20 Best Movie Performances Of 2019

8. Joe Pesci - The Irishman

Joe Pesci had to be practically begged by Martin Scorsese to come out of semi-retirement for the director's crime epic The Irishman, and despite this being the actor's first major acting role in well over a decade, there's not a single hint of rust in his marvelous performance.

What's most surprising about his turn as Machiavellian mobster Russell Bufalino is that it feels like a retort to his more effervescent performances in Scorsese's crime pics Goodfellas and Casino.

Russell doesn't stab anyone with a pen nor does he ever get even get close to shouting: everything he does is a quiet, considered calculation. But Pesci knows exactly how to play it, filling every pensive look and prolonged pause with meaning.

If this truly is Pesci's final screen work, it's a note-perfect performance to conclude on, bringing his most acclaimed prior performances full circle with a more subtle yet no-less-brilliant turn.