The Best and Worst of Jeremy Strong

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “The Gentlemen” star Jeremy Strong.

Films starring Jeremy Strong that I've seen:
The Happening
Zero Dark Thirty
Parkland
The Judge
Selma
Black Mass
The Big Short
Detroit
Molly's Game
Serenity 

Best Performance: The Big Short (2015)
A few years before Succession launched him to a new level of notoriety, Strong quietly stole the show in Adam McKay's Oscar-nominated meta dramedy about the 2007 housing crisis that helped sink the United States economy. His turn as the fiery second-in-command at one of the firms that becomes aware of the instability of the subprime mortgage loans that are driving the market and subsequently bet against the banks ability to continue to fund these high-risk loans was every bit as good as the much more celebrated turns from Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carrell.

Worst Performance: Serenity (2019)
Serenity is a must-see for anyone that enjoys movies that are so ridiculous that they need to be seen to be believed, but the acting from its all-star cast (Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jason Clarke, Djimon Honsou, Diane Lane) isn't particularly good. Even though he plays a pivotal role as a persistent accountant looking to speak with McConaughey's character who ends up revealing the big, WTF-inducing plot twist to the audience, Strong gives a very pedestrian performance that is easy to forget.

Best Film: Molly's Game (2017)
Veteran writer Aaron Sorkin couldn't have possibly found a better subject for his directorial debut than the unbelievable life story of Molly Bloom. Bloom's unlikely evolution from an Olympic skier whose career is cut short by injury to a prolific runner of underground poker games that attracted everyone from actors to politicians to criminal heavyweights is a naturally riveting story that becomes even more fascinating with Sorkin's energetic wit and a magnetic, fearless performer in Jessica Chastain playing the protagonist.  

Worst Film: Parkland (2013)
The Happening would probably be a lot of people's pick for the worst movie on the above list. However after many years of ripping it to shreds, I've recently realized that it's far too hilarious and creatively unhinged for me to view it in a negative light. Parkland, on the other hand, was a disappointingly mediocre film that should be chalked up as one of the biggest missed opportunities in recent memory. Examining the assassination of John F. Kennedy from the perspectives of individuals whose viewpoints haven't been shown on film before such as Lee Harvey Oswald's brother, Abraham Zapruder and the staff of Parkland Hospital where Kennedy was pronounced dead should've been a riveting drama, but the writing and pacing is far too uneven to provide any significant insight on the mindset of these secondary figures on that fateful day or legitimate entertainment value.    

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “The Rhythm Section” star Blake Lively.