Acting is a beautiful profession. During what audiences experience as maybe a couple of hours, performers are capable of creating new and distinct beings pretty much out of thin air. Different performances may have different kinds of effects; for instance, some are absolutely soul-crushing.
From very early in the history of cinema, like with Maria Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc, to much more recently like with Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea, viewers throughout the world have been subjected to numerous performances so masterful that the pain and sadness emanating from them is almost palpable.
A Man Brought to His Breaking Point — Mads Mikkelsen in 'The Hunt' (2012)
Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg presented a gut-wrenching portrait of injustice and hypocrisy in The Hunt, about a lonely teacher called Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) whose life is brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.
For much of the duration of The Hunt, Mikkelsen's performance isn't directly heartbreaking; rather, it's the things that happen to his character that make the whole affair so frustratingly sad. As the film progresses and Lucas nears his breaking point, though, Mikkelsen's acting becomes explosive, cementing his performance as one of the most masterful of the 2010s.
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Purchased Zoloft — Casey Affleck in 'Manchester by the Sea' (2016)
Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea, about a man who has to return to his hometown to care for his teenage nephew after his older brother passes away, is one of the saddest films of the past few years.
Part of what makes the experience so painful is Casey Affleck's lead performance. He stars opposite Michelle Williams, who also delivers a heart-rending impersonation of a depressed character, but Affleck is the biggest scene-stealer in the movie and causes great anguish in viewers, which earned him an Academy Award.
The Twisted Love of A Mother — Mo'Nique in 'Precious' (2009)
Maybe one of the most harrowing films ever made, Precious is the story of a Harlem teenager, illiterate and a victim of domestic violence, and how she's invited to a school that just might help change her life.
Gabourey Sidibe is stunning in the lead role, but it's hard to argue that Mo'Nique steals the spotlight every time she's on-screen. Her character is masterfully written, and combined with her amazing performance, she becomes the core of the film, proving that comedians are more than capable of delivering completely convincing dramatic turns.
All the Manic Cage-isms Up To 11 — Nicolas Cage in 'Leaving Las Vegas' (1995)
Leaving Las Vegas is most popular for being the movie that finally gave Nicolas Cage an Oscar win, but it's so much more than just that. It's a haunting film about an alcoholic screenwriter who travels to Las Vegas planning to drink himself to death.
This is one of the most distressing movies about addiction, in no small measure thanks to Cage's outstanding performance. He's the perfect actor for the lead role since the exaggerated mannerisms and expressive outbursts that he's known for highlight the character's personality. It's beyond tough to see him go on a downward spiral, hoping senselessly that he'll see reason.
Old Childhood Wounds Brought to Light — Liv Ullmann in 'Autumn Sonata' (1978)
Swedish writer-director Ingmar Bergman is known for getting beautiful, raw, often poignant performances out of his actors, and in Autumn Sonata, about an estranged mother who arrives to visit her daughter, there are two of the best.
Hollywood legend Ingrid Bergman (who got an Oscar nomination for this movie) is fantastic as the strict and critical mother, but the criminally underrated Liv Ullmann is the true emotional core of the movie. She beautifully plays a daughter full of old wounds and traumas; her acting is quiet and subdued but not any less painful to watch because of it.
Hitting Rock Bottom — Adrien Brody in 'The Pianist' (2002)
One of the best WWII movies ever made, The Pianist, is a two-and-a-half-hour-long biopic about a Jewish musician called Władysław Szpilman who struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II.
Adrien Brody plays Szpilman, and his Oscar-winning performance is the most gut-wrenching part of an already gut-wrenching movie. His physical transformation is admirable, but where the real power of his acting comes from is from his masterful body language and facial expressions.
Craving the Happiness That She Can't Have — Gena Rowlands in 'A Woman Under the Influence' (1974)
John Cassavetes's A Woman Under the Influence is the sorrowful story of Mabel, whose husband Nick commits her to an institution for six months when her behavior grows unstable and volatile.
Gena Rowlands (who was married to Cassavetes until his death) plays Mabel, and hers is undoubtedly one of the greatest acting performances ever. Her portrayal of a woman suffering from mental illness is sensitive and compassionate, which allows her to make Mabel a deeply tragic character.
The Subject of a Renaissance Painting — Maria Falconetti in 'The Passion of Joan of Arc' (1928)
This silent French Impressionist film, which often looks like a hauntingly gorgeous Renaissance painting, depicts the last moments of the 15th-century martyr Joan of Arc in a way as harrowing as it is uplifting.
Maria Falconetti plays Joan in what some call the greatest female performance of all time. Her glassy, expressive eyes; her careful movements denoting the utmost fear and frustration; her devastating gestures of distress... Everything about her performance is tormenting, and it's largely why the film has aged so well.
She Just Wanted to Be On TV — Ellen Burstyn in 'Requiem for a Dream' (2000)
Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream is a devastating film about how the drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people come crashing down when their addiction takes hold.
Ellen Burstyn losing the Oscar for Best Leading Actress is still remembered as one of the greatest travesties in the history of the awards. Her character of Sara Goldfarb, a widow addicted to pills who dreams of being on TV, is a real tearjerker. She's the most relatable and sympathetic character of the whole movie, which makes watching her fall victim to her addictions all the more devastating.
The True Nightmare That Is War — Aleksey Kravchenko in 'Come and See' (1985)
There is hardly a more horrifying film than Come and See, about a teen who joins the Soviet Resistance against German forces during WWII, experiencing all the horror of the war through his innocent eyes.
Aleksey Kravchenko, the lead, was astonishingly only 16 at the time of the film's release, yet his performance is easily the most disturbing ever to hit the silver screen. The way he twists and contorts his face and shows the dreadful void behind his character's eyes is so raw and shocking that he sometimes doesn't even look human. Come And See is not for those that scare easily, but if you have the stomach for a truly perturbing movie, then it's an obligatory watch.