Independent filmmaking is the foundation for which the film industry lies, so it is no surprise that it often provides the medium with its greatest performances. The unfortunate truth is that superhero movies and other blockbusters no longer give performers the opportunity to truly sink their teeth into roles that challenge them. Acting has often become commerce and nothing else, but the best of indie cinema is able to remind performers and cinephiles alike why filmmaking is such an exciting art form.
Independent filmmaking has exploded within the past few years, as studios like A24 and Neon have been able to inspire enthusiasm from a younger generation of film fans that are excited about going to see new projects in the theater. In many ways, it feels like it is a new “Golden Age of Hollywood.” Here are the ten best indie movies with great acting, ranked.
10 ‘Whiplash’ (2014)
Directed by Damien Chazelle
Image via Sony
Whiplash is one of the best films about the drive for artistic perfection, as it perfectly subverts what audiences may have come to expect from a story about the relationship between an obsessive young performer and their mentor. Miles Teller gave the best performance of his career as an aspiring jazz player who begins to go too far in his quest to be “great,” to the point that it becomes dangerous to his physical and mental health.
Whiplash is best known for the performance by J.K. Simmons as the abusive jazz teacher Fletcher, which won him a very well-deserved Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. While Simmons has been a working character actor with years of great performances behind him in Oz and Spider-Man among others, Whiplash was certainly the film he had been waiting his entire career for.
Whiplash
In Whiplash, a talented young drummer is pushed to his limits by a demanding instructor as he strives for musical perfection. This intense pursuit challenges his dedication and mental fortitude, forcing him to confront personal ambitions and the sacrifices required to achieve greatness in the world of music.
Release Date October 10, 2014
Director Damien Chazelle
Cast Miles Teller , J.K. Simmons , Paul Reiser , Melissa Benoist , Austin Stowell , Nate Lang , Chris Mulkey , Damon Gupton , Suanne Spoke , Max Kasch , Charlie Ian , Jayson Blair , Kofi Siriboe , Kavita Patil , C.J. Vana , Tarik Lowe , Tyler Kimball , Rogelio Douglas Jr. , Adrian Burks , Calvin C. Winbush , Joseph Bruno
Runtime 107 Minutes
Main Genre Drama
Writers Damien Chazelle
Budget $3.3 million
Studio(s) Sony
Distributor(s) Sony
Character(s) Andrew , Fletcher , Jim , Nicole , Ryan , Carl , Uncle Frank , Mr. Kramer , Aunt Emma , Dorm Neighbor , Dustin , Travis , Bassist (Nassau) , Assistant – Sophie , Metz , Pianist (Studio Band) , Saxophonist #2 (Studio Band) , Trumpeter #1 (Studio Band) , Trumpeter #2 (Studio Band) , Saxophonist (Studio Band) , Technician (Overbrook) – Mike
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9 ‘The Witch’ (2016)
Directed by Robert Eggers
Image via A24
The Witch is a modern horror masterpiece from Robert Eggers, who cut away from the popular “jump scare” style of scares in order to tell a deeply horrific story about the evil inherent to the foundation of America. While there are certainly some very creepy supernatural elements that are amplified in the third act, the majority of the tension within The Witch rests on the fraught dynamic between a father (Ralph Ineson) and his daughter (Anya Taylor-Joy).
The entire cast of The Witch nails the restrictive nature of the period-authentic dialogue, which makes the film feel even more accurate to real aspects of Colonial history. It was certainly Taylor-Joy’s breakout role as the “scream queen” of her generation, and led to her further success in high concept genre films like Split and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga among many others.
A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
Release Date February 19, 2016
Runtime 92minutes
Budget $4 million
Studio(s) A24
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8 ‘Pig’ (2021)
Directed by Michael Sarnoski
Pig is an intimate examination of grief and loss that features one of the best performances of Nicolas Cage’s entire career. Cage has become an actor that has been easy to mock, as he has spent the last few decades of his career making fairly low budget genre films that are very over-the-top, and often don’t get a wide theatrical release.
Pig showed that Cage was still a serious actor at heart who did not need to rely on idiosyncrasies in order to succeed with his performances; he carries the weight of tragedy on his shoulders, and only raises his voice when the film calls for it. Cage also gives a performance that does not attempt to steal the spotlight, as he allowed the rising star Alex Wolff to shine and give one of the best performances of his emerging career.
Pig
Release Date July 16, 2021
Director Michael Sarnoski
Runtime 92
Main Genre Drama
Writers Vanessa Block , Michael Sarnoski
Tagline We don’t get a lot of things to really care about.
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7 ‘Frances Ha’ (2013)
Directed by Noah Baumbach
Image via IFC films
Frances Ha was a star making film for Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote the film alongside her regular collaborator (and future husband) Noah Baumbach. Gerwig would later become even more prominent as a writer and director in her own right, but she has never been more charming onscreen than she is in this earnest comedy about female friendship.
Gerwig has a profound sense of comic timing, and often does not shy away from the physical nature of the film’s sense of humor. A film like Frances Ha risks being irritating if the audience is not on board with the personality of the protagonist, but Gerwig is able to make every action that her character takes seem plausible. The film also offered a strong showcase for Adam Driver, who proved in the aftermath of his breakout role on Girls that he was well-suited to be a serious film actor who worked with the industry’s best directors.
Frances Ha
Frances Ha follows an aspiring dancer living in New York City as she navigates friendships, career aspirations, and her identity. Facing numerous challenges to achieve her dreams, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery that delves into the complexities of modern life’s personal and professional intersections.
Release Date May 17, 2013
Director Noah Baumbach
Cast Greta Gerwig , Mickey Sumner , Michael Zegen , Adam Driver , Charlotte d’Amboise , Patrick Heusinger , Michael Esper , Grace Gummer , Josh Hamilton , Maya Kazan , Justine Lupe , Britta Phillips , Juliet Rylance , Dean Wareham , Hannah Dunne , Daiva Deupree , Isabelle McNally , Vanessa Ray , Lindsay Burdge , Marina Squerciati , Christine Gerwig , Gordon Gerwig , David Salem
Runtime 85 Minutes
Main Genre Comedy
Character(s) Frances Halladay , Sophie Levee , Benji , Lev Shapiro , Colleen , Reade Patch Krause , Dan , Rachel , Andy , Caroline , Nessa , Nadia , Janelle , Spencer , Ask Me Girl , Waitress , Random Girl #1 , Random Girl #2 , Dark Haired Girl , Waitress at Club , Mom , Dad , Christmas Guest
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6 ‘American Honey’ (2016)
Directed by Andrea Arnold
Image via A24
American Honey is an ambitious, often disturbing epic about the dark side of the American dream, and is simultaneously quite uplifting and incredibly devastating. Writer and director Andrew Arnold has shown throughout her career that she has a great ability to spot emerging talent, and American Honey offered a breakout role for Sasha Lane, who stars as a troubled teenage girl that decides to join a group of bohemian young people that travel the country selling magazines.
Lane captures the complex feelings that come with growing up, and allows her character to make mistakes in the most natural of ways. Riley Keough is also giving a great performance as an older member of the group who offers frank, often disruptive advice to the younger people that look to her for guidance as they shape their futures while on the road.
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5 ‘25th Hour’ (2002)
Directed by Spike Lee
Image via Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
25th Hour is perhaps the most personal film about Spike Lee’s love of New York City, as the film was released only a year after the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Although it is really a love letter to the Big Apple, 25th Hour features one of the best performances of Edward Norton’s entire career as a convicted felon who tries to bond with his friends in the hours leading up to going back to prison.
Norton shows an unexpected warmth and compassion to a very dark role, and replaces any vain attempts at chewing the scenery with the utmost efforts of sincerity. While it sadly was not a performance that earned him an Academy Award nomination, Norton is as affable, moving, and completely three-dimensional in 25th Hour as he has ever been before.
Cornered by the DEA, convicted New York drug dealer Montgomery Brogan reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining hours before facing a seven-year jail term.
Release Date January 10, 2003
Runtime 135 Minutes
Main Genre Drama
Writers David Benioff
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4 ‘A Serious Man’ (2009)
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Image via Focus Features
A Serious Man is one of the darkest films that the Coen brothers have ever made, as it’s a psychologically tormenting story about what happens when someone’s worst anxieties about what could go wrong actually come true. At the heart of this darkly hilarious romp is an amazing performance by Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays a Jewish professor whose life seems to be collapsing around him.
Stuhlbarg is among the most underrated actors working today, and finally is given the opportunity to play a leading role. Rarely has Jewish anxiety been better depicted on screen, as Stuhlbarg captures a sense of perpetual dread that becomes both frightening and hilarious as the film becomes more extreme. It takes a great actor to get on the unique wavelength that the Coen brothers operate on, but Stuhlbarg nailed the right approach, and perfectly fit into this idiosyncratic web of intrigue and ambiguity.
Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern physics teacher, watches his life unravel over multiple sudden incidents. Though seeking meaning and answers amidst his turmoils, he seems to keep sinking.
Release Date November 6, 2009
Director Ethan Coen , Joel Coen
Runtime 106 Minutes
Main Genre Drama
Writers Joel Coen , Ethan Coen
Tagline
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3 ‘Call Me By Your Name’ (2017)
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Image via Sony Pictures Classics
Call Me By Your Name is one of the best coming-of-age movies ever made, as there aren’t many films about romance that capture how challenging it can be for young people to fall in love when they do not yet have the maturity to understand what a long term relationship should look like. Timothée Chalamet earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance as Elio, a young man who falls in love with an older student (Armie Hammer) during his summer vacation.
Chalemet is willing to be completely vulnerable, and does not shy away from the more intimate moments of the film. Although he plays a character that nearly any audience member should be able to relate to, a terrific monologue by Michael Stuhlbarg during the film’s final moments ranks as one of the greatest father-son moments in cinema history.
In 1980s Italy, romance blossoms between a seventeen-year-old student and the older man hired as his father’s research assistant.
Release Date November 24, 2017
Runtime 130 Minutes
Tagline
Website
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2 ‘Good Time’ (2017)
Directed by Josh and Benny Safdie
Image via A24
Good Time is arguably the film that proved that Robert Pattinson was a serious actor, as he had been sadly typecast after his role as Edward in The Twilight Saga. It was obvious that Pattinson had talents that were not being entirely utilized by all of his collaborators, but Good Time allowed him to play a tough, mean-spirited anti-hero who becomes a victim of his own sense of greed.
Pattinson pulls off an incredible feat, as his character is both completely unlikeable and impossible to look away from; despite the evil deeds that he commits throughout one wild night in New York City, there’s a deep level of charisma within Pattinson’s performance that is impossible to deny. Additionally, Good Time features some memorable performances from more established actors, including the legendary Jennifer Jason Leigh and Captain Phillips breakout star Barkhad Abdi.
Good Time
After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City’s underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail.
Release Date August 11, 2017
Director Ben Safdie , Joshua Safdie
Runtime 99 minutes
Main Genre Drama
Writers Ronald Bronstein , Joshua Safdie
Studio A24
Tagline Are you ready for a Good Time?
Website http://goodtime.movie/
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1 ‘Margaret’ (2011)
Directed by Kenneth Lonergan
Image via Fox Searchlight Pictures
Margaret is among the most underrated American epics, as Kenneth Lonergan’s massive examination of guilt and trauma is perhaps the strongest response that American cinema has had to the feelings of loneliness and isolation that emerged in the aftermath of 9/11. At the heart of Margaret is an all-time great performance by Anna Paquin, who stars as a troubled teenage girl who begins to feel that she was responsible for a deadly traffic accident that resulted in the death of innocent people.
Paquin captures the impossible feelings of endless empathy that come with being young, as her character is not able to live with the reality that she may have caused something devastating. Additionally, Margaret has a robust supporting cast that includes Matt Damon, Jean Reno, John Gallagher Jr., J. Cameron-Smith, Matthew Broderick, Mark Ruffalo, and Kieran Culkin among others.
Margaret
Release Date September 30, 2011
Director Kenneth Lonergan
Runtime 149
Main Genre Drama
Writers Kenneth Lonergan
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