best film: The Tree of Life. With Terrence Malick’s kaleidoscope montage approach, Brad Pitt’s performance is largely a silent one – but nonetheless, it is filled with miraculous moments of acting. Pitt’s filmography includes some strong contenders to compete for this first place slot. Pitt is in a whopping nine (9) films that are graded out as must-see or masterpiece level. He is a substantial part of eight (8) of those films (12 Years a Slave is the only outlier). With Tree of Life destined for the top 100 of all-time and with more than enough to back that up – this category of incontestable strength for Pitt.
The Tree of Life is a feather in the cap for Brad Pitt as Malick’s camera eavesdrops through open doors, open windows, and down their purposefully typical street. Pitt is the stern father. He hardens his jaw in a way he has not done before or since. This performance is physical – posture, posing, and facial expressions.
best performance: The Assassination of Jesse James requires celebrity for this role and Brad Pitt is a large presence. Often Pitt has been described as a character actor (a compliment to his talent) in a leading man’s body. That is not the case here at least (though you could make that case using 12 Monkeys or Snatch as examples). Pitt is a leading man in Jesse James. He is both often on the screen, and when he is not, this is a Harry Lime role where he is the center of all the conversation and attention. Pitt is perfect – ominous, melancholic and cryptic.
Pitt is elusive and terrifying. He is always teetering on the edge. His Jesse James is filled with mourning and obsessed with death.
stylistic innovations/traits: Brad Pitt has been known as just about the best-looking guy on the planet for decades and that has probably helped him win some choice roles as far as casting is concerned – but it has probably cost him in arguments like this list as to him being one of his generation’s best actors (he is just a year younger than Tony Leung now as the most recent actor on this list). But Pitt’s body of work at this point in his career is just too much to argue with – even the most dedicated of anti-Pitt holdouts have to have given up by now. His roles are varied and Pitt has clearly been strategic about who he works with. He often chooses roles to avoid typecasting, clichés or trading on his looks. He loves to ugly himself up (12 Monkeys, Burn After Reading) and take on challenging work with auteurs. He is now at twenty-four (24) films and counting in the archives. He has paired with a top fifty (50) of all-time auteur three times (David Fincher) and absolutely has been in some of the best films since about 1995 on (a very big year for him with both 12 Monkeys and Se7en). In 12 Monkeys Pitt steals every scene he is in. He plays Jeffrey Goines – a man riddled with ticks and monologues (diatribes on sanity and germs). Pitt is on the screen for maybe ten minutes and goes nuts three to four times – it is a very good role. Between Fight Club (1999) and Babel (2006) Pitt’s career seemed a little lost (this is the Troy, The Mexican, Mr. & Mrs. Smith phase). But he seemed to rededicate himself to pursuing art over commerce at that point and the ensuring run from 2006 to 2013 is a stretch few actors historically can match. In this span, he works with Iñárritu, next a masterpiece with Andrew Dominik, then The Coen Brothers, Fincher again, Tarantino (their two collaborations have been an unmitigated success), a masterpiece with Terrence Malick, a wow performance in Moneyball – all this in a few short years. And this does not even include the two masterpieces with David Fincher in the 1990s and then, as maybe a capper, nearly thirty (30) years after his first archiveable film, he puts together a miracle of a year in 2019 with both Ad Astra and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Pitt’s 2019 certainly feels like his 1995 Robert De Niro year (both Heat and Casino).
more than thirty (30) years after his debut, Pitt wins 2019 with just one, but two of the best performances of the year (Ad Astra, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – here).
directors worked with: David Fincher (3), Steven Soderbergh (2), Andrew Dominik (2), Quentin Tarantino (2), Ridley Scott (1), Terry Gilliam (1), Alejandro González Iñárritu (1), The Coen Brothers (1), Bennett Miller (1), Terrence Malick (1), Steve McQueen (1), James Gray (1), Damien Chazelle (1)
Pitt as the hypnotic Tyler Durden in 1999’s Fight Club. Pitt’s best single film may be with Terrence Malick, and his best performance with Andrew Dominik – but his most important single collaborator is clearly David Fincher
top five performances:
- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
- Fight Club
- The Tree of Life
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
- Ad Astra
archiveable films
| 1991- Thelma and Louise |
| 1992- A River Runs Through It |
| 1993- True Romance |
| 1994- Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles |
| 1994- Legends of the Fall |
| 1995- Se7en |
| 1995- Twelve Monkeys |
| 1999- Fight Club |
| 2000- Snatch |
| 2001- Ocean’s Eleven |
| 2006- Babel |
| 2007- Ocean’s Thirteen |
| 2007- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford |
| 2008- Burn After Reading |
| 2008- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button |
| 2009- Inglourious Basterds |
| 2011- Moneyball |
| 2011- The Tree of Life |
| 2012- Killing Them Softly |
| 2013- Twelve Years a Slave |
| 2015- The Big Short |
| 2019- Ad Astra |
| 2019- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood |
| 2022- Babylon |
The Mexican (2001)
https://imgur.com/a/mexican-2001-N9MPtth
The Mexican (2001) is an interesting film. There are blues and greens especially everywhere in the mise-en-scene. The cold blueish colours in the US is contrasted with the sunburnt orangish colours in Mexico. And again the urban crowded areas in the US is contrasted with the rural isolated areas in Mexico. Such an excellent soundtrack. It’s advertised as a Romantic Comedy but it’s a completely different Road Trip Comedy type film. And it’s hilarious.
Greens are everywhere from the Production Design, Lighting, Objects to the Clothes. But it’s not heavy on tinting/grading like The Ring. It’s a very natural color palette. A decent amount of handheld camera work. Recurring flashbacks of an old legend surrounding the main object. Very cool and funny at the same time with heartbreak. A lot of recurring symbolism. Brad Pitt has a dog friend here which foreshadows one of his future films.
In most of his films Verbinski has a looser/an uncapable type protagonist. Who basically seems to survive on pure luck and talks a lot. Quite a few great long shots of the countryside. The best is probably when Pitt buries a dead person. A lot of poking fun at the language barrier and cultural differences. Most of the scenery is in ruins and harsh conditions. Clear green, red, blue paint on the cars.
James Gandolfini is wonderful in this film. He has so many good scenes in it. Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts are fine as the bickering couple who mostly resolve their differences throughout the film. I also really love the friendship Roberts develops with Gandolfini. Gene Hackman has a memorable cameo in a crucial role. Very weird to see JK Simmons with hair. It’s lighter in tone but has a lot of heart especially in the Gandolfini subplot and the Mexican heritage/legend.
Finally got around to Ad Astra, catching up on 2019 films. Fascinating film with a highly compelling performance, it is quite different from any other Pitt performance I can think of. There is a total absence of the usual charm or cockiness. It is a very introspective role and a sadness to his character that I have not seen previously outside of perhaps The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
“Brad Pitt has been known as just about the best-looking guy on the planet for decades and that has probably helped him win some choice roles as far as casting is concerned – but it has probably cost him in arguments like this list as to him being one of his generation’s best actors”
Hey Drake, you mentioned this, but I don’t think it’s true at all.
I would have thought that many cinephiles are men who do not really notice such things. They may ‘joke’ about it, but I don’t think it factors into their assessment of his acting skills at all.
I think those who criticise Pitt do so because they do not perceive him to be a legendary actor (like the comments on this page have shown). I don’t see any comments about his looks (whether positive or negative) when evaluating his acting skills.
I think he is one of the greatest actors of all time.
I rewatched the Tree of Life again recently and now I am fairly convinced it is one of, if not the greatest film ever made. I thought Pitt was just as silently brilliant as Jessica Chastain in the film. Who do you think was the best actor in the movie?
Ultimately we can’t know why someone truly undervalues Pitt as an actor but the reason, I think, Pitt is really undervalued could be because his best performances do not have many ‘dramatic’ scenes in them. They are often silent and subdued (not sure if these are the right terms). If you consider Tree of Life as an example, it does not have the ‘strength’ and ‘dramatic-ness’ to it the way De Niro does in Raging Bull or Maria Falconetti in the Passion of Joan Arc.
Instead it is more quiet, subdued and firm (which is why I think people may see him as ‘missing’ something). But the performance is every bit as brilliant.
Even in se7en, his acting may not be as ‘powerful’ as De niro in raging bull, but it is more of a ‘silent’ brilliance (think about his crying face when he opens the box at the end of the film vs de niro’s loud ‘im not an animal’ jail cell scene. One of the scenes is ‘louder’, the other more ‘subdued’).
These are just some thoughts I had after watching some Pitt films again. I was wondering if you had any similar thoughts and if you may be able to articulate it better than I have.
@Azman- Thank you for the comment. I don’t much to add here that isn’t on the page. I don’t know how old you are- but certainly I remember these discussions in the 1990s when Pitt was still sort of the new kid on the block. We’ll see if others want to chime in.
Funny you should say this – recently I received this comment on my list of cinema’s best actors:
“I’m not 100% convinced LdC is a great actor. He just gets good roles. With Brad Pitt this is more apparent; not a great actor, just handsome. Still undecided on LdC.”
Hello Declan,
Criticizing Brad Pitt by downplaying his acting and focusing on his looks is lazy and misses the mark. Many of his best performances like Tree of Life, where his appearance is irrelevant, came well past his “peak” looks. I doubt many people are looking at Pitt in the Tree of Life and thinking “wow he is so handsome but he cannot act at all”. The same goes for DiCaprio and De Niro who excelled in roles where appearance was downplayed or even altered to look ‘uglier’ (de niro in R. Bull). If anything, silent film history shows that looks alone don’t sustain an acting career. Many silent film stars lost their jobs when sound film came about because their voice and acting skills did not match their appearance so audiences lost interest.
Did the commentator give any reasons why Pitt was not a great actor or did he/she just make the claim? If he/she gave some reasons I may analyse them because I may be overrating Pitt. For now, not only do I think position 15 is justified, but I also think one of his performances could track into the top 100 performances of all time.
I agree, it’s a pretty baseless claim. I was particularly surprised that they would try to downplay DiCaprio. That was their entire comment and I didn’t probe much deeper, when someone is that far off the mark there’s not much hope in convincing them otherwise.
@Azman-I like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio. But then again, they are not the chameleons Gary Oldman or Daniel Day-Lewis is. People associate them as one particular type and they more or less play variations of it. One could say the same about Alain Delon years ago.
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/best-actors-21st-century-ranked-list-b2667909.html
No Brad Pitt.
@Malith- yes, gave this one a quick glance yesterday
im surprised you didnt give Kalifornia performance atleast a mention
Fine, versatile and handsome actor but Pitt is nowhere near the 15th best actor of all time. Over legends like Olivier? Hopkins? Washington? Hoffman? Bogart? Hackman? Hell NO.
@Debra- Thank you for visiting the site. Bogart is here on the list already. You’ve listed some fine actors here (including Bogart who, again, is in front of Pitt on this list). The resume for a couple of these actors simply does not come close to Pitt’s resume. Most of these actors will be following shortly on this list. Also, Pitt has been working for 30+ years – certainly the “legend” designation applies.
I would have to agree with Debra here. He’s a good actor who has been very smart and tasteful when picking his projects, and he’s been in a lot of great films, but I’ve never seen him give a tremendous performance. He’s good most of the time and he’s been very good a couple of times, but I don’t think that’s enough for him to be this high. I would probably rank him at around the 50-45 slot. However, I know Drake puts a lot of weight on the quality of the films that a given actor is in, and if we use that metric, Pitt has a fantastic resume, so his placement doesn’t surprise me in the slightest and makes sense in the context of this list.
@David O.- Yep, I knew there would be those reacting like this here. Not surprising really – like it gets mentioned on the page, there are those that are sort of underrated his talent because of his celebrity and looks
Yep, I agree. And don’t give me wrong, I think Pitt is a very talented actor, I just don’t think he’s THAT good. DiCaprio, for example, also has both the looks and celebrity status and I think he does deserve to be as high as he is. I would probably slide four or five more names ahead of him, but that’s about it. So far your list has been, in my opinion, pretty strong, as I would only quibble about a couple of choices.
Hey Drake, just wondering what rating you’d give Snatch as it wasn’t in the archives on the 2000 page but is now. Have you just recently put it in as an R?
I recently watched it for the first time and was quite impressed with the kinetic pace and interweaving stories. Have it firmly as a HR
@Joel – Recommend for now, I think time has been kind to Guy Ritchie and his films. In 1998 and even the 2000s it felt like he was just another director doing Tarantino.
@Matthew – For actresses, Frances McDormant very 1st role which happened to also be a breakout role was in 1984 Blood Simple, which was the Coen Brothers first film. She married Joel Cohen a couple of months later. Drake has 2 of her top 5 performances and I would agree albeit, with a slightly different order; Three Billboards in 2017 and Nomadland in 2020. For her that would be Year 33 and Year 36
@James Trapp- Great couple of pulls here James! Nicely done.
After some digging- I think you can add Jeff Bridges to this list (Crazy Heart, True Grit and Hell or High Water well after 30 years from a non cameo
debut). And Dafoe is close- haven’t updated his page yet, not sure if both Florida Project and The Lighthouse are top five for him. Certainly The Lighthouse is.
@Drake – thanks, I haven’t seen Crazy Heart yet but I love him in Hell or High Water; its a more nuanced role than it would initially appear to be. Bridge’s character cracking jokes with his younger partner Alberto, to his devestation in the scene of Alberto’s death in the shoot out, and the way he talks to and interacts with the brother at the end of the film show his impressive emotional range.
Is Pitt the only actor to add 2 top 5 career performances this late into his career (in year 30 if we go by first major casting (1989) and not uncredited background roles)?
@Matthew- thank you for the fix help here. I’d have to think about look at some data on the question- but nobody comes to mind immediately.
@Matthew – Clint Eastwood gives I think his best performance in Unforgiven though you could certainly make a good case for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Unforgiven was 1992 so 28 years after his breakout role in 1964 Fist Full of Dollars though Eastwood had marginal roles prior that was his breakout. And then in 2004 which would be year 40 he directs and acts in Million Dollar Baby (2004) which I have only seen once and it was long ago so I would like to get it out sometime but reading around it would not be crazy to call it a top 5 acting performance. If you do think its a top 5 role for him acting wise that gives him top 5 performances in Year 28 and Year 40
Good call here with Eastwood. What about Kinski? Seems he started off working in the early 50s/late 40s and Nosferatu came in 1979 and Fitzcarraldo in 1982.
“His roles are varied and Pitt has clearly been strategic about who he works with. He often chooses roles to avoid typecasting, clichés or trading on his looks. He loves to ugly himself up (12 Monkeys, Burn After Reading) and take on challenging work with auteurs.”
Yep, this is a huge factor in his success. While I think he does give the stronger performance in Fight Club in 1999 if you had told me Pitt would go on to have a better career over Ed Norton, I would have been skeptical to say the least. Pitts resume is just so good at this point and as you say he avoids typecasting.
Drake-When did you add Snatch(2000) to the archives? Plus how many Guy Ritchie films do you have in the archives? His new film The Covenant(or Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant) released this week starring J.Gyllenhaal and has positive reviews. Might be worth a look.
@Malith – six days ago for Snatch – first time seeing it in a long time. It is a fringe recommendation. Same with The Gentleman (2019). Those are the only two right now- but I may seek more out here in the near future.
One of my favourite actor ever. It’s kind of weird to see him this high. My top 10 of his performances :
1 – The Tree of Life
2 – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
3 – Fight Club
4 – Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
5 – Seven
6 – Ad Astra
7 – Twelve Monkeys
8 – Inglourious Basterds
9 – Babylon
10 – Moneyball
Tree or life and jesse james is such an awesome top two films… he has an insane filmography overall