50 God-Tier Acting Moments Buried in Bad Movies
15. Jessie Buckley - Men
Men is one of A24's most divisive films, and it's easy to see why. Alex Garland's folk-horror is well filmed and features a memorably WTF ending, yet its thematic reach definitely exceeds its grasp, and it doesn't ever say anything much about the complex themes of misogyny and gender relations that it was trying to address.
Still, even the picture's numerous detractors probably won't be able to argue against Jessie Buckley's stellar performance in the lead role of Harper, a widow dealing with the death of her abusive husband (Paapa Essiedu). Throughout her acting career so far, which includes similarly amazing turns in Fargo's fourth season, Women Talking, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and The Lost Daughter (for which she nabbed a well-earned Oscar nomination), the Irish actress has proven herself to be consistently brilliant and one of the best actresses of her generation.
In Men, Buckley delivers a fraught, harrowed performance that's difficult to watch yet harder still to look away from, and she manages to shine through the movie's more pretentious moments to deliver one of the finest horror performances of the 2020s so far.