This Thursday, Brad Pitt returns to the silver screen in Fury, seeing Pitt revisit World War II – last being seen there in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. As we anticipate the film, we wanted to reflect on seven of our favourite Brad Pitt performances over the years, counting you down from 7 to 1…
Legends of the Fall (1994)
While Legends of the Fall may have been a bit too melodramatic in its ridiculously long timeline, Brad Pitt still worked with what he had to appropriately play into the sentimental atmosphere of the film. His performance as the more likable of the three brothers had that emotional depth which would see him soar in subsequent roles. – Chris Singh
Moneyball (2011)
A baseball movie that mostly takes place in an office, Pitt’s nuanced performance anchors this cerebral sports drama and deservedly earned him his second Oscar nomination for Best Actor. – Alexandra Donald
Fight Club (1999)
No list of best Brad Pitt performances would be complete without David Fincher’s acclaimed adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel. In the film Pitt stars alongside the brilliant Edward Norton as Tyler Durden, a character who becomes something of a cult hero with a love of soap, Helena Bonham Carter and a hell of a lot of underground fighting. – Larry Heath
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Unlike Legends of the Fall, this epic, decade-spanning drama managed to give us a journey with no cheesy, melodramatic fuss. The unique plot and engaging characters held our interest for three hours, but it was thanks to Brad Pitt and his charming, poignant performance that the case of Benjamin Button moved us all. – Chris Singh
Snatch (2000)
Brad Pitt’s performance in Guy Pearce’s iconic, gritty UK film as a “pikey” is one of Pitt’s most underrated performances. His often unintelligible performance as bare knuckle boxing champion “Mickey” is the highlight of the film, a character who’s both hilarious and understandably terrifying. It showed that Pitt doesn’t need to be the main character, nor make any sense, to steal a film. – Larry Heath
The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Released in the same year as There Will Be Blood, and No Country for Old Men, this divisive Western epic was largely forgotten upon its release but has since been hailed by cinephiles as a masterpiece. Playing one of America’s most notorious criminals to chilling effect, Pitt has cited Jesse James as one of his favourite roles. – Alexandra Donald
Se7en (1995)
Brad Pitt as a no-nonsense detective who begins to fall apart towards the end is brilliant in this classic thriller. The shocking twist at the end was his crowning scene here, with equal parts rage and horror tearing at him. – Chris Singh
—
Fury is released in Australian cinemas this Thursday, October 23rd.
———-
