3. Jim Carrey - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
There's no questioning that Jim Carrey is best-known for pulling funny faces and talking out of his arse (literally), but he's always been an under-appreciated performer as far as his serious roles go, and frankly, his turns in
The Truman Show, Man on the Moon and
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind should all have entered the Academy Award conversation despite being completely ignored (despite some Golden Globes/BAFTA love). His turn as Joel Barish should have been Oscar-nominated alongside Kate Winslet's performance; it's an anguished turn that examines the inner workings of our mind with regard to relationships, girded by a brilliant Charlie Kaufman screenplay. It's all-too apt that so much of the film essentially takes place in Barish's mind, for though the film certainly gives Carrey his best license to play serious, this also allows for Michel Gondry to direct a number of surreal, increasingly bizarre scenes depicting various aspects of Joel's life as her perceives them, distorted as the memories are deleted from his mind. The sublime chemistry between Carrey and Winslet only helps further heighten the existential anguish and the dramatic gravity of this romance, far above what Hollywood typically tries to shove down our throats. While Carrey did divert our attention with his excellent turn in
I Love You Phillip Morris, it's a shame he doesn't work on straight stuff more, because he's unexpectedly brilliant at it.