20 Best Movie Performances Of 2021

17. Agatha Rousselle - Titane

Dev Patel Green Knight
Neon

No acting newcomer has made more of an impression this past year than Agatha Rousselle, who portrays serial killer-dancer Alexia in Julia Ducournau's fantastically twisted horror Titane.

Despite this being Rousselle's first ever feature film role, she gives a performance of incredible courage and commitment, not only submitting herself fully to the challenging demands of Ducournau's script, but also internalising her character's traumatic past with laudable restraint.

Ducournau is smart enough to center much of the film around her lead actress' deeply expressive face, serving as a canvas on which this intensely weird yet bizarrely moving family tale plays out.

Don't be surprised if we see a lot more of Rousselle in the coming years.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.