15 Recent Performances That Were Criminally Underrated
Some performances just deserve way more attention...
There have been countless great films in the last couple of years, many of which featured some outstanding performances. Performances like Joaquin Phoenix in Joker, Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems, Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out, Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant, and Toni Collette in Hereditary are some of the most acclaimed performances in recent years (even if a few of them got snubbed in awards season), but there are even more great performances that nobody knows about.
Whether it's because their films weren't widely seen, or because another great performance in the film overshadowed them, these actors and actresses are being ignored for their great work. These performances should be career-defining for some of these stars, but we're all ignoring them. Or at least downplaying them by not putting enough praise on their names.
These performers deserve more recognition for their outstanding hard work to deliver convincing, gripping performances. Hopefully these actors and actresses will get the respect they're due in the future, whether its for these performances or performances they are yet to deliver.
15. Ross Lynch In My Friend Dahmer
It doesn't sound possible to turn one of history's most notorious and brutal serial killers into a character you sympathize with. It's certainly not something you'd expect an actor who was, up to this point, only known for starring in Disney Channel shows and movies to be able to do. However, Ross Lynch did it in the best way it could have possible been done.
Jeffrey Dahmer's descent into madness is illustrated beautifully in the film, and the deep sadness within him is executed masterfully by Lynch. In the film, he is a young man who is thrashing about helplessly, desperately looking for someone to help him before it's too late. As we all know from the stories this movie doesn't tell, Jeffrey Dahmer never got the help he needed.
It's incredibly upsetting to watch Lynch portray a mentally ill young man continue to get worse and worse as everyone around him, especially his parents, don't do what they need to do for his sake. His "friends" in school take advantage of his condition for laughs, only further exacerbating the problems he faces. It's a deeply emotional performance and Lynch should be commended for the grace with which he executed it.