10 Most Rewatchable Naomi Watts Movies, Ranked
Naomi Watts is in the operating to be the most severely underappreciated actress operating in Hollywood currently. Despite appearing in some acclaimed films towards the starting of the 21st century, Watts has selected a profession generating smaller sized, intimate projects more than appearing for inconsequential roles in franchise or superhero films. While this may well not have engendered a enormous audience for her function, Watts is typically prepared to take on difficult dangers that numerous of her contemporaries may well be hesitant about.
It’s correct that some of the most effective entries in Watts’ current filmography have been on tv, as she delivered amazing performances in Twin Peaks: The Return and Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. Nonetheless, Watts has appeared in a quantity of critically acclaimed dramas, difficult arthouse films, romantic stories, and cult classics. Here are the ten most rewatchable Naomi Watts films, ranked.
10 ‘Fair Game’ (2010)
Directed by Doug Liman
Fair Gameis a brilliant political drama that digs deeper into the existing culture surrounding conspiracies and whistleblowers than most modern dramas. Watts plays a higher ranking official for the United States government who becomes beneath fire when her husband (Sean Penn) leaks damning facts relating to the nation’s military actions overseas, and the lack of proof that predicted the invasion. The intense media focus forces the couple to address no matter if loyalty to their nation is additional crucial than their marriage, and no matter if leaking the truth is worth a possible jail sentence.
Although it bargains with weighty subjects relating to political discourse, Fair Game is a excellent examination of the pressures of marriage that advantages from the robust chemistry in between Watts and Penn. The relevance that Fair Game has to current news events tends to make it a single of Watts’ additional rewatchable and timely roles.
Rent on Amazon
9 ‘I Heart Huckabees’ (2004)
Directed by David O. Russell
I Heart Huckabees is surely the weirdest film that Watts has ever appeared in, but it really is also a single of the most oddly entertaining. David O. Russell’s satire of consumerism and capitalism focuses on an eccentric group of characters that employ “existentialist detectives” (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin) to enable them resolve their internal crises of the heart. Although Mark Wahlberg delivers a scene stealing efficiency as a goofy conspiracy theorist, Watts is equally robust as a disaffected corporate drone.
I Heart Huckabees is so committed to its strangely satirical style that it is extremely rewatchable, as there’s definitely absolutely nothing else like it in Watts’ complete filmography. Despite initially getting dismissed as getting also broad to be a prosperous comedy, I Heart Huckabees examines the difficulties relating to corporate ownership and obsessions with merchandise in a manner that has created it age extremely effectively.
I Heart Huckabees
A husband-and-wife group play detective, but not in the regular sense. Instead, the content duo assists other people resolve their existential difficulties, the sort that retain you up at evening, asking yourself what it all signifies.
- Release Date
- September 10, 2004
- Director
- David O. Russell
- Runtime
- 105
- Main Genre
- Comedy
- Writers
- David O. Russell , Jeff Baena
- Tagline
- An existential comedy
Rent on Amazon
8 ‘King Kong’ (2005)
Directed by Peter Jackson
King Kongwas arguably the most difficult function that Watts ever accepted, as the character of Ann Darrow played by Fay Wray in the original 1933 classic is a single of the most celebrated film heroes of the “Golden Age of Hollywood.” Watts also had to have believable chemistry with Andy Serkis as the titular ape, a difficult feat thinking of he was operating with groundbreaking motion capture technologies. The reality that she succeeded on each fronts shows what a wildly inventive actress Watts is.
King Kong is the uncommon remake that manages to homage the original classic, while nevertheless adding adequate new components to the story in order to justify its existence. It’s more than 3 hours extended and by no signifies a light viewing, but Peter Jackson’s heartfelt epic is the kind of utterly sincere, ambitious feats of Hollywood spectacle that the sector desperately desires additional of.
King Kong
A greedy film producer assembles a group of moviemakers and sets out for the infamous Skull Island, exactly where they obtain additional than just cannibalistic natives.
- Release Date
- December 14, 2005
- Runtime
- 187 minutes
- Writers
- Fran Walsh , Philippa Boyens , Peter Jackson , Merian C. Cooper , Edgar Wallace
- Tagline
- The eighth wonder of the planet.
Watch on Tubi
7 ‘The Ring’ (2002)
Directed by Gore Verbinski
The Ring was an additional remake of a beloved classic that could have gone disastrously awry if Watts’ efficiency hadn’t been exceptional. Thankfully, Gore Verbinski’s remake of The Ring emphasizes the creeping sense of tension and paranoia more than any clear jump scares that would really feel additional low-priced. Despite getting rated PG-13, The Ring is far scarier than numerous films that have additional graphic violence and gore.
The Ring is a far additional emotional film than it would have been otherwise thanks to the intimate efficiency by Watts. She succeeds in playing a caring mother who starts to really feel the burden of safeguarding her youngster from supernatural forces. While The Ring had numerous sequels, the original film starring watts is quickly the most rewatchable entry in the series. The stick to ups lacked the sincere characterization and appear of terror that she conveyed in her efficiency.
The Ring
A journalist need to investigate a mysterious videotape that appears to trigger the death of everyone a single week to the day immediately after they view it.
- Release Date
- October 18, 2002
- Runtime
- 115 minutes
- Main Genre
- Horror
- Writers
- Ehren Kruger , Kôji Suzuki , Hiroshi Takahashi
- Studio
- DreamWorks Pictures
- Tagline
- Before you die, you see The Ring
Watch on MGM+
6 ‘While We’re Young’ (2015)
Directed by Noah Baumbach
While We’re Young is a single of the most underrated films in Noah Baumbach’s canon, as it succeeds in casting numerous effectively-recognized actors against kind. Watts and Ben Stiller star as an aging couple who turn out to be enchanted when they’re a great deal younger neighbors (Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried) commence encouraging them to be additional experimental and erratic. Of course, tensions outcome in each marriages when each couples recognize that “acting your age” is a pretty crucial edict to abide by.
While We’re Young is a exciting examination of the variations in generations that advantages from the exceptional chemistry from its complete ensemble Watts and Stiller are especially believable as a couple who are desperately attempting to rekindle the passion of their youth. Despite getting small effect on its initial release, While We’re Young is a single of the additional underrated gems of Watts’ filmography.
Watch on Max
5 ‘Eastern Promises’ (2007)
Directed by David Cronenberg
While it is quickly a single of the darkest gangster films ever created, and a haunting portrayal of toxic masculinity, Eastern Promisesadvantages from the feminist point of view that Watts brings to the narrative. David Cronenberg’s 2007 masterpiece stars Watts as a sort-hearted nurse who starts to care for the youngster of a teenage prostitute who was pronounced dead it really is only immediately after hunting into the girl’s journal that she realizes that there is a connection to the nearby Russian mafia loved ones. Viggo Mortensen may well have earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his efficiency in the film, but Watts added a sense of sensitivity that was just as worthy of recognition.
Although the film is most effective recognized for its climactic fight scene, numerous of the most effective scenes in Eastern Promises are the quieter moments of Watts reacting to the violence that surrounds her. It was crucial for a film that dealt with such terrifying ideas to keep in mind that all violence had a price.
Eastern Promises
- Release Date
- September 14, 2007
- Cast
- Josef Altin , Mina E. Mina , Aleksander Mikic , Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse , Lalita Ahmed , Badi Uzzaman
- Runtime
- 100
- Main Genre
- Crime
- Writers
- Steven Knight
- Tagline
- Every sin leaves a mark.
- Website
Rent on Amazon
4 ‘The Impossible’ (2012)
Directed by J.A. Bayone
The Impossibleis a single of the most harrowing disaster films in current memory, however also serves as a highly effective tribute to loved ones bonding. Based on haunting actual events, J.A. Bayona’s modern day masterpiece stars Watts and Ewan McGregor as a couple who are caught up in a disastrous tsunami through their Christmas holiday in Thailand. After getting separated, the couple are forced to search for their youngsters as the survivors struggle to attain shelter.
Watts completely conveys the discomfort and horror that a mother feels when her youngsters are placed in harrowing conditions. Although numerous of these scenes are physically laborious, it really is Watts’ emotional intimacy that tends to make the complete story so highly effective. Her efficiency earned her a effectively deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, and served as a heartfelt tribute to the actual victims that lost their lives in the devastating disaster.
The Impossible
The story of a tourist loved ones in Thailand caught in the destruction and chaotic aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
- Release Date
- January 4, 2013
- Runtime
- 114 minutes
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Writers
- Sergio G. Sánchez , María Belón
- Tagline
- Nothing is additional highly effective than the human spirit.
Rent on Amazon
3 ‘21 Grams’ (2003)
Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
21 Grams is a harrowing drama about the energy of forgiveness, the strength of the human spirit, and the reality of mortality. The highly effective story from brilliant writer/director Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu stars Watts as a caring wife whose husband (Sean Penn) is dying. Her point of view is challenged when they meet a former alcoholic (Benicio del Toro) who was involved in a devastating automobile crash many years earlier.
While told out of order in order to generate mystery surrounding how the distinctive stories have been essentially connected, 21 Grams succeeds in generating the viewer invested in every single character, with Watts performing some of the most difficult function of her profession. It’s a film that consists of a highly effective message about mental wellness, and is worth rewatching since of how a great deal insight the story consists of. Watts’ efficiency earned her however an additional effectively deserved Academy Award nomination.
Rent on Amazon
2 ‘Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)’ (2014)
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
One of the couple of genuine comedy films to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is a brilliant satire of Hollywood excess that also speaks to universal truths about the lengths that artists go to in order to make certain that their function has worth. Watts has a essential supporting function as an actress who joins the cast of a new play from the former Hollywood star Riggan Thompson (Michael Keaton), who is attempting to revive his profession immediately after getting typecast for his function in the Birdman superhero films.
Despite only appearing in the film in a restricted capacity, Watts does a excellent job at displaying the exhilaration and horror that actors face when providing emotional stage performances. A film that is as ambitious as Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) wouldn’t be practically as prosperous and rewatchable as it is if not for the strength of its complete ensemble.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
A washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading profession by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.
- Release Date
- November 14, 2014
- Director
- Alejandro González Iñárritu
- Runtime
- 119 minutes
- Main Genre
- Comedy
- Writers
- Alejandro González Iñárritu , Nicolás Giacobone , Alexander Dinelaris , Armando Bo
- Studio
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
- Tagline
- Or…The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance
Rent on Amazon
1 ‘Mulholland Drive’ (2001)
Directed by David Lynch
Mulholland Drive is a single of the defining masterpieces of David Lynch’s profession, but the film’s accomplishment hinges on Watts’ awesome lead efficiency. The haunting surrealist film stars Watts as an ambitious actress who ventures to Hollywood in order to reach her dream of getting a film star her views on the sector are abruptly challenged when she starts experiencing nightmares and witnessing supernatural creatures. It serves as a clever satire of how distinctive the planet of filmmaking is from the sunny outlook that the sector likes to present.
Mulholland Drive is a film that is so packed with hidden particulars that fans have watched it various occasions in order to establish what it genuinely signifies like all Lynch films, its purposefully unclear in the most effective strategies. However, Watts’ empathetic efficiency guarantees that the practical experience of watching Mulholland Drive is just as emotionally stimulating as it is thoughts-boggling.
Mulholland Drive
After a automobile wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a lady amnesiac, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
- Release Date
- June 6, 2001
- Director
- David Lynch
- Runtime
- 147 minutes
- Main Genre
- Crime
- Writers
- David Lynch
- Studio
- Universal Pictures
- Tagline
- A like story in the city of dreams
Watch on The Criterion Channel
