Jennifer Lawrence returns to the big screen this weekend in Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love, a film that is garnering the actress amazing reviews and is generating considerable Oscar buzz. This is a position that Lawrence has found herself in before, having won once for Best Actress while landing three other nominations. She’s arguably one of the best actresses of her generation, and she has been missed since we saw her last on our screens in 2023’s No Hard Feelings. With Die My Love signaling her big return, it’s time to dive into Jennifer Lawrence’s five best performances ever.
Honorable Mention: No Hard Feelings (2023) as Maddie Barker
No Hard Feelings makes the cut as an honorable mention because Lawrence appearing in a sex comedy wasn’t on my bingo card, but not only did she add one to her filmography, but she did one that harkened back to the sex comedies of the past while becoming one of the best we’ve had in recent memory. Directed by Gene Stupnitsky from a screenplay he co-wrote with John Phillips, No Hard Feelings follows Maddie Barker (Lawrence), a woman who finds herself hired by a wealthy couple to date and have sex with their sexually inexperienced son, Percy Becker (Andrew Barth Feldman).
While the premise sounds a bit tawdry, No Hard Feelings has a considerable amount of heart to go along with some of the raunch on display. It’s Lawrence who makes most of it work thanks to her considerable comedic and dramatic chops, with the actress going all the way in terms of physical comedy while finding the right amount of heart to make her scenes with Feldman really work. Their chemistry is a mix of awkward and ultimately something very sweet as lessons are learned for both characters. The performance earned Lawrence a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical and it was much deserved because the movie showcased that Lawrence is both a gifted comedic and dramatic actress.
5. The Hunger Games Franchise (2012-2015) as Katniss Everdeen
The Hunger Games franchise proves that Lawrence can also be at ease and have a commanding screen presence in big-screen blockbusters. As she was garnering acclaim in films such as Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, Lawrence took on the role of Katniss Everdeen in the adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s dystopian young-adult novels, and her performances across the films elevated the material beyond box-office cash grabs. As Katniss, Lawrence portrays a young woman forced into an elaborate televised reality show in which adolescents from the 12 Districts of Panem fight to the death.
The first film was directed by Gary Ross, while the remaining entries were helmed by Francis Lawrence, but what each director found in Lawrence was an unshakable strength and maturity that she brought to the role of Katniss. She’s able to capture her vulnerability but also her heroism across all of the installments. There is a growth in the role that Lawrence demonstrates with ease, proving that despite these films being big tentpoles that are based on popular source material, she can give a performance with nuance and skill that rises it above its popcorn movie sensibilities.
4. American Hustle (2013) as Rosalyn Rosenfeld
American Hustle continued Lawrence’s work with director David O. Russell, the first of which earned her a Best Actress Academy Award for her work in Silver Linings Playbook. Her performance in American Hustle carries a lot of weight because she was only 23 years old when the movie was shot, but she exudes a maturity in the role that was clearly tailored for someone much older than her.
Directed by O’Russell from a screenplay he co-wrote with Eric Warren Singer, American Hustle is inspired by the FBI Abscam operation of the late ’70s and early ’80s and follows two con artists who are forced by the FBI to set up a sting operation on corrupt politicians. Lawrence portrays Christian Bale’s sassy and very unpredictable wife, Rosalyn, and more than holds her own alongside a heavyweight of his stature as well as her more established co-stars at the time, including Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, and Jeremy Renner.
Given the fact that Lawrence was young when she made the film, she could’ve easily looked like she was playing dress up and could’ve gotten lost in the shuffle, but her screen presence in American Hustle is absolutely magnetic. When she explodes the microwave and declares that it’s the “science oven,” Lawrence displays a comedic wackiness that the audience can’t take their eyes off of, and makes Rosalyn an instant scene stealer. She brings an energy and ferocity to her performance that made her Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress a no-brainer. Sometimes age doesn’t matter for the role when you have the necessary chops to make the character transcend your actual age and make the audience believe by simply disappearing completely in the performance.
3. Mother! (2017) as mother
Full disclosure: I’m not a fan of Darren Aronofsky’s psychological horror film Mother! but I am a fan of Lawrence’s performance in the film because you can tell she’s giving every ounce of herself in the role to the point of mental and physical exhaustion. Written and directed by Aronofsky, Mother! follows a young woman who finds her life with her husband (Javier Bardem) turned upside down following the arrival of a mysterious couple (Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer) at their country home. Mother! is an acquired taste, and while some of the film does offer up some compelling ideas and worthwhile technical flourishes, it ultimately doesn’t live up to Aronofsky’s ambitions and becomes a bit of a muddled mess.
That being said, Lawrence has to run most of this outlandish show, and she does so with gusto. If you want an example of an actress rising to the occasion, Mother! provides an excellent example as Lawrence has to convey the growing sense of a nightmare come to life through her vivid performance. The film gradually becomes a descent into madness, and Lawrence is on the ride every step of the way. The movie might not be for me, but with Mother! Lawrence proved how far she is willing to go for a role, and it’s nothing short of remarkable, even if she has to go to some ugly places.
2. Winter’s Bone (2010) as Ree Dolly
Winter’s Bone is the film that broke out Lawrence in a big way, earning her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination and cementing her as a young actress to watch. Directed by Debra Granik from a screenplay she co-wrote with Anne Rosellini, Winter’s Bone is an adaptation of the 2006 novel of the same name by Daniel Woodrell, and it follows a poverty-stricken teenager named Ree who has to locate her missing father for her family to avoid being homeless. At just 20, Lawrence showcased a natural performance style in Winter’s Bone that captured Ree’s intelligence and moral bravery as she set out on a mission to find her runaway criminal father in order to save the rest of her family.
Lawrence is a revelation here, conveying Ree’s hope and courage in the face of some pretty troubling tribulations that ultimately lead to an unsettling finale. Throughout it all, Lawrence’s performance displays an unwavering optimism, but it’s forceful when necessary. As an actress, Lawrence is tasked with carrying much of the film’s emotional weight, and she does so with a commanding skill that was beyond her age at the time. Winter’s Bone was a small film but thankfully, the Academy didn’t ignore Lawrence’s starmaking turn here.
1. Silver Linings Playbook (2012) as Tiffany Maxwell
Winter’s Bone may have been Lawrence’s arrival, but Silver Linings Playbook was a shining example that she was here to stay. Written and directed by David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook is based on Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel of the same name and follows Patrizio “Pat” Solitano Jr. (Bradley Cooper), a man suffering from bipolar disorder who is released from a psychiatric hospital and has to move in with his parents. While trying to rekindle things with his estranged wife, Pat meets a young widow named Tiffany Maxwell (Lawrence), who offers to help him get the spark back with his former love if he enters a dance competition. In true romantic comedy fashion, with some drama mixed in for good measure,
Pat and Tiffany grow closer as they train the film becomes an examination of the relationship that gives the movie its beating heart. Lawrence’s performance here displays once again that she has a knack for portraying complex and vulnerable characters, portraying someone immensely damaged yet managing to access a likability within all of the madness. It’s a deeply grounded and human performance that allows Lawrence to play comedy, raw emotion, and sincere emotional depth, which comes out frequently in her scenes with Cooper.
The two share an effortless chemistry, giving their moments together a dynamic range that makes it impossible to turn away from them as their two troubled characters grow closer. Lawrence is wonderfully manic and yet completely authentic in her portrayal of Tiffany, a performance that earned her a much-deserved Best Actress Oscar for her efforts.
Die My Love is now playing in select theaters.
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