Helen Mirren just seems to be getting better and better with age and it is great to see her being offered such a wide range of roles.
She kicked off the year with Brighton Rock, which was directed by Rowan Joffe and showed off the young talent of Sam Riley and Andrea Riseborough.
Mirren took on the role of Ida, who is concerned for the welfare of Rose after she gets involved with local criminal Pinkie.
This is a Brit movie that you really should check out if you get the chance because it is a great addition to the gangster genre that is a really fascinating watch.
There is a real visual panache with this movie and this is backed up by a series of superb performances. Mirren may not have the lead role but she grabs hold of the part of Ida and delivers it with real gusto.
She switched the gangster genre for comedy in the spring as she teamed up with Russell Brand for the remake of Arthur.
Mirren played Hobson in the movie, Arthur’s nanny, in what was a great comic role for the actress. Ok so the movie was by no means a classic but there was great chemistry between Mirren and Brand.
Brand’s central relationship with Helen Mirren is perhaps the best I the entire movie as the Oscar winning actress delivers a great, and very funny performance as Hobson.
The pair banter well together and there is a genuine affection between them that never at any point feels forced or fake.
But the best performance from Mirren this year came in The Debt and it’s great to see that she is still be offered action roles - and she is daring enough to take them on.
In 1965, three young Israeli Mossad agents on a secret mission capture and kill a notorious Nazi war criminal.
Now, thirty years later, a man claiming to be the Nazi has surfaced in the Ukraine and one of the former agents must go back undercover to seek out the truth.
Helen Mirren’s performance is great as her struggle with the truth looms over the entire movie, despite her being missing for huge chunks of it - it’s great to see an older actress given the chance to taken on this kind of action role.
The actress has already completed work on The Door and she is currently filming a Phil Spector biopic with Al Pacino in which she is set to play Linda Kenney Baden.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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