10 Great Movie Performances (No One Ever Talks About)
3. Marion Cotillard - Rust & Bone
Though Marion Cotillard missed out on an Oscar nomination for her performance in Jacques Audiard's stellar 2012 drama Rust and Bone, her performance was largely lauded on the awards circuit, even if it ultimately picked up few wins.
Cotillard plays killer whale trainer Stéphanie, who after an accident involving one of the animals has her legs amputated, and naturally struggles to adjust to her new mode of life.
Cotillard does so much more than simply make us basically sympathise with Stéphanie - it's a deeply visceral performance which demonstrates the toughness and strength-of-character required to adjust to such a drastic change in life circumstances.
Despite being lauded at the time, Cotillard's work here is rarely mentioned when discussing the actress these days, largely overshadowed by her more statuesque performances in films such as Inception and The Dark Knight Rises (namely that infamous death scene).