The Best and Worst of Brie Larson

The "Best and Worst" series profiles the best and worst work of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week I take a look at the filmography of "Free Fire" star Brie Larson.

Films starring Brie Larson that I've seen:
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
21 Jump Street
The Spectacular Now
Short Term 12
Don Jon
The Gambler
Trainwreck
Room
Kong: Skull Island

Best Performance: Room (2015)
In my eyes, Larson's Academy Award win for Room was one of the most well-deserved in recent history. Her portrayal of Joy Newsome, a 24-year old woman raising her 5-year old son (Jacob Tremblay) in captivity, is an unforgettable, emotional powerhouse that solidifies Larson's standing as a generational talent.

Worst Performance: Don Jon (2013)
The failure of Larson's performance in Don Jon is a classic case of a talented actress being held back by bad writing. I'll never understand why writer/director/star Joseph Gordon-Levitt got an actress of Larson's caliber to play such an underwritten and unessential character. With the exception of one lengthy, "inspirational" monologue near the end of the film that doesn't quite land, Larson is reduced to a thankless role that mostly consists of her sitting quietly with her face buried in her phone. If Larson was given more of an opportunity to show off her chops, maybe Don Jon wouldn't have been so mediocre.

Best Film: Room (2015)
Unlike most human beings, I don't get visibly overwhelmed by emotion during movies. The only time I cried during a movie was the first time I saw American History X  and I watched that well before I morphed into the cold, heartless prick that I am today. The raw emotion of Lenny Abrahamson's psychological coming-of-age drama Room came VERY close to breaking this decade-plus streak of me not shedding a tear while watching a movie. The strong character development and unflinching realism of the hell the main characters go through makes this an absolutely devastating yet consistently captivating viewing experience.  

Worst Film: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
I was very close to giving this title to Don Jon, but that movie wasn't nearly as much of a letdown as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was. After the genius of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, writer/director Edgar Wright proved his mortality with this wildly overrated cult phenomenon. The movie's over-the-top, comic-book shtick becomes grating very fast, the jokes aren't nearly as clever as Wright thinks they are and not a single member of this phenomenal ensemble cast (Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Anna Kendrick, a half-dozen other of my favorite working actors) is anywhere near the top of their respective games.  

Thank you for reading this week's installment of "The Best and Worst of". Next week, I'll take a look at the best and worst work of "The Circle" star Emma Watson.