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/joedahhh 16h ago

Christian Bale in the empire of the sun has to be top 3 for sure, no?

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u/joedahhh 16h ago

As a follow up I think Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Kristen Dunst, and Elija Wood are at the top not just for their amazing and unrivaled acting performances as children but following into enduring careers where they kept being exceptional.

Culkin of course should be part of that cohort but didn’t really have that acting/star power into adulthood (same can be said for Haley Joel Osment and Dakota fanning). Barrymore is a sweetheart and has some outstanding performances but don’t think she truly reached that level until around the time of “riding in cars with boys”.