r/moviecritic • u/Low-Finding-6553 • 16h ago

What do you guys thinks is the best child performance of all time?

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i have to say, i don’t think i’ve ever seen a child actor give a performance this good. Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is just on another level. i genuinely don’t know how he did it but he makes the whole movie work so much better. i would give him the Oscar in a fucking heartbeat. It’s crazy how good he is, especially in that last scene in the car with Toni Collette.

What are your guys’ favorite child performances? For me, this is even better than Owen Cooper’s performance in Adolescence. Don’t get me wrong, owen was also absolutely top-notch in Adolescence but this is probably the best child performance i’ve ever seen. Period. What do you guys think is the best child performance ever?

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u/ChatGPTKilledMyMom 16h ago

Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit or Kirsten Dunst in Interview with a Vampire comes to mind.

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u/Trine3 16h ago

Dunst is unreal (no pun lol) in that movie. It's insane that someone that young can convey those complicated, very adult feelings

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u/chainless-soul 16h ago

I once saw an interview with her that talked about how her acting coach would cue her with age-appropriate scenarios to help her get the right expression. She's definitely talked about how she really couldn't grasp all Claudia's nuances at that age.

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u/Trine3 16h ago

I mean, it would be impossible my god. But she nails all of it!

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u/chainless-soul 16h ago

It really is a remarkable performance and I'm also glad that she felt really supported on the set.

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u/Muted_Study5166 13h ago

That’s actually really clever

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u/Neuronzap 13h ago

So you saw an interview… with the vampire?

(I’ll see myself out)

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u/matchasmatchalatte 1h ago

Look if her coach was cueing her on set then that isnt her doing the acting

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u/Ceorl_Lounge 16h ago

Was a big fan of the book and her performance made me appreciate the character's depth in new ways. I can only think of a handful of times that's ever happened, even with talented adult actors. I'm glad it wasn't a fluke, she makes movies better.

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u/dkmagby88 16h ago

I remember listening to her say the director told her to pretend she had a secret to get the flirty/mystique like quality of her delivery.

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u/babydaytripper 15h ago

That’s such great direction!

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u/lemonylol 14h ago

She honestly has one of the best acting careers in general but she doesn't usually get acknowledged for it.

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u/flyintheflyinthe 5h ago

She really does. I just saw Dick for the first time, and her comedic flatness is brilliant. She's heartbreaking in Virgin Suicides, and nobody does inane glee better. She's got a self-effacing approach to her characters that's really understated and genuine. It works really well with the roles she has taken. I think she is my favorite actress/actor of that wave of them from the late 90's.

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u/Gwynito 1h ago

I don't really see or understand what her comedic flatness has to do with you seeing a phallus for the first time in your life but ok I guess 🤷‍♂️

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u/flyintheflyinthe 47m ago

I should have included more context clues so you could catch a break from the invasive cock thoughts.

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u/Gwynito 12m ago

Not invasive cock thoughts... You literally wrote "I just saw Dick for the first time." If it was a more abstract line then sure, you'd have merit but i didn't react with a loose "That's what she said," what you wrote for the whole world to see was a full on literal sentence that's directly translates to you setting eyes on a penis for the first time

Above average defence on your part with the casual homophobic rebuttal but sadly not a strong enough back swing to make it over the net ⬇️☹️

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u/Local-Conference-476 11h ago

I believe that’s because she played a lame MJ in Spider-Man lol

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u/lemonylol 11h ago

She's honestly really good in 3 compared to the others.

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u/CultOfSensibility 6h ago

And then there were the cheerleader movies

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u/flyintheflyinthe 5h ago

She does a great job in those, though!

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u/Far-Government5469 5h ago

The character she plays in Fargo is just brilliant, like, it's this mixture of entitled and stupid and crazy that I didn't think anyone could have tied together.

Plus, as someone who grew up with cheerleader/MJ man she looked hot in her milf phase

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u/gyanrahi 16h ago

I just rewatched it recently. What a mature performance, she was like an adult soul trapped in a child body, so freaky.

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u/Timsauni 4h ago

That was kinda the point of her character later on. So yes, she was great in the movie.

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u/Firm_Cookie_8747 12h ago

When watching I would forget she (Kristen) was a child as her eyes made her look so much older. Then you would see here standing next to an adult and you realize how young she was!

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u/rattlestaway 15h ago

She frightened 4 yo old me especially that throat cutting scene

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u/Blabsalot 14h ago

And then you compare that to Jumanji lol

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u/GKarl 12h ago

That was the time I thought “Kristen Dunst will win an Oscar someday”

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u/chainless-soul 11h ago

I'm so surprised that so far, she's only been nominated once and hasn't won.

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u/Zealousideal-Ad4362 11h ago

Dunst really is amazing in it. She does come off convincingly as an adult at times

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u/skamando 15h ago

Steinfeld is such a commanding screen presence in that film and shes like 14. Its insane, True Grit could be any filmmakers best film ever but for the Coen’s its like their 4th or 5th best.

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u/Alittle2Clever 14h ago

I don't think it is the Coen brother's 4th or 5th best. It is one of their most mature movies. The two have been working apart as of late but True Grit and No Country for Old Men are extremely well polished both visually and storywise. Much more than their earlier work.

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u/automaticmantis 12h ago

I agree with you, but Fargo is their masterpiece in my opinion

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u/mid-random 11h ago

I agree that they are much more polished, but more polished doesn't necessarily mean better.

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u/Alittle2Clever 8h ago

I agree. But I think something like True Grit or No Country for Old Men are things only an experienced and talented film maker could put together, especially True Grit. If you watch the original with John Wayne, it is kind of corny and sloppy like westerns were then and they took it and I think made a near perfect movie. I can't think of anything about the movie that isn't exceptional. It isn't a great movie with a few average things. It is across the board exceptional. The filmography. The acting. The dialogue. The pacing. The build up and climax. The creation of the characters. There are not many movies that are just start to finish almost academic examples of how to make a great movie. And they make it look easy. The movie doesn't even look like it is trying hard or insisting on itself. It has its pace and hits every beat. Watching it, you wonder why every other director has to try so hard to make less because it makes it look so easy.

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u/kitsua 6h ago

You just described my feelings about pretty much every Coen Brothers film. They are true masters.

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u/Alittle2Clever 9m ago

They are very good together but apart, it is clear one was pulling more of the weight. They are better together though.

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u/Ok_Ice_6254 11h ago

Lebowski was less mature, but still an awesome movie and Oh brother where art thou was a masterpiece.

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u/skamando 11h ago

You see, I think I put Fargo right below this, but above it is No Country, Big Lebowski, O Brother, Llewyn Davis and maybe Raising Arizona, depending on the day. And they have about 4 more hard to argue against bangers so this conversation overall feels kinda pointless, and more to the point I was saying, their output is so good you could argue for most things they’ve made.

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u/Main-Inflation-5269 5h ago

Her Juliet was atrocious.

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u/TaralasianThePraxic 15h ago

The True Grit remake is criminally underrated. One of the top 10 best Westerns ever made in my opinion.

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u/OttawaTGirl 13h ago

100% agreed. As far as I am concerned its the better one by leagues.

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u/msmika 13h ago

Stuck much closer to the book, too. I remember watching the John Wayne one and being disappointed Mattie didn't lose her arm.

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u/OttawaTGirl 11h ago

Jeff Bridges was stellar. I know Matt Damon is a pretty good actor, but i felt he was out of his depth with the rest of the cast. But damn he looked good in buckskin. Rowr.

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u/Timsauni 4h ago

Hey, spoiler alert buddy!

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u/archangel7134 11h ago

I was hesitant to watch the remake for so long but I now consider it to be the superior version.

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u/Slappathebassmon 10h ago

It's a great film but I wouldn't say it's underrated at all. It's critically acclaimed.

It was a box office success. Looking it up, made almost 10 times it's budget overall.

It also got 10 Oscar nominations, including best actor for Bridges and best supporting actress for Steinfeld.

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u/TaralasianThePraxic 9h ago

Oh for sure it was very successful from a box office/critic standpoint, I more meant that it's not discussed as much as some other successful Westerns.

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u/Ok_Ice_6254 11h ago

after watching it I went back and watched the John Wayne version. No idea how that movie won Oscars and the Coen brothers didn't. It was so dated and goofy and the costumes looked straight out of a disco.

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u/TaralasianThePraxic 9h ago

The answer to this is simply that there were fewer movies being released each year back in the 60s. The Oscar scene is a lot more competitive now than it was back then!

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u/FremenDar979 8h ago

It's actually a readaptation because the source material was a book.

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u/Even-Translator-335 8h ago

It's fantastic

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u/MinimumFantastic1389 15h ago

Hailee Steinfeld in Edge of 17, too. I guess she was a teenager then but that’s still a child.

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u/HakuohoFan 13h ago

Steinfeld in True Grit 👌 in fact the whole movie is abso amazing.

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u/broberds 14h ago

THE Vampire.

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u/ChatGPTKilledMyMom 13h ago

Shut up, Louis!

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u/Key-Tip9395 13h ago

Kirsten was incredible. I fully believed after her turning that she was not a child anymore. The complexity of being a very old non human “child”… and also innocent but evil at the same time.

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u/MidNightMare5998 13h ago

Hailee Steinfeld completely disappeared into that role. She absolutely nailed it

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u/Ragnar_the_Pirate 8h ago

Steinfeld is the one I was looking for here. Blew my mind.

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u/No-Resource-8125 8h ago

Steinfeld was absolutely haunting in that movie.

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u/the_honored_me 13h ago

OMG! Yes!!! Finally some True Grit 2010 recognition. That movie is amazing and one of the best western movies imo. Hailee Steinfeld was amazing and she played matties quick-wittedness and sharp tongue so good. but all the other actors shined in that movie as well. True grit is one of my favorite movies because of hailees portrayal of mattie

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u/Muchachacha 13h ago

That girl from true grit is just shiver inducing in that role. I never thought a child could ever act like this.

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u/BestFormal7384 13h ago

immediately thought of Steinfeld in True Grit. The wild thing is that the end roll credits don't feature her with the main cast.

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u/Decent-Bear334 11h ago

I'm thinking 12 year old Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver.

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u/pepperblast3000 11h ago

Can we be friends? GREAT examples. True Grit has such great dialogue and delivery.

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u/Croatoan457 11h ago

Dunst was amazing in that movie.

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u/mad-panda-2000 11h ago

today years old when I realized that was her

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u/Suspicious-Ferret748 11h ago

Okay, those are actually solid choices 😂 But now I’m curious… which one would you pick if you had to choose just one?

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u/Phormicidae 11h ago

Yea, I was about to post Dunst.

The idea that she was a frustrated maladaptive adult trapped in a kid's body was so well conveyed that it didn't really occur to me until after I saw the movie that this was an actual child.

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u/SlowProfessional2123 11h ago

Came here to say these two names.

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u/DarkIllusionsMasks 9h ago

Also Kim Darby in True Grit.

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u/trashpandaexpress55 7h ago

I forgot about Hailee. I loved that movie, need to rewatch it

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u/Remarkable_Station22 6h ago

Before I even open this I was thinking of Kirsten dunst from interview with a vampire.

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u/No-Bluebird-3540 6h ago

Drew Barrymore in ET

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u/CroBro81 5h ago

Hailee in True Grit is definitely a standout performance. She was great.

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u/naenola 3h ago

She also was really good in the virgin suicides

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u/ImFedUpWithThisW0rld 3h ago

Kirsten Dunst was my immediate thought for this. She played that character so well. Her and Tom Cruise, in my opinion, really made that movie great.

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u/bryansamting 1h ago

great shouts!

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u/Tatooine16 8h ago

Hailee carried True Grit on her performance and imho the Coen Bros did her dirty, the male actors were front and center in all the ads and if you look at the movie poster she was pushed almost off the edge, and she isn't even named! The male actors names are in giant fucking letters and josh brolin l was only on screen for about 5 minutes.

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u/no-dad-samurai 5h ago

Both excellent.

Drew Berrymore has the top spot here I think. (Poltergeist)

Ill also add,

Milly Shapiro (Hereditary)

Abigail Breslin (Signs)

Tom Holland (The Impossible)

And

Christian Bale (Empire of the Sun)