best film: Michael Fassbender’s three (3) Steve McQueen collaborations between 2008 and 2013 (Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave) is where this category starts – and the middle film, the one most centrically featuring Fassbender, Shame, is the answer – though they are very close in artistic quality. Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (2009) deserves a long, hard look as well.
best performance: Shame again triumphs in this category and this is a strength for Fassbender. There are not many films of this quality in general in cinema history, but far fewer that are unflinching character studies – usually a character study (here it is Fassbender’s Brandon) is not directed with this kind of stylistic bravado. There is a surprising bit of depth to this category for Fassbender. There is a solid case to include his work in Fish Tank in the his list of best performances, he garnered an Oscar nomination for Steve Jobs, and there is a per-minute average argument for his part in Inglourious Basterds which somehow falls to the final spot on the top five below.
Fassbender as Brandon in Steve McQueen’s Shame (2011) – a harrowing tale of addiction. Dogged, painful and real – the entire first date with Nicole Beharie’s Marianne character is another long take piece of filmmaking and acting genius – six (6) minutes long with the waiter coming in and out. The best of neo Neorealism is on display with clear improvisation and the duration of the shot working on the viewer. Shame also features plenty of viciousness in the dialogue – a fight between the two siblings (Fassbender as Brandon and Carey Mulligan of course as Sissy – his sister) shot in one take from behind their heads on the couch – a clear Ingmar Bergman-like punch in the dialogue – he eviscerates her like a similar scene in Winter’s Light (1963).
stylistic innovations/traits: Michael Fassbender was born in Germany, raised in Ireland, and is not only the youngest actor to be this highly rated on the list, but he did not start out as a child actor like Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, or Joaquin Phoenix. Fassbender’s first archiveable films are from 2008 – and it was that year when Fassbender hooked up with burgeoning genius auteur Steve McQueen. Fassbender’s career took off like a rocket from there (artistically, if not commercially) making twelve (12) archiveable films from 2008-2016 (a span of just nine years) producing one of the best performances of the year in three (3) of those years. For at least a brief moment of time – it is fair to ask if Michael Fassbender is the best actor on the planet. The lack of archiveable films from 2017 to 2022 is concerning for sure – and the remedy of going back to working with Steve McQueen (if possible) seems painfully obvious. Fassbender excels in intense, serious roles and films – again, a great marriage with McQueen. Fassbender’s gifts are often best on display when he is playing supreme intelligence and genius as well – he has played both Steve Jobs and Carl Jung (A Dangerous Method) to great success.
Fassbender’s breakout year and role – Hunger (2008). He plays Bobby Sands and does not show up until the 26-minute mark – an unconventional structure that absolutely works here. Fassbender also shines in the 17-minute long unbroken shot dialogue sequence with his Sands character and the priest. The foal story (also a long-ish shot) comes directly after this with Fassbender more squarely captured by the camera in this scene. Fassbender transforms physically for the role with the weight loss – much more than a gimmick.
directors worked with: Steve McQueen (3), Quentin Tarantino (1), David Cronenberg (1), Steven Soderbergh (1), Ridley Scott (1), Danny Boyle (1), Derek Cianfrance (1)
from Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave (2013) – the characters are so well constructed – Benedict Cumberbatch’s character continually looks the other way and Michael Fassbender is horrifying – akin to Ralph Fiennes portrayal and impact in Schindler’s List
top five performances:
- Shame
- Hunger
- 12 Years a Slave
- A Dangerous Method
- Inglourious Basterds
archiveable films
| 2008- Eden Lake |
| 2008- Hunger |
| 2009- Fish Tank |
| 2009- Inglourious Basterds |
| 2011- A Dangerous Method |
| 2011- Haywire |
| 2011- Jane Eyre |
| 2011- Shame |
| 2012- Prometheus |
| 2013- 12 Years a Slave |
| 2015- Steve Jobs |
| 2016- The Light Between Oceans |
The Killer is one of my most anticipated movies of the year.
What’s your thoughts on his two critically successful X‐Man films, X- Men: First Class(2011) and X-Men: Days of Future Past(2014)? Especially the second one. Although his role is smaller here.
@Anderson- I was able to catch them, not a waste of time but did not make the archives.
Out of topic. But he is actually a very big Motor-racing enthusiastic and part-time driver like Paul Newman back in the day. Even competed in 24 Hours of Le Mans in the last couple of years.
Hmm. I don’t remember Joaquin being a child actor. At least not in any memorable role. Maybe you are confusing Joaquin with River, his brother. A very talented actor who died far too early.
@Anderson – Nope – Joaquin is in the 1989 film Parenthood in the archives as a teenager https://thecinemaarchives.com/2023/05/13/the-33rd-best-actor-of-all-time-joaquin-phoenix/ and worked as an actor before that as well if you check out his IMDB
Fair Enough. But these doesn’t stand out to me like Bale’s Empire of the Sun, DiCaprio’s This Boy’s Life, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape or his brother’s work as a teenager.
@Anderson- Glad I could shed some light on Joaquin being a younger actor and around for decades here, too. But you are simply missing the point here, I’m all for fixes errors on the site if you notice something in the future – but please do not feel like you need to parse every sentence.
One of my favourite actors. I gotta ask though… Am I the only one here who LOVES his Macbeth? I see the film is not even archived and I think it’s one of his best performances.
@David O. – Caught it in theater in 2015/2016 and have been wanting to get back to it since and just have not yet
@David O. – Me!Me! I loved Macbeth too.) I’ve caught it in cinema (double bill with Sicario actually) and was very impressed. To me it’s a MS film, and one of the best films in Fassbenders cv.
Yeah, a MS sounds about right to me. It’s in my top 10 of the year, and that’s saying a lot given how good 2015 was.
Great to see Fassbender on the list—especially the praise for his performance in Shame, which often seems to go overlooked. I think Shame is a masterpiece; it probably (just barely) makes my top ten of the 2010s.
Just a question since I keep seeing it more and more lately that “The Counselor” is actually a great film. Have you seen it, at least since it first came out and what do you think of it? I’ve never seen it but I’m tempted to.
Next plot twist: Exodus- Gods and Kings is actually a great film.
@George- Caught it in theater but not since. I will revisit at some point. Perhaps the disappointment of the results with that crazy talented cast all assembled clouded my evaluation – always a chance of that.
@George – I caught the extended cut last year and found it to be more than solid.