15 Most Powerful Movie Performances Of All Time

14. Béatrice Dalle - Betty Blue (1986)

There's emotional intensity, and then there's Béatrice Dalle in Betty Blue. Jean-Jacques Beineix's adaptation of Philippe Dijan's novel may be most widely remembered for its graphic sex scenes, but it's also one of the most unflinching examinations of depression ever put to film, and Dalle's performance is key to this.

The deeply troubled Betty is not an easy character to feel sympathy for at times, yet Dalle's magnetism is such that the audience feels for her even in her lowest, most deranged moments. It's all the more remarkable considering Dalle was only 22 at the time, and had never acted in a film before.