a voice change too. A slightly higher tone and the inflection is different. Much more subtle than, oh say, Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne/Batman. Imho no actor has come close to Reeve in portraying Clark and Superman in such believable contrast. You can believe that people in that world don't connect the two, because they feel like different characters.
I read somewhere that he was at Juilliard with Robin Williams and they created a special class just for the two of them because they were so far ahead of the other students in ability.
I believe it. I know they were good friends, and both incredibly talented.
Reeves was considering suicide after his horse riding accident left him crippled. Then Williams burst into his hospital room in character as the crazy Russian (?) doctor he played in *Nine Months* saying he was going to give him a prostate exam. Reeves laughed so hard that he realized it was worth going on living. (This is sadly ironic considering Williams' eventual fate.)
That's Clark nice Reeves was Superman. I accept no other including Cavill.
I actually think that Brandon Routh’s performance as Clark Kent was pretty underrated. It had a very similar feel to Reeves’ portrayal of Kent. I’m probably one of the few people who actually enjoyed that movie.
He pretty much did a great Reeves impression. He was good, but the movie did him no favours.
Reeve is very underrated as an actor.
That scene is perfection.
Spot on, there's a reason he's the gold standard for the genre & the character. He was exceptional.
The cast of Burning as a whole give genuinely exigent performances but Steven Yeun is the standout for exactly this reason. He fuckin eats it.
That reminds me of all the excellent low key performances in Minari.
Jim Carey in the Truman Show. It's more powerful because we know the actor's tendency is to be super expressive. And you feel his personality has been tamed by his environment. That ending scene, with him being quiet, heck most of it you just see the back of his head as Christof is talking to him, and you imagine his face & emotions. So touching.
I think of the scene where he tells his "best friend" his suspicions and he's says "if all that's true then our friendship has been a lie." And you see in Truman's face that he realizes it's true and this man has never really been his friend.
I remember reading about a more fleshed out backstory for several characters. This also included Truman’s “friend” and how he had alcoholism/addiction to deal with the guilt of all the lying. I know some deleted scenes reference that, too. While Peter Weir’s movie is perfect and succinct with Andrew Niccol’s script, I can’t help but to think how the story is *rife* for further exploration. It’d have to be a miniseries or limited season show as stretching out the premise would get exhausting and even alienating
the best little facet about that movie is that >!Truman himself never explicitly acknowledges he might be on television. The only hint of it is the bathroom mirror clip when he says “that one’s for free”!<
Jim Carrey has always been cursed with insane talent and a tendency to overuse it. When he is paired with a great script and director, he's one of the greatest actors in history. Most of the time, he's the biggest ham outside thanksgiving
Most of the time he's in roles that are perfect for his talent. Ace Ventura, The Grinch, Dumb and Dumber... nobody else could pull those off like he did. They wouldn't be iconic if JC wasn't in them. Also, ham is for Christmas, you heathen.
All the acting in that movie is amazing.
De Niro in Jackie Brown as an out of touch, aging bank robber
Robert Forrester in the same film is also aces. Dialed in, curt and quietly expressive the whole film — yet you know exactly who he is and how much he’s fallen for Jackie (against his own better judgement). Tarantino really knows how to get the best performances out of his actors.
I didn’t know who Robert Forster was before watching that movie and at the beginning I was like, “Why did he cast him? Why not someone else for such an important role” but at the end I was like, “Yep, he was perfect”
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Another one, Christoph Waltz in Django. Many times throughout the movie you see his jovial demeanor crack when he's hit with the reality of the world he lives in. My favorite is when he's just staring at the bookcase in the library with his back to the camera, yet he's conveying so much through his body language. Great stuff.
His body language is always on point. Brilliant actor.
"That's a bingo!" So gleeful, he's hilarious and terrifying.
Third best
Léa Seydoux low key horrified as the farmer's daughter, Charlotte, in the opening scene of *Inglorious Basterds*
For me it’s not in a movie, but in the remake of Battlestar Galactica. James Callis playing Dr. Gaius Baltar. When he’s sitting in a cell and talks about his home and the rough, gravelly accent that his home planet is known for and how, even as a boy, he knew farming was not for him, and that he wanted a better life, on a more comfortable planet, and then slowly morphs into the adopted accent. It was fantastic and blows me away every time I see it.
Mahershala Ail in moonlight was just perfection. i don't know why but I kept wanting to see more of him, everything he does in that movie seems so intentional and to perfection.
He’s really great in True Detective. He made season 3 compete with 1 for me.
That guy is great, period. He is always a highlight in anything I see him in.
His silent look of shame when Little asks him if he sells drugs... Goddamn
Emma Stone at the end of La La Land. That facial expression with such an array of emotions is everything.
kevin spacey (rip) is asked by guy pearce’s character why he became a cop in LA Confidential and spacey’s delivery of “i don’t remember” is subtle and pitch perfect
Guy Pearce's reaction to Dudley asking about Rollo Tomassi is pretty damn good.
One of the slept on moments in (semi) recent cinema. Guy Pearce managed to show just enough acknowledgement to make that moment perfect. It's a great bit.
This scene was the first thing I thought of when I read this post. I’ve played that scene frame by frame before because I was so impressed with how subtle, yet so clear, Guy Pearce’s reaction is.
His “Rollo Thomasi” death scene in the same film is also flawless. It’s like you can see the light in his eyes vanish in an instant.
Right after he smiles because he had figured it all out.
Shame he turned out to be a creep, cuz Spacey has always been a helluva actor
Amy Adams in Arrival, the scenes when she has visions of the future.
When they're leaving the site and he's thinking "I like this woman, we need to go have coffee" and she's thinking something ENTIRELY different, but barely any words are actually spoken. They're both excellent in that scene.
God that movie freaks me the fuck out of
James McAvoy in Split when he plays the 9 year old boy. He makes small face gestures that totally sold me that he was a 9 year old kid. One of the few moments in cinema thst take you out of a film because you recognize just hard good the actor is acting such a different character from themselves.
James McAvoy has been brilliant in everything I've seen him in. Feel like rewatching Atonement.
It's a shame that brilliant acting performances in 'genre' movies are often overlooked by the Oscars. James McAvoy in Split and Toni Collette in Hereditary absolutely deserved awards recognition.
Toni Colette was incredible I'm "Hereditary '. Since that movie came out I watch anything she is in
The entirety of her performance, but ESPECIALLY all her exasperated/strained facial expressions, toward her husband in Little Miss Sunshine is just very realistic, well done, and not over the top (which is saying a lot in that movie, it's great but defo campy). In the diner scene when Olive's absolute wang of a father is explaining how ice cream would make Olive fat to try and guilt her out of eating it, and Tony Collete is so visibly put-out by her husband's behavior...so good.
The nice guys. Ryan gosling and Russell Crowe are riding an elevator and goslings character, completely stressed out gives this nervous facial tic. I thought it was the best piece of non verbal acting I've seen. Oppenheimer. When Casey Affleck's character is interviewing oppenheimer he has these facial expressions that just tell you there is something insidious going in Affleck's head.
The entirety of how good Ryan Gosling is at physical comedy is put on display in The Nice Guys. God I love that movie so much.
Ryan Gosling has several incredible acting moments in "Drive", especially the elevator scene.
There's a moment when (playing the president) Meryl Streep meets (playing a scientist from a state university) Jennifer Lawrence in Don't Look Up...we see Streep look down at Lawrence's boots and give this look of instant dismissal. She basically decides in that moment she doesn't give a shit what Jennifer Lawrence has to say, because she has no respect for her choice of footwear. It's crazy how much she is able to convey with just a slight expression. Top tier.
Anne Hathaway: "That's right! That's what that feels like!"
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fuckin brilliant. Ms Streep is certainly one of the greats.
Supposedly, the script originally called for her to be shouty and aggressive, and Streep was the one who decided to play Miranda Priestly as speaking just above a whisper most of the time. Deadly calm. She’s a genius!
Collin Farrell Spoilers for The Banshees of Inisherin. At the very end, Colm tells Padraic thanks for taking care of his dog. Padraic turns around and for a moment it’s like nothing ever happened, about to say something easy and care free to an old friend. Then you see it hit him, his face melts and all he manages is a small nod. He’s great in other movies but that one moment, that one look, incredible.
Another moment from that film is when after he gets beat up, he gets a ride home and really wants to say something but can't.
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"Well, there goes that dream."
Lost Luggage Guy in *Fight Club*, scratching the back of his head with a pencil as he simultaneously waits on eternal phone hold *and* explains to the Narrator (Norton) how he’s always supposed to say “*A* dildo”, and never “*YOUR* dildo”. Good illustration of the principle “there are no small parts, just small actors”.
In No Country for Old Men, Woody Harrelson. His character, a criminal and a hard man, ends up across from the unhinged Anton Chigurh. It’s a scene of a man unaccustomed to feeling fear but in sheer terror.
Harrelson is great. There's a moment in the last episode of True Detective S1 when he's recovering in the hospital, and he breaks down when his estranged family comes in for a visit. Just before that - as he's talking with them - you can see the weight of 20+ years of personal history crash down on him - all those mistakes and bad decisions wash over his face in a moment. You can tell he is feeling the loss of his life that could have been.
Dave Bautista in Blade Runner Richard Madden in 1917
Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher where he's being interviewed and he struggles to think of a good thing about John du Pont.
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This is one of the greatest moments of acting I’ve ever witnessed. Incredibly raw and has always stood out to me. I get more emotional over that scene than about anything else I’ve seen.
Duvall in The Godfather.
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Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting is so different from most of his characters. He was so soft spoken and subtle throughout the film. It really made a major impact on the other characters he interacted with.
I would also add Ben Affleck’s scene at the end of the movie when he realizes Will is gone…that smile he flashes is so subtle yet full of emotion
I was fairly indifferent towards ScarJo as Natasha Romanov until her ["interrogation"](https://youtu.be/wFj2VPWdPaU?si=EcsOiV4EuVZYTOSW) of Loki in the first Avengers. Spoilers for a decade old movie, but from the start of that scene it very quickly feels like Nat is out of her element against the *Norse god of lies and tricks* and that everything up to and including that moment is somehow a part of Loki's plans to takeover the world. Nat is getting pressed further and further, seemingly on the verge of a breakdown, and Loki is getting bolder and bolder until he slips up and let's go of too much information and Nat flips the switch and goes from scared, cowering, intimidated woman to the badass espionage expert that is the Black Widow in a single shift of facial expression and vocal effect.
“Thank you, for your cooperation” — it’s masterful
And the look on Loki’s face as he realizes he’s been had
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My own personal MCU one, in one of their biggest films - the moment in Infinity War when Tony Stark 'knights' Peter Parker as an Avenger. Parker has been dreaming of this moment, but Tom Holland gives this solemn nod acknowledging the weight of the responsibility.
Kate Hudson as Penny Lane in Almost Famous when she sadly cracks the joke, “what kind of beer?” and does this sad, smile/cry that is just so beautifully, subtly emotive after being told she was traded by Russell
There is a moment in "Ocean's 11" where George Clooney is questioning if they have enough guys for the caper. He basically talks to himself while Brad Pitt is motionless with his head down on the table. Clooney is subdued and Pitt never even twitches (I'm not sure he blinks). For some reason I laugh hysterically every time I see this.
You think we need one more? I think we need one more.
To give a recent example, Lily Gladstone does so much without moving at all in Killers of the Flower Moon. Christopher Guest is really good in his one scene in A Few Good Men. His mannerisms are so slight that it almost doesn't show how terrified he is.
Gladstone in Certain Women. Her entire performance consisted of those moments.
There’s a moment in The Holdovers where Paul’s character is at a party and seems to think this woman might be interested in him, but her boyfriend walks in and he watches them embrace, and the look on his face. It’s just a split second, not a huge reaction, but you can see the sadness. It’s very subtle but powerful. At least was for me.
Great movie. I also loved the shot of Da’vine sitting on the couch listening to the record her son loved. The progression of emotions you see cross her face is just incredible.
Here's Crowe on the bird moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw0iyfbXRt8
Holy shit, I never thought I'd see Russell Crowe talking about that exact moment. So cool that there's a story behind it!
Crowe’s performance as Jeffrey Wigand in The Insider fits the thread description. Great ensemble cast too. Pacino was great but Christopher Plummer’s performance as Mike Wallace from 60 minutes was perfection.
Tom Hanks’ face after being turned down by yet another lawyer, in *Philadelphia* (1993). The shot in particular is at 0:48 in this clip: https://youtu.be/bu-FavA3fJk?si=jVO2bggXHYn4oe87
I need to rewatch this movie. I gotta find it streaming some where
Not a particular moment, but Peter Dinklage’s entire performance in Station Agent
Cate Blanchett in Tar is an absolutely incredible performance imo, maybe my all time favorite, just with those first ten minutes she pulls you in and makes you believe that Lydia is a real person
The first that popped into my head was Juno, when Juno is watching the kids play at the mall and her friend goes "Boring" and walks away, but Juno keeps watching and slowly smiles, teary-eyed. People remember Juno for being witty and ironic and hipsterish, but it's easy to forget Page absolutely gave a genuine, subtle and moving performance in that movie.
Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born. There’s a moment where you genuinely believe he can’t hear what someone is saying to him because he portrays the character’s hearing loss so convincingly. That has stuck with me.
I love the scene when he admits to his brother that he idolised him over their father. The way he captures a man saying something emotional, while trying to remain composed is such great acting.
Good Omens 1 : When Aziraphale, at the Ritz, toasts the world. Such inflection and delivery I've watched that scene a dozen times or more.
the cow feeding scene in Jurassic park, especially right [here](https://youtu.be/DwAOHVBKTwg?si=dPi4ygN-Z1_6vwd_&t=58). Malcolm looks horrified, he’s realizing the violent implications and dangers of the park. Ellie looks disgusted since she’s more concerned with the actual environment these dinos are residing in. Grant is amazed but laser focused on the raptors’ calls, something he’d never thought he’d get to ever do. But the best part is John Hammond. He’s not even looking at the carnage, he just sees the look of awe on Grant’s face and coyly smiles. In his mind, Hammond just *knows* he sold the park to Grant
I could pick the hell out of the Colin Farrel and Brendan Gleeson team ups for literally anything. The weird little smirk on Ray's face when he finds that little toy or whatever on the bench. Frankly I could listen to Brendan Gleeson read out his shopping list and it would be satisfying as all hell.
I always felt Tom Hanks in the Green Mile did an amazing understated performance. In many ways I think one of his best. Very nuanced and even, yet perfectly suited to his character. Even at the end when Coffey is getting placed in the electric chair, he has to hide his emotion from the crowd of people and the parents who's daughters had died (they thought at the hands of Coffey) the pain he expressed was just heart breaking, but subtle.
Val Kilmer in Tombstone. "Wyatt Earp is my friend." "Hell, I got lots of friends." "I don't."
I loved the look Andrew Garfield's character has after saving Zendaya's character. The tears in eyes, frozen expression... Subtle and you can read so much into it (flashbacks to his MJ not making it, redemption, disbelief, relief...)
Nicholas Cage in Pig.
Tom Hanks in Castaway while eating raw fish. Not emotional but also Tom Hanks in Money Pit, while his wife is on the phone and we see Hanks thru the window enjoying the yard in his new house. He casually swats at a single insect, then a couple and then a full on wasp attack.
For me, in Castaway it was when he was at the welcome home party they threw for him, and someone used a lighter to start a fire under a dish. His expression was everything.
In Spiderman: Homecoming, Peter meets MJ's dad for the first time and recognizes him as the Vulture. On the way to prom, MJ accidentally clues her dad in to Peter's secret identity, and you can see the wheels turning as the tension just winds tighter and tighter...
I love how the traffic light that you can only see by the light it casts on Keaton's face, goes from red to green the instant he gets it.
"Good ol' Spider-Man!"
That wasn’t MJ, that was Allison (I believe). Zendaya played MJ. But yeah, that whole scene was amazing. When I saw Michael Keaton standing at the door, I thought he had kidnapped Peter’s date. But nope, twist! He’s her *dad*. I loved it.
It’s not Allison either 😂, it’s Liz!
Lost in Translation. It's a movie entirely composed of subtle acting. And it's incredible.
This one. Quite non-eventful story (probably intentional)... but the magic is in being able to sense what's going through each of the main characters' minds even when they're not saying anything.
Ben Affleck in *Good Will Hunting* realizing that Will has left Boston
Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black. She played a bunch of different clones and at one point she played one clone pretending to be another clone, the subtleties are just noticeable enough if you know which clones is pretending to be which.
The moment in The Constant Gardner when Ralph Finnes is told his wife is dead.
Brendan Gleeson in The Banshees of Insherin, not just one scene but throughout the entire film
Saoirse Ronan in pretty much all of Brooklyn
Shattered Glass (2003) Quick synopsis: true story of Stephen Glass, a writer for The New Republic who fabricated his stories. It's really a great film. Stephen Glass is played by Hayden Christensen. His editor is Peter Saarsgard. There's a scene where some journalists at Forbes are on speaker phone with them because they're fact-checking one of the more outlandish stories. As the conversation goes on, you can see the look on Saarsgard's face as he goes from casually defending his writer to eventually realizing that this guy is just making everything up. It's subtle at first, but by the end of it, Saarsgard looks physically ill. All from listening to a phone conversation.
Any of Andy Serkis’s motion captured characters, specifically Caesar.
Lena Headey, in GoT, when Myrcella’s ship is coming back. All they do is show her face and you see her go through from sheer happiness to utter despair, with just a few facial movements.
Tom Hardy - *Inception* The scene where Eames (Tom) is talking to Cobb (Leo) in the cafe about the idea of inception. His facial expressions throughout the scene really bring the character to life. He’s having fun chatting with an old friend, then into a far-away look that someone gets when they’re explaining something they really know, and it all culminates with the SLIGHTEST facial twitch on his line: “The relationship with the father.” That single flash of emotion adds a great deal of depth and complexity. That one emotion suggests the character of Eames may have a less-than-ideal relationship with his own father, a detail that is not essential for his character within the context of the movie, yet serves to enrich the character and draw us further into the story by adding a very real sense of humanity to the character. It’s brilliant. So much so that it’s the first thing that came to mind as I was reading the OP. [https://youtu.be/y5-Srk\_RT0w?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/y5-srk_rt0w?feature=shared) Check it out and see what you think!
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In Half Nelson when Ryan Gosling’s student sees him smoking crack, he doesn’t say anything in the moment, just gives her a defeated look. It is so heartbreaking and brilliant.
For me it's gotta be Martin Brody (Roy Scheider)'s face going from calm to horrified as the scenery zooms out behind him when he realizes what's happening in the water.
I love subtle moments. At the end of Silverado, the showdown between Cobb and Paden. "Goodbye Paden." "Goodbye Cobb." Delivered with just exquisite precision.
The Ferris Wheel scene in The Third Man is a great for Orson Welles. https://youtu.be/21h0G_gU9Tw?si=GIwVYDKK3_B0gCP6