Spoiler Warning for The Batman
While many young actors are trying to get their break in Hollywood by starring coming-of-age or young-adult movies, Barry Keoghan is one of the unique actors in the industry who are continuously choosing edgy movies one after another and along the way he is proving his acting chops to almost every person in the world. The Irish actor recently appeared in Marvel superhero flick Eternals and then he took on the role Batman’s most famous villain the Joker in the new Matt Reeves film The Batman. The young actor has worked with a lot of accomplished directors in the industry like he worked with Christopher Nolan on Dunkirk and he also worked with Yorgos Lanthimos on The Killing of a Sacred Deer. So, if you think you are also slowly becoming a fan of this guy check out these 10 movies that are absolutely his best.
10. Light Thereafter
Synopsis: Light Thereafter is an exploration of the complex mind of an emotionally volatile and socially alienated young man, Pavel, who sets across Europe in search of his idol, the enigmatic painter Arnaud. Desperately lonely and adrift, Pavel tries to adhere to the host of characters he meets along the way – a journey that ultimately leads him on a path of self-discovery.
9. Eternals
Synopsis: Marvel Studios’ “Eternals” welcomes an exciting new team of Super Heroes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The epic story, spanning thousands of years, features a group of immortal heroes forced out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s oldest enemy, The Deviants. The outstanding ensemble cast includes Richard Madden as the all-powerful Ikaris, Gemma Chan as humankind-loving Sersi, Kumail Nanjiani as cosmic-powered Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as the super-fast Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as the intelligent inventor Phastos, Salma Hayek as the wise and spiritual leader Ajak, Lia McHugh as the eternally young, old-soul Sprite, Don Lee as the powerful Gilgamesh, Barry Keoghan as aloof loner Druig, and Angelina Jolie as the fierce warrior Thena. Kit Harington plays Dane Whitman.
8. Black ’47
Synopsis: One man’s ruthless pursuit of justice plays out against the darkest chapter of Irish history in this riveting revenge thriller. In 1847, a battle-hardened soldier (James Frecheville) deserts the British army to return home to Ireland, only to find his family decimated and his country ravaged beyond recognition by the Great Famine. With Hugo Weaving, Jim Broadbent, Stephen Rea and Freddie Fox.
7. Mammal
Synopsis: Margaret, a forty year old single woman living in Dublin, learns that her 18 year old son, who she left as a baby, has been found dead. Enduring this unsettling grief privately, Margaret escapes daily to the local swimming pool. One day at the pool she runs into Joe, a homeless youth she took care of late one night when she found him injured outside the charity shop she manages. Margaret offers Joe a room in her house and soon finds herself experimenting with motherhood on him. Margaret’s ex-husband, Matt, starts to turn up randomly in her life. He pursues her to feed his grief and for a time, out of guilt, she complies. As Margaret and Joe’s mutual reliance grows they begin to confuse the boundaries between parental affection and sexual intimacy. Their tentative trust is threatened by the escalation of Matt’s grieving rage and Joe’s involvement with a gang of violent youths.
6. Calm With Horses
Synopsis: Ex-boxer Douglas ‘Arm’ Armstrong (Cosmo Jarvis, LADY MACBETH, PEAKY BLINDERS) is the faithful and violent right-hand man to the drug-dealing Devers clan, ready to dole out beatings at the whim of his best friend, and the family’s unpredictable protégé, Dympna (Barry Keoghan, DUNKIRK, AMERICAN ANIMALS). Arm’s struggle to find his place in the world has consequences on his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Ursula (Niamh Algar, THE VIRTUES, THE LAST RIGHT) as she strives to find a better life for herself and their young son Jack. Torn between these two families, Arm’s loyalties are tested when he is asked to kill for the first time.
5. ’71
Synopsis: A young British soldier is accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, and increasingly wary of his own comrades, the raw recruit must survive the night alone and find his way to safety through a disorientating, alien and deadly landscape.
4. The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Synopsis: Dr. Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon presiding over a spotless household with his ophthalmologist wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) and their two exemplary children, 12-year-old Bob (Sunny Suljic) and 14-year-old Kim (Raffey Cassidy). Lurking at the margins of his idyllic suburban existence is Martin (Barry Keoghan), a fatherless teen who Steven has covertly taken under his wing. As Martin begins insinuating himself into the family’s life in ever-more unsettling displays, the full scope of his intent becomes menacingly clear when he confronts Steven with a long-forgotten transgression that will shatter the Murphy family’s domestic bliss. Lanthimos has crafted a sensational thriller brimming with unsettling humor and creeping dread, steeped in Greek tragedy, existential horror, Hitchcockian psychodrama, and riveting suspense. Darting confidently between genres to subvert our expectations at every turn, The Killing of a Sacred Deer firmly cements Lanthimos in the pantheon of world-class auteurs and marks him as a cinematic provocateur without precedent.
3. American Animals
Synopsis: The extraordinary and thrilling true story of four friends living an ordinary existence who brazenly attempt to execute one of the most audacious art heists in US history. But not everything is as it seems, and as the daring theft unfolds through each of their perspectives, each of them start to question whether their attempts to inject excitement and purpose into their lives is simply a misguided attempt at achieving the American Dream.
2. Dunkirk
Synopsis: “Dunkirk” opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in. “Dunkirk” features a prestigious cast, including Tom Hardy (“The Revenant,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Inception”), Mark Rylance (“Bridge of Spies,” “Wolf Hall”), Kenneth Branagh (“My Week with Marilyn,” “Hamlet,” “Henry V”) and Cillian Murphy (“Inception,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy), as well as newcomer Fionn Whitehead. The ensemble cast also includes Aneurin Barnard, Harry Styles, James D’Arcy, Jack Lowden, Barry Keoghan and Tom Glynn-Carney.
1. The Green Knight
Synopsis: An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur’s reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom by facing the ultimate challenger. From visionary filmmaker David Lowery comes a fresh and bold spin on a classic tale from the knights of the round table.
