A Goop-y Top Ten
Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 10:22AM 
Gwyneth Paltrow in "The Politician" | © Netflix
"I wish you well," whispered Gwyneth Paltrow to Terry Sanderson, who had just lost his suit against the star. That passive-aggressive bit of politeness was a masterful coup de grace, the cherry on top of a gossip sundae that set social media atwitter. Though the year isn't half over, Paltrow already seems like one of 2023 defining personalities, at least as far as celebrity fodder is concerned. From bone broth-based scorn to tabloid queen, Paltrow's image couldn't be more malleable, nor the internet more obsessed with her. And yet, all this furor can inspire sadness in those who admire the Oscar-winnning nepo baby as an actress rather than just as a media sensation.
In the past decade, Gwyneth Paltrow has been consciously uncoupling from the movie business, the GOOP empire taking over all other concerns. Regardless of how problematic her company's actions might be, there's a yearning for the days when we could discuss Paltrow's performances rather than the explosive qualities of her vagina-scented candles. With that in mind, and since coming up with that Angela Bassett top ten was so fun, here's a list of favorite Gwyneth Paltrow performances. May it be a reminder of what a smashing thespian she can be…
First things first, like the Bassett write-up, this will be unranked. Then, continuing down the road of similarities between the two pieces, only theatrical productions are considered. That means no Glee, though that's one of Gwyneth Paltrow's top achievements, probably her best purely comedic turn. In other words, the Emmy victory was well deserved. So with that out of the way, let's get into it.
FLESH AND BONE (1993) Steve Kloves
One of Paltrow's first major roles finds her in the role of a troubled teen cum adolescent grifter. From the moment she shows up, purloining some goods while hiding behind sunglasses, there's a magnetic quality to the actress's presence allied to some vague awkwardness about her person. Though tough-acting, you can feel the bruises littered through an unspoken past, the darkness lurking behind the blunt audacity. Paltrow's complicated dynamic with James Caan is especially impressive and probably part of why the young performer nabbed herself an NSFC nomination.
Flesh and Bone is streaming on Amazon Prime, Paramount Plus, and MGM+.
SE7EN (1995) David Fincher
All about projecting a fundamental wrongness unto apparent mundanity, Paltrow's brief performance in Se7en is a masterclass in making every minute count. Even before her little tête-à-tête with Morgan Freeman, we're made to feel the cracks in the façade, a deep dissatisfaction echoing within a hollow smile. Timidity shines through, as does a disquieting fragility, making her seem like a doll made of the finest porcelain. She's prone to shatter as the city's darkness wraps around her, a fist of shadow. Because of Paltrow, we feel the tragedy of Tracy Mills in our bones.
Se7en is streaming on HBO Max.
HARD EIGHT (1996) Paul Thomas Anderson
If I were to rank these favorites from Paltrow performances, her sole stint in PTA's cinema would likely be in first-place. I've written about it before when reviewing Hard Eight, and Nick Taylor penned the definitive analysis on this genius bit of actressing. Go read those pieces, watch the picture, give Paltrow a fair chance, and dare to say she's a lousy actress ever again.
Hard Eight is streaming on Paramount Plus and Pluto TV.
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998) John Madden
Was Gwyneth Paltrow the most deserving of the five Best Actress nominees of 1998? No - Fernanda Montenegro should've won. Is she a bad winner or genuinely deserving of the shade thrown at her over it for decades now? Also no. She enters the picture in a haze of spectator's bliss, embodying a surrender to romance that verges on the delirious. While keeping that tenor throughout, she adds new notes with each plot development, tackling them with sincerity no matter how ludicrous they might seem. Coming to combine the ideas of a devoted fan and artistic muse, she further performs a negotiation between the limitations of Elizabethan society and her innate modernity, not to mention the cross-dressing ruse.
Shakespeare in Love is streaming on Showtime
THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (1999) Anthony Minghella
By the sunny shores of Italy, she's a vision of moneyed insouciance, arm candy to Jude Law's dangerous beauty. But, wait, there's a tension there from the beginning, manifesting as period mannerism before it blossoms into heartbreak and, finally, cold panic. Serving Hitchcock blonde realness with a nervy twist, Gwyneth Paltrow aces her final scenes. In some ways, she also throws a bucket of ice water over an audience that might be getting a little bit too allied with the titular killer, if not infatuated. Through her fear, we glimpse the monster.
The Talented Mr. Ripley is streaming on Amazon Prime and Paramount Plus
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (2001) Wes Anderson
As the nine-fingered Margot Tenenbaum, Gwyneth Paltrow is sour-faced perfection, attuning herself to Anderson's wavelength like few actors have ever done. Moreover, the performance isn't a procession of striking poses and dry line deliveries. Well, it is that, but there's modulation to the exercise, especially as the comedy shades the character's life-long dissatisfactions, shining a light into the murkiness with a forbidden romance. As the clouds part and that sullenness gives way to hope, even if only for a heartbeat, one senses the jolt of revelation.
The Royal Tenenbaums is available to rent or purchase on most of the major platforms.
SYLVIA (2003) Christine Jeffs
It's fitting for Sylvia Plath to be the basis for Paltrow's most cerebral performance. Nevertheless, to only consider the work in matters of intuited intelligence would be reductive, for there's a galaxy of other forces working there. Despair gets articulated with sobering style, but it's always interwoven with a mind problematizing itself and trying to find ways of expressing it. She wants to get out without getting lost but somehow never finds a way. Hers is an anti-biopic treatment of a famous personality, rejecting iconography to simply slip into the character with little affectation and no out-of-place mannerism. It's an acting tour-de-force that never begs to be noticed within a tifling picture, an unspectacular spectacle that surprises you every step of the way.
Sadly, Sylvia is not currently streaming anywhere. However, the film is available on physical media and is worth a watch.
TWO LOVERS (2008) James Gray
Paltrow's take on a Dostoyevsky figure as philtered through James Gray's imagination lives in contradiction. There's magnetism to her presence, as there often is, but a wall separates our gaze from the character's interiority. An object of desire wearing a shroud of alienation, the woman she conjures is a puzzle asking to be solved while pushing you away at the same time. She's passion's tender kiss and the cruelty of rejection wrapped into one gesture. No wonder Paltrow's Michelle inspires such fascination out of Joaquin Phoenix's Leonard. No wonder she provokes such pain.
Two Lovers is streaming on Amazon Prime, Hulu, Peacock, and other platforms.
CONTAGION (2011) Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh understands the power of celebrity better than any of his Hollywood contemporaries. Consider his stunt casting of Paltrow as Contagion's patient zero, a veritable stroke of genius. In flashes of deteriorating health, the actress sketches a woman with a secret helplessly losing herself to sickness, the grim reaper breathing down her neck right from the film's first clammy close-up. If this pandemic story is a horror movie, Paltrow is an opening kill fit for the scream-queen pantheon.
Contagion is streaming on HBO Max.
IRON MAN THREE (2013) Shane Black
Though she has likely forgotten most of her involvement in the MCU, Paltrow's Pepper Potts was a bright spot in the early movies, sometimes even a saving grace. Her role reached its apotheosis in what may be the closest a Marvel movie can come to underappreciated. Her romcom spark with Downey Jr. makes one wonder what a screwball Gwyneth would look like, while the picture's climax proves she can be one hell of an unlikely action star.
Iron Man Three is streaming on Disney+.
What about you, dear reader? What are your favorite Gwyneth performances?
Reader Comments (21)
I'm not into her hawking stuff like some souped up Avon Lady that no-one but the one per cent can possibly afford but i've always found her to be a very good actress.
Co-sign on everything you wrote,she's great also as a sulky student in Malice which is the first film I saw her in.
Wish I could get hold of Hard Eight
Quite good in Bounce and has only Affleck to play off so she deserves some credit.
Glad you singled out Sylvia as it is long forgotten in her filmography but she's wonderful in it,her scenes with Jared Harris are her best,deserved a spot on the dreadful 2003 Best Actress line up except Theron.
You missed Proof didn't you like her in it,she would have made a good 2005 nominee,her jojoba line in the film is quite ironic now.
I think she came over just as many people thought she would,why did her hair look green though on the witness stand,is she washing it in kale.
I NEED Gwyneth the Actress to return - she's so effortlessly charismatic, but she also has really good instincts and can make some really surprising choices feel natural. I've been having a mini-goop film festival since the trial ended and will probably check off some of my blind spots from this list. This did result in me watching Two Lovers for the first time last night. I gasped when the glance from the above screencap happened. Also, that's a great film - it would be cool for her to reteam with James Gray.
I'll always defend her Shakespeare in Love performance, but I think she's quite fun in Sky Captain - I love that film's style and always enjoy it when it pops up on cable or a streaming service.
She was the Judy Holiday of 1998 against Fernanda’s Swanson and Cate’s Davis. I agree with you: definitely not a bad winner and I also defend her performance and the movie (my favorite BP was The Thin Red Line and actress Cate Blanchett, but I can’t be mad at Shakespeare in Love at all).
My other favorites of hers are Tenenbauns and Ripley. Out of your list, I think Emma is pretty good too.
Sliding Doors! So re-watchable.
I have never not liked her.
Sylvia I think is Paltrow at her peak as an actress as I was just drawn by her anguish. I know Paltrow is polarizing as an actress/person but come on.... you have to admit. The moment in Avengers: Endgame where she lands on the ground and sort of unmasks herself in that Iron suit as Rescue. That was fucking cool as I remember hearing cheers for that. Plus, Tony and Pepper had that moment of them kicking some fucking ass.
I was obsessed with Great Expectations (1998) and every time her name comes up my memory flashes to that painting and the soundtrack. It's indelible. I also enjoyed her in Sliding Doors, Ripley and Country Strong - which I could never settle my thoughts on.
I hated Contagion end to end.
"i know it was you" from ripley is my favourite scene of hers but margot tenenbaum is my favourite performance ["it's helen"]
Dear Paltrow,
So interesting, so sweet, so talented and full of haters.
She's pure fascination!
In a perfect word, she should be in her 5th Oscar nomination: "Shakespeare in Love", "The Talented Mr. Ripley", "The Royal Tenembaums", "Proof" and "Two Lovers".
And I'm not counting "Sylvia" and "Country Strong".
Haters gonna hate.
Paltrow gonna shine. ✨️✨️✨️❤️
I absolutely loathe her and what she represents. I truly hate people who play doctor/scientist without knowing anything and call it "wellness" or "beauty". I seriously don't understand how people follow her blindly and her elitist lifestyle for sale.
That said, she used to be a really good actress. Her performance in Royal Tenenbaums 100% deserved to be nominated and maybe even win. Did she deserve to win for Shakespeare in Love? No, she did not.We all know that Oscar was for Fernanda Montenegro. But it's not a bad performance either.
Yes, thank you for this! I haven't seen all of these, but I agree she's a terrific actress, however one feels about her as a person.
I recently rewatched one of her scenes in Talented Mr. Ripley (where Marge confronts - and narrowly escapes - Tom), and my god, she is SO good in it. Riveting. Terrified and terrifying as the truth starts to dawn on her.
And ditto for Two Lovers, which I still think is James Gray's best film.
And thank you, G Shaq, for reminding me of Great Expectations - I thought I was the only one who liked that film! I really do think it's underrated, but I also think Paltrow was by far the best thing in it. She really nails the hot/cold siren quality of her character.
Sylvia truly has been memory-holed into “this had Oscar buzz,” but her performance is outstanding — probably her best true dramatic essay. A close second is Ripley, a much better film overall, and she is perfect in it. Not sure how the stylization in Tenenbaums has held up, but it’s probably one of her most iconic performances, if nothing else.
Infamous.
“Kitty Dean” is one of the best cameos ever.
PROOF. She stood toe to toe with Anthony Hopkins. It's a great underseen performance.
PROOF is one of her best performances.
I remember being underwhelmed by Sylvia, but it's been a very long time since I've seen it.
She really can be a terrific actress, it must be said. I agree with Joe about Proof--she is excellent in it, and I think it's easily one of her best performances.
I wonder if she'll ever really return to acting? She seems uninterested and there seems to be such widespread dislike of her that I imagine at this point if might be hard for her to get a really good role even if she wanted one.
Iron Man 3 is probably the most underrated (and bravest) MCU film to date... the Mandarin/Ben Laden fake out (and its implications on a second reading) is a stroke of genius.
While I'm not the biggest fan of her Oscar win, I do really love her as an actress and screen presence. Even in projects that are ho-hum, she does a nice job of being watchable and interesting. She sometimes makes surprising choices that show real depth. I really wish she would return. I even watched her most recent work in the Politician and thought she was pretty great (and emmy worthy) there.
However, I'm not sure what types of projects she would take on if she were to return to film. I'd love to see her in some indies, or even a mid-budget non-romantic comedy or drama. I'd also be curious to see her and Anderson or James Grey team up again.
If Shakespeare in Love dominated without Weinstein's aggressive tactics, I imagine no one would quibble about its wins at all.
I think that movie is fantastic, just soft enough that it's easy for people to undervalue and hate on.
I have always thought she was a deserving winner, too. This idea that someone doesn't "deserve" an Oscar is a bit silly anyway... If they got the Oscar, clearly they deserved it. There's no right or wrong ultimately -- the Academy chooses who they choose. Art is subjective anyway.
I appreciate her warmth and depth as an actress.
I definitely see her returning at some point with another nomination. Maybe Helen Hunt style, supporting role in an indie film. She won't have the most extensive filmography, but she has at least a couple more interesting performances in her -- she just needs the opportunity.
And with all this unnecessary media hoopla and the long break from acting, a "Gwyneth, the ACTRESS" comeback narrative would be too juicy to ignore.
It's a small detail, but a personal pet peeve: I wish more writers understood that you don't get "nominated" for the major critics awards, despite what Wikipedia says. Gwyneth Paltrow is just someone who got votes from the National Society of Film Critics for Flesh and Bone. There were no nominees.
Anyway - wish she'd continued acting. She's been so great in so many things (Ripley and Tenenbaums being my favorites).
She and what she stands for are totally repugnant to me. I abhor anyone who pretends to be a doctor or scientist and calls anything "wellness" or "beauty" while knowing nothing about it. I genuinely don't get how people blindly adhere to her and the aristocratic lifestyle she promotes bonuses here She was, however, a tremendously talented actor in the past. She absolutely deserved to be nominated and could even win for the Royal Tenenbaums she performed in. She won for Shakespeare in Love, but did she deserve it? Undoubtedly not.We all know that Fernanda Montenegro won the Oscar. But it's also not a poor performance.