20 Best & Worst Movies From 2018 Oscar Nominees

18. Willem Dafoe

Best: The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

Jesus Christ has been captured on screen many times and often with great results, but few can compete with how good Willem Dafoe was. While other films on him tend to emphasise the divinity of Jesus, The Last Temptation of Christ looks unflinchingly at his humanity to wonderful effect.

Dafoe's son of God is angst-ridden and self-loathing and struggling with an identity crisis. This being a Scorsese flick, controversy inevitably followed as the film dared to explore Jesus' identity, but anyone who boycotted missed a stunning performance by the lead actor, who married Jesus' inherent goodness with something darker.

Worst: Fireflies In The Garden (2008)

Dafoe has very few low points in his career, in all honesty, but in Dennis Lee's Fireflies in the Garden he simply doesn't look interested. For an actor who is otherwise usually an ostentatious presence to be this unmemorable is pretty fatal - or at least conspicuous.

The story of bereavement, murder and strained relationships is boring and melodramatic and does little to justify its cast - particularly Dafoe, who feels curiously off pace.