Top 5 – Amy Adams Movies

I love Amy Adams.  From the first time I saw her as the innocent nurse in Catch Me If You Can (2002), she has grown into one of the finest actresses we have in Hollywood.  This weekend, she stars in the sci-fi thriller, Arrival, (my review right here).  So in honor of that, here are my five favorite Amy Adams movies.

These movies are based on the performance of Adams and the quality of the movie.

I also excluded Arrival, though it easily would have made this list.

5 – THE MASTER (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012)

Paul Thomas Anderson’s dense, thought-provoking look at Scientology is one of the most polarizing movies of this decade.  One aspect of the film that everyone could agree on was the spectacular acting by the trio of Oscar nominees, Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams.  Adams plays the wife of Lancaster Dodd (Hoffman), the enigmatic, charismatic leader of a religious group called The Cause.  Adams is scary intense, heightening the animalistic nature of Dodd and The Cause while also loving her husband and family.  This is one of Adams’ most under-appreciated performances, but she holds her own against these two acting juggernauts.

4 – ENCHANTED (Kevin Lima, 2007)

This is the only movie on the list in which Adam’s is not part of a massive ensemble of great actors.  Enchanted relies on the performance of Adams and she absolutely crushes it.  She plays a princess on the verge of marriage who gets sent to New York City by the evil queen (Susan Sarandon) and falls in love with a lawyer (Patrick Dempsey).  Adam’s is hilarious, whimsical, and perfect in this classic fish-out-0f-water tale.  Enchanted is a wildly inventive and smart film and really put Adams on the map as a star.

3 – AMERICAN HUSTLE (David O. Russell, 2013)

American Hustle marked Adams’ second effort with David O. Russell and led to her fifth Oscar nomination.  In this twisty caper, Adams plays the partner of conman Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), who are forced to work with the F.B.I. to bring down political corruption and the mafia in New Jersey.  Much like the movie, Adams wears many faces, and she is never who she seems to be.  We see her hustle with Irving, play the F.B.I., while also falling in love with Irving as he stays in love with his wild, immature wife (Jennifer Lawrence).  She slips in and out of personalities and accents, and we never know who she is or what her motives are, but she captivates us the entire film.  This is a smart, strong, sexy performance from Adams and proved her and Russell bring the best out in one another.

2 – DOUBT (John Patrick Shanley, 2008)

I said that Enchanted was the star-making performance, but her performance in Doubt is the one that solidified her as a legitimate awards contender.  Acting next to the great Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, arguably two of the best actors to ever grace the screen, is never easy.  But Adams does it and does it masterfully.  When a Catholic school principal (Streep) questions a priest’s (Hoffman) ambiguous relationship with a troubled young student, tensions rise through out the school.  Adams plays a young nun under the tutelage of the principal, who is naive to the fact of anything bad happening.  We watch as she stays bright eyed and hopeful that nothing bad is happening, and then slowly begins to question her beliefs and everything she thought she knew.  It was my favorite performance in this nail-biting religious thriller and a performance that should have earned Adams an Oscar win.

1 – THE FIGHTER (David O. Russell, 2010)

Up until The Fighter, Adams had a wholesome, sweet persona in every movie.  That all changed in David O. Russell’s crowd pleasing true story.  She plays Charlene, the tough talking, “MTV Girl”, girlfriend of Boston boxer Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg).  She is the one who pushed Mickey to greatness, helping him become the best boxer he can be.  Even when going toe-to-toe with Mickey’s hard nosed mother (Melissa Leo) and brilliant, yet troublesome brother, Dickey (Christian Bale), Charlene stands strong, knowing what is best for Mickey to be a champion.  Adams criminally lost her Oscar to co-star Melissa Leo, and that’s a shame, because this tough, gritty, motivational performance is the best of her career.

What is your favorite Amy Adams movie?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter or Instagram, @kevflix, or find Kevflix on Facebook and YouTube by searching Kevflix.