2025: The Year of Personal Performances in Film

Performances are always the key to the success of a film. This year, the various performances showcased a merging wave of newcomers, underutilized, and veteran talent alike. Whether the talent at hand was leading or an ensemble piece that contributed its own narrative to the film’s story, all left an impact that is worth highlighting. With many films having a timely or personal premise, a lot of this year’s performances took on that task and made cinematic history.

Many singular moments were spiritual, as they all added to the human experience in some way, shape, or form. Many performances this year leaned on relatability and were the most infectious, offering a wide array of emotions, making their audience take a deeper look at who they are and what they stand for. Even more so, this year the performances in film lingered long after the film was over, adding to the manifestation that art imitates the human experience. Below you will find the performances that stood out most based on a myriad of factors that contributed to an even greater viewing experience.

Jessie Buckley in Hamnet

Jessie Buckley is thrust into trials and tribulations as the center of Chloe Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet. Buckley plays a misunderstood Agnes who is one with the forest and well acquainted with birds. Buckley’s journey begins as a young woman who is taken by a young William Shakespeare. This then turns into a marriage that is founded upon but eventually welcomed as they begin to build a family. Buckley’s terror has followed her since childhood; with the death of her mother, this event has shaped her iniquity for spiritualism. Not only is this event life-altering, but also losing her only son only furthers the trauma that she has been plagued with. The moment in between makes this moment even more heightened for Buckley because she is a very involved mother who loves her children beyond the forest in which she lives and breathes. The family unit that Buckley and Paul Mescal foster is palpable, and it is even harder to settle with the fact that death will yet again strike their family. Buckley’s grieving process leads to a stronger Shakespeare emerging, creating one of the great tragedies known to man in Hamlet. In the final act, in which the play is put on, Buckley learns that the play is about the love that she has lost. In this moment, she takes in all her bottled trauma and releases it, as she knows her son is safe and well and will live on through literary history. Buckley has done many strong dramatic roles, but nothing comes close to her harrowing, world-shattering performance in Hamnet.

Delroy Lindo in Sinners

There have been many unique performances from veteran actors this year, but Delroy Lindo’s multifaceted gravitas in Sinners takes the cake. Lindo’s turn as Delta Slim is the most infectious of the entire Sinners ensemble due to his troubled yet revered skillset. Lindo’s Delta Slim self-medicates to cope with the lynching of a close friend, which stems from his alcoholism. The description that he gives regarding this matter is magnetic, and it is hard not to emote deeply due to his ability to tell stories in a way that many have heard but only a select few have survived. In an interview with The Contending, Lindo explained that “Because the story that I tell in the car, about the lynching, is part of the origin story. To use your phrase, it’s not a ‘great leap’ to connect Delta to the tragedy and the trauma of that experience. And it goes beyond trauma. I don’t know what the word is when one has gone through what Delta went through, seeing his friend violated and killed like that, and the guilt that he feels. Why him? Why not me? There were two of us. We were both there. His friend made that unfortunate choice to flash his money. He made a set of choices, and he ended up dead. I made a set of choices, and I get to continue to live, and I’m racked with guilt because of that. And that is the basis of the drinking.” Aside from the trauma and racism that he has been exposed to in the Deep South, Delta Slim made a name for himself as an adept musician who has been able to keep himself off the field. As the film progresses, the horrors Delta Slim has faced come to a head, leading him to unlock a new sense of self and feel the need to protect his community. This gives him the chance to face the music and free himself from the hell that he has been forced into. Delroy Lindo’s expansive history spans many diverse projects, and this one will be remembered for its balance of hilarity, trauma, and intense veracity.

Elle Fanning in Sentimental Value

Sentimental Value has many things to offer; one thing in particular is Elle Fanning’s ability to perform reverse psychology from the outside looking in. In the film, Fanning plays Rachel Kemp, a popular actress who has an interest in working with Stellan Skarsgård Gustav. This is, of course, after Skarsgård’s daughter Gustav passes on the role. When Fanning’s Kemp takes on the role, she does everything in her power to become the character. As she seeps even deeper into the role, she begins to ask questions that deserve answers, but without trying to be intrusive, she falls back. This is, of course, because deep down Kemp knows that this role is a lot deeper for Gustav than he wants to tell her. Her intensity in trying to become the character is beautifully woven into the film’s writing as it tells what happens as the film continues. Even more curious, Kemp meets with Gustav’s daughter Nora, played by Renate Reinsve, and inquires about why she passed on the role that her father wanted her to do. This moment gives Kemp the chance to get things off her chest and get to the root of what the role really personifies. From this moment, she gains the clarity needed to meet with Gustav and tell him the truth now that all of the pieces are put together. One would think that Kemp is a fame-obsessed actress, but she has immense respect for her craft and is heavily aware of things happening around her, which makes her brutally honest. Narratively, this was a masterclass in direction on Joachim Trier’s part and was well executed by Fanning.

Chris Evans in Materialist

Chris Evans has had a very interesting career post-MCU, and Materialist is his most sincere. In the film, Evans plays John, a struggling actor who is trying to make it and who picks up gigs to sustain his New York lifestyle. He’s caught in a quasi-love triangle with Dakota Johnson’s Lucy, a matchmaker who is pursuing Pedro Pascal’s Harry, who is a successful businessman. Evans’ charm in Materialist comes from his integral strength; he is hard-working, he’s understanding, and above all, he’s passionate. For many, this describes a man of wealth based on his character traits. Though he actually isn’t, he is vulnerable to a degree but never hides it because he is fervent about his choices. There is a moment in the film where he asks Johnson if they are getting back together, which causes an emotional stir in Johnson’s internalized materialism. Evans lets her know that he’ll never be rich monetarily, but he will always be wealthy in spirit. Director Celine Song wanted to take away the shame that poor people are just as valuable and worthy of love as those who have accumulated wealth, and what she does for Evans in this role is a new perspective for others to examine what love really is when materialistic practices are eradicated.

Teyana Taylor in One Battle After Another

Teayna Taylor’s turn in One Battle After Another is a tour de force testament to on-screen and off-screen presence. One Battle After Another is hollow without Taylor’s Perfidia, Beverly Hills. The lengths that she goes through to live up to her family’s legacy of revolutionaries are tested every step of the way. Her choices are even more paramount to the film’s narrative, determining the fate of every character in the film. Her need for fulfillment is beautifully intricate to the idea of going the extra mile, but the flaw of feeling a void is an endangerment to her morale. With Taylor only having about 25 minutes of screen time in the film, she lays the groundwork, especially for DiCaprio, Penn, and Infiniti. Her spirit never departs from the film, and it works even more so when the relationships between DiCaprio and Infiniti and Penn and Infiniti are happening on screen. The most profound and sentimental moments that Taylor offers in the film are her monologue at the end of the film. This moment gives the film permission to conclude with a sendoff that apologizes for her (irreparable) actions, and it remains hopeful that the future will be brighter for the battles ahead. While Taylor’s actions in One Battle After Another were selfish and costly, she had a vision far greater than what battles life put in front of her.

Joel Edgerton in Train Dreams

Joel Edgerton has played many roles, but none of them is as endearing as his portrayal of Robert Grainer in Train Dreams. Adapted from the novella under the same name, Edgerton, who plays Grainner, is a well-intentioned logger who resides in the Pacific Northwest in the early 20th century. He was very influential in creating the US railways, along which many trains have passed around the country. The film works as a personal account of his life, which is atmospheric and beautifully explores loss, pain, and destitution. Grainer is a man of very few words, but every in-person encounter that he has is beautifully intricate to what facet of life Grainer is currently experiencing. Every encounter is a loss for him, and he often handles it with grace and benevolence that is to be commended. With every experience, whether it be natural, with animals, or with humans, Edgerton’s turn as Grainer is singular and positive despite all of the hardships that life has dealt him. Edgerton’s kind and unspoken demeanor elevates Train Dreams‘ eyewitness account of an everyday man’s life, further explaining that everyone’s story is important.

Eva Victor in Sorry Baby

Eva Victor’s performance is just as monumental as her directorial turn in Sorry, Baby. Victor leads the film as Agnes, a grad student who is sexually assaulted by one of her professors. The film revolves around this life-changing encounter, as this experience reshapes Agnes’s life. The relationships with others around her are altered, but she has a safe space to reflect on what has happened to her. These moments give Victor the courage needed to speak up as to what she believes should happen to her abuser. There are also so many moments of heavy description where she recounts what it felt like to be violated in that moment, and it is hard not to fall into every word that trembles out. Victor’s direction never took away from playing Agnes but gave her the ability to be at peace with what needed to be conveyed through the film’s narrative, which, unfortunately, is that bad things are going to happen, and there is nothing that others can truly do about it.

Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme

Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme is the film that Timothée Chalamet was destined to headline. Chalamet’s turn as Marty Mauser is contortional beyond its own good. It is his innate ability to continuously dream bigger than what life has in store for him that keeps the audience engaged with his boyish antics. Chalamet’s physicality as an aspiring professional ping pong champion is showy and finely dialed in. His relation to the rest of the cast, while varying from different circumstances, never ceases to fall short of being a master of his own disaster as he leads with his ego uncontrollably. What sets this role apart from Chalamet’s other roles, and even more so, what makes this arguably his best, is that the vision for who Marty Mausseur is never wavers; even in the end, when there are subtle shifts of redirection, there is still a lot of grit and mischief that precedes him. Chalamet’s immense dedication to betting on himself, without a single ounce of currency, makes Marty a memorable yet one-of-a-kind character who will be remembered for his risk and even greater ambition.

Emma Stone in Bugonia

Emma Stone has collaborated with Yorgos Lanthimos on 5 projects thus far, and in every project, she continues to set a very high bar. This is no different for her turn as a female healthcare corporate CEO in Bugonia. Stone plays Michelle Fuller, a self-indulgent yet skilled and psychologically intelligent leader who is kidnapped and accused of being an alien. Stone’s turn in Bugonia is a pleasure to watch as she delves into a more psychological space where she has the ability to always be in control and make life-altering decisions for those around her. The elements where she’s able to express moments of sarcastic wit are what really elevate the film, aside from her revelations of truth, which stir those in her path.

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The ambiguity that Stone stirs into the film narrative is poisonous and has even bigger repercussions, even more so for the audience, as the film is an edge-of-your-seat, inquisitive roller coaster.

Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent

Wagner Moura’s old-school performance in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Brazilian mystery thriller The Secret Agent is an all-time best. Moura plays Armondo, who is a technologist who is forced into hiding due to his line of work posing a threat to corrupt officials under Brazil’s oppressive regime at the time. Moura is looking to flee Sao Paulo and return to his home in Recife, where he can be reunited with his son. Up against an oppressive regime depicted in that era, the beautiful Brazilian scenery still shines bright, and Moura’s innate ability to be in community with local Brazilians is beautifully fulfilled, though he is cautious of those in his path. The Secret Agent is a slow burn, and every layer that pulls back in regard to Moura’s role is pulled in again and again because just when you think you know him, there is more to be added to the narrative that wasn’t mentioned before. Moura. Due to the tumultuous vestiges of Moura’s past in the film, it makes it so much harder to fully understand who Armondo is narratively, but what he does give is more than enough to piece everything together thematically. In the end, Wagner Moura’s performance will be remembered as one of the most enigmatic yet intricate performances that thrives off of ambiguity.

Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Rose Byrne has had a well-decorated career that spans comedies and action flicks. In Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Byrne steps into new territory, giving a renaissance-defining performance. In the film, Byrne plays Linda, a mother who has a daughter with an illness, a dismissive husband, an abrasive therapist, and a missing client. All are things that would make one person burst at the seams. Byrne takes on the weight of many in this film without being fully realized as a human. Byrne is the hero in everyone’s story (for better but mostly for worse), and throughout the whole film, she is looking for her rescuer, and it all comes to a head because nobody is catering to her will. Bryne is always a delight to see on screen, but her maternal turn in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is undeniably her narrative and hers alone.

Amanda Seyfried in The Testament of Ann Lee

Amanda Seyfried has had memorable roles throughout her career, but portraying Ann Lee is her most complex to date. In Mona Fastvold’s musical biopic, The Testament of Ann Lee, Seyfried’s euphoric presence as the mother of the Shaker Movement is direct and commanding. As a woman who believed that she was the second female coming of Christ and one of the first female lead religious leaders, Lee is committed to her unwavering love for the Most High. Her undying love for Christ has caused persecution for her not only in her homeland of England, from which she fled to America, but also in her marriage and the devotion of her loyal followers. Through all of these historic moments, Seyfried’s voice and movements carry the film’s musicality, as she is often at the center of these transformative numbers. With all the considered risky acts that come with high stakes, Amanda’s performance is vocal, emotional, mental, and physical. All things in which she does exceptionally well, with nothing left to be desired, as a revered leader of Christ.

Amy Madigan in Weapons

With only a limited amount of screen time and hidden marketing leading up to the film’s release, Amy Madigan burns up the screen in Zach Cregger’s sophomore film, Weapons. Madigan’s entrance, in itself, is subtle but very intriguing, with an underlying element of intimidation. In her first few scenes in the film, she brings a bubbly personality, which is hidden beneath the veil of a much more sinister agenda that plagues not only her nephew Alex’s parents but also his entire school. As Madigan’s agenda reveals itself, everything unnervingly begins to make sense, and the advancements behind her motives are well understood, and her ability to tamper in as Aunt Gladys and out as a witch is fascinating, to say the least. Madigan’s portrayal as Aunt Gladys has been received so well that her prequel origin story is in the works and will explore the intricacies of how she became the witch that she is.

Jodie Comer in 28 Years Later

Jodie Comer has portrayed herself to be a versatile actress known for her immense strength. In 28 Years Later, this couldn’t be any more accurate. In the film, Commer plays Isla, who is a mother battling a terminal illness. Throughout the film, she is seen giving a physical and mental performance that wears her down but keeps her engaged with the horrifying rage virus that has been terrorizing the remaining citizens for almost 30 years. Commers’s greatest moment is being able to take a journey with her son’s guidance through a post-apocalyptic landscape filled with infected individuals. There is a scene where Commer helps an infected woman give birth, and she takes the child as if it were her own in a very terminal state. This moment sets the ground for who she is, aside from the terminal illness that she is battling. Once her fate is determined, her descent is felt as it is the beating heart of the film’s heartfelt narrative, which makes Commer this film’s strongest power play.

Mariam Ashafari in It Was Just An Accident

Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, a revenge thriller, showcases a wide array of illustrious and outrageous performances. One performance in particular stands out from the rest; in particular, it’s Mariam Ashafari as Shiva. Shiva is a photographer who was sought after by the lead in the film to help him make sense of what to do with the man who tortured him in prison. The ensemble that is forced with making this decision all have one thing in common: they were prisoners and fell victim to his treacherous ways, which has led them to lives of immense trauma, only to seek justice in ways that they know how. For Ashfari’s Shiva, she is thrust into the narrative and remains charismatic throughout her time on screen. It is only when the film nears its end, and Shiva comes face to face with her authoritarian oppressor. In this moment, all of the pent-up anger that she has kept inside throughout the film comes out in the most passionate way imaginable. In this moment, she makes her oppressor recall all of the torture acts that he has done to others and forces regret upon him until he can conform to her plea. This moment is the film’s strongest moment, and for Ashfari to do this and walk even stronger is the best closure a performance can ascertain.

Wunmi Mosaku in Sinners

Wunmi Mosaku is the best female-led portrayal in Sinners, not only because she narrates the film so well but also because her character brings the narrative full circle. Mosaic plays Annie Smokes’ ex-wife, whom he left for Chicago when their baby passed. Mosaku’s understanding of witchcraft becomes the film’s only saving grace for survival in a life that feels hollow and incomplete. Mosaku’s diplomacy amongst the chaos of the vampires remained steady and never wavered beyond life and death. Though well-versed in the mystic arts, Mosaku knew her fate was to be with the one who was waiting for her on the other side of life. This made the performance even more unique, as she wasn’t afraid of death in juxtaposition to being a vampire. Mosaku’s performance in an ensemble of many great performances is one that stood out for its ability to move the story and be resolute with her fate.

Jacobi Jupe in Hamnet

Chloé Zhao’s direction when it comes to her actors is always displayed as a personal journey, but with Jacobi Jupe in Hament, there is so much more that is said in silence as there is in presence. Jacobi Jupes’ performance in Hamlet is short-lived, but what he does on screen as a child will carry because this level of perspective can’t be fully emoted at such a young age without veracity of heart. Jupes’ heritage as Hament is to be the one who honors his family and lives up to the Shakespearean legacy. While understanding this task, he spiritually takes on the pain of his loved one to live up to the name that he is so proud of. In death, Jupes’ presence is not only spiritual but also atmospheric in a well-led path. Jupe works as a guiding light through his parents’ grieving process. His glimpses of death unlock new facets of grief and restructuring, which cultivate one of the greatest tragedies known to man in Hamnet. In the concluding scene in the film, as the final act of Hamlet concludes, Jupes’ alignment with his mother works as a release for not only her but also for the audience as a moment to release. The catharsis that this scene holds only works with Jupes’ signs, letting the audience know through his mother that it is ok to move.

Odessa A’zion in Marty Supreme

When it comes to Odessa as A’zion’s performance in Marty Supreme, it is one that looks to be understated but in turn offers more than what is expected. A’zion’s Rachel Mizler, who is a childhood friend of Marty’s, is highlighted as an innocent bystander at many terms, even more so, serving a delicate disposition. Every time she is on screen, there is a glimmer of light, as she is a huge player in Marty’s life, though he takes it for granted. As the film progresses, A’zion Rachel turns out to be much more of a foil for who Marty is in the sense that she is trying to rise above her chaotic background but is concealed by her prospects. A’zion’s greatest strength is her dedication to the cause in showing that, though she is more of a figment in Marty’s imagination, she offers much more to the audience in the sense that she is trying to survive and yearns for stability.

Sean Penn in One Battle After Another

One Battle Another has really great male performances, but Sean Penn is the best, and it’s the most Paul Thomas Anderson-coded of the films. Penn plays Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, who is not only the film’s antagonist but also the most disturbed character in the film. His role in society, coupled with his salacious affair with Teyana Taylor’s Perfidia Beverly Hills, poses a conflict of interest with The Christmas Adventurers Club, which is a white supremacist group that he desired to be a member of. This yearning, which he has, is very indigenous to many of Anderson’s characters in all of his films, as many of them are about finding community. The power that Penn assumes to get his way is an internal battle in itself because he wants to be a part of a group that would never see him as their equal. His love for Black women is another battle that he is tasked with because his relationship with Perfidia was never real. That affair was a test of wills, which created a huge burden for him (a biracial daughter in Chase Infinite’s Willa), which he uncovered and went through many egregious lengths to get rid of, only to fall victim to one thing that he looked up to. Sean Penn’s Col. Steven J. Lockjaw will be remembered as one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s best characters created for the screen.

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in Sentimental Value

Sentimental Value is a well-insulated character study that is filled with great performances (including the house itself). Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas is the value that is sentimental. Inga plays Agnes, who is the younger sister of Renate Riensve’s Nora and the youngest daughter of Stellan Skarsgaard’s Gustav. Inga’s arc in Sentimental Value is force multiplying for many reasons; one in particular is her hidden arc in the film, which is what made her Skarsgaard’s Gustav, a well-revered director. Her proximity to every character in the film is beautifully explored, and in the moments where she can get into the cracks and crevices of her family’s tragic history, she is able to keep things balanced. This balance is under the guise of pain and hurt, which her dad inflicted on her and Nora when he walked out on them. Lilleaas swallows these feelings until everything comes to a head, giving one of the best scenes in the film, where she confronts her father. In this moment, we see Agnes, who has been playing in the middle, rise above the pain and stick up for herself and her sister, whose pain she reprobated. This moment leads to an even more pivotal moment where Lilleaas and Reinsve have a moment where they recollect what happened during the most trying time in their life when their father walked out. Lilleaas was able to finally be honest with her and let her know that she was that maternal safe space that she can’t seem to find, and this monologue put all of the pieces together needed to conclude the film’s dysfunctional narrative.