5. Kristen Scott Thomas - Only God Forgives
If you have read my review of Nicholas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives, or my follow up proclaiming the five reasons you will definitely hate it, chances are you know how I feel about it. In short, I found it to be a self-indulgent, anti-entertainment experience with a comatose performance by Ryan Gosling and few genuinely redeeming factors. But having said that, only shining light in the whole sorry affair was the performance of Kristen Scott Thomas, criminal matriarch of the central family, who heads to Hong Kong to seek vengeance for the death of her eldest son, and Gosling's brother. Considering how sparsely developed the other characters are, having someone like Scott Thomas turn up and offer a performance of real substance, as well as disarming profanity and a vicious streak is a massive boon for the stuttering art project. She is skin-crawlingly provocative at times, hinting at some sort of incestuous relationship with both her sons (she hilariously discusses their penis sizes with a prospective girlfriend of Gosling's) and she is one of the only characters in the entire film that makes you feel anything at all.
Read the full Only God Forgives review here.