My list for best performances of 2019

Over the past 12 months, I have saw quite a few films that resonated with me and stuck with me to the end of this year.

Whether that be for good or bad reasons.

One thing that does carry a film is a performance.

Here are my choices for best performance of 2019.

Best Performance (Honourable mentions)

Steve Carell in Welcome To Marwen 

This film got unfairly rated by critics and reviewers alike. 

I, on the other hand, quite enjoyed it primarily for Mr.Carell's performance.

Considering the majority of the characters he's been portraying in the past have been that of the comedy.

It was a breath of fresh air seeing him perform as a sympathetic, depressed person expressing the pain of his life through the art of action figure photography.

Lupita N'Yongo in Us

I will admit, I didn't want to see the film Us back in as I wasn't keen on horror films. 

But as Cineworld held a Unlimited screening of it back in March, I decided to go.

Needless to say, I was blown away by Lupita expertly acting two characters, polar opposites from each other.

Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali in Green Book

Green Book was another film that I wasn't keen on seeing, just in terms of length and concept of story.

I went to a screening back in early February. 

125+ minutes later, I came out of the screening loving the film.

The chemistry between Viggo and Ali was great.

Matt Damon and Christian Bale in Le Mans '66 

This was probably one of the longest films I have saw this year.

Although, personally, I would've casted Christoper Eccleston in place of Bale just in terms of looks and voice.

That would not change the fact that the pairing of Bale and Damon was an excellent choice.

Brad Pitt in Ad Astra 

This must've been the quietest role Pitt has ever took on.

Playing the role of McBride, he is portraying a calm and well-mannered astronaut. 

Who went on a gruelling journey of turmoil on the way to find his long-lost father in space.

Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth in Avengers: Endgame 

Although they are on two separate slots in the image, I enjoyed both performances equally. 

By far my favourite performances in Endgame.

Captain America has been my favourite Avenger ever since Chris Evans took on the role back in 2011.

I was incredibly sad to see him retire from the role. I cried more at seeing a old Steve Rogers than Tony Stark dying, he means that much to me.

I've never been much of Thor fan, especially in the films but Taika Watiti made me love the character with the humour and action sequences in Ragnarok.

Although it's passed off as a joke that Thor gained a lot of weight during the 5 years after originally killing Thanos. 

I personally felt it quite humanising. We can finally see that a god such as Thor also deals with guilt/denial/depression in the way we do. 

Hemsworth portrayed a god who undergone a lot of regret and depression to a T. Perfection!

Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker

I have been a fan of the sequel trilogy ever since The Force Awakens. By far, the best part of all 3 films was Rey and Kylo portrayed perfectly by Daisy and Adam respectively.

I've loved seeing Daisy grow as an actress through the past 3 films. TFA was her first major film role.

Adam portrayal of Kylo was great. He clearly showed the conflict inside the character's soul. 

It was weird going from seeing Adam Driver in Marriage Story before seeing him again in Rise of Skywalker.

His performance alongside Scarlett Johansson in the Netflix original movie was excellent, especially during the closing moments of the film.

Ewan McGregor in Doctor Sleep 

This was a film I honestly wasn't too excited for.

But, the one thing that made me want to see was Ewan's performance. He was great in it.

Best performance

Taron Egerton in Rocketman 

Prior to watching this film, I wasn't expected to be amazed by his performance.

Not only did Taron act as Elton, he also replicated a select few of Elton's hits in the process.

Florence Pugh in Fighting With My Family and Midsommar 

I did not know I saw Florence in a different film 4 years before this came out. It was 'The Falling' alongside Maisie Williams.

I was a huge fan when the actual Paige was an active wrestler. It was a shame that she had to retire so soon into her wrestling career.

Florence blew me away with her performance as Paige back in February.

Then months later, she blew me away again in Midsommar.

Joaquin Phoenix in JOKER

I was very approving when Phoenix was casted Arthur Fleck.

The 30 second clip where it showed Joaquin in the face paint and green hair, a whole year ahead from the scheduled release date, instantly made me excited for this film.

He was so perfect in the role and the actor I didn't know I needed as The Joker.

I then later watched him in 'You Were Never Really Here' after seeing his amazing Joker performance. It was a really great film!

The weight loss was impressive. 

He put his all into this one role and I do hope he and Todd Phillips work on a sequel.

Edward Norton in Motherless Brooklyn

Even though the film was rather disappointing, Edward Norton was amazing.

Great acting!

James McAvoy in GLASS 

I hadn't saw Split prior to watching the finale in M. Night Shamalan's trilogy.

Even without knowledge of the character, the overall performance of McAvoy's Kevin Wendell Crumb was ashtonishing.

Portaying over 20+ personalities with no disguises, nor camera cuts was very impressive.

I later went on to watch Split(as well as Unbreakable) and I was even more impressed with his performance.