20 Most Intense Movie Performances Of All Time

12. Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody) - The Pianist

There are very few descents into despair that are as captivating as that of Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist. His story is an unflinching and deeply disturbing tale of human endurance in the most unthinkable conditions and Adrien Brody's performance is one of stunning, raw brilliance.

Given the luxury of incredible, important material, Brody starts out as a dignified man thrust unknowingly into catastrophic horrors, at first quietly disbelieving and then forced through the worst of it himself. By the end, he's a stripped nerve, electrified and difficult to watch, his body emblazoned by the marks of his situation. And when he breaks, it's traumatic and compelling, with the added kicker - of course - that this True Story was not just true for one man but for many.

And in capturing it so soulfully in one man, Brody told it for the millions who couldn't tell their own.