Best Colin Farrell Performances, From Total Recall to Miami Vice

Colin Farrell is one of the most recognizable Irish actors in the world. He caught Hollywood’s attention starring in Tigerland, and has gone on to critical acclaim in movies such as Horrible Bosses and Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report. He has become part of big movie franchises like the Harry Potter universe, and he has also joined the DC universe playing The Penguin in Matt Reeves’s The Batman, landing his own spin off show for HBO Max as well. There’s a reason why there’s a lot of buzz around the Irishman. To prove it, let’s take a look at some of his achievements.

The Beguiled (2017)

Miss Martha Farnsworth (Nicole Kidman), the headteacher of a Virginian all-girls school, decides to take in a wounded Union Army deserter, Corporal John McBurney (Colin Farrell). Miss Farnsworth hides the corporal from visiting Confederate soldiers, and soon all five students and both teachers start to vie for the handsome soldier’s affections. When healed, it becomes clear that the corporal not only lacks honor within the army, he also lacks honor with the ladies, and the wrath of the whole household is surreptitiously unleashed onto their oblivious guest.

The Beguiled is an American Southern Gothic movie set in the troubling conflict of the Civil War. Directed by Sophia Coppola, it is the second adaptation of Thomas P. Cullinan’s novel. It’s a slow-burn period thriller that tips from salvation at the opening of the movie, to dark and unsettling revenge at the close. Farrell plays a coward that is unscrupulously charming and absolutely untrustworthy with complete gusto.

Seven Psychopaths (2012)

Marty Faranan (Colin Farrell) is a screenwriter struggling for clarity whilst writing his new idea in Seven Psychopaths. His best friend Billy Bickle (Sam Rockwell), a full time dog thief who returns the dogs for their rewards, acts as Marty’s muse. When the wrong dog is stolen, a Shih Tzu belonging to a violent gangster, Charlie Costello (Woody Harrelson), Billy becomes even more inspirational, leading to a trail of carnage and a final desert shoot-out over the dog. Marty uses these ‘real-life’ events for his script, but in doing so finds out that his best friend might actually be a real psychopath after all.

With sharp dialogue, comic-book violence, and a story that spirals out of control with Farrell at the helm, Seven Psychopaths is proper entertainment. Harrelson is hilarious as a gangster in love with his abducted dog. Rockwell is supercharged throughout most of the movie, and although Farrell puts his character, Marty, through the emotional pepper mill he manages to keep the tone of the movie from losing its feet, without entering the realms of ridiculous.

Total Recall (2012)

The Earth is almost in ruin. Factory worker Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), has dreams of being a secret agent. Tired of building robots that police what’s left of the planet, Quaid visits Rekall, a company that offers artificial memories, and opts for the secret agent implant. Instead, real secret agent memories are revealed and Quaid’s assassin-like skills surface to help him escape. Not knowing who he is, or what he is, Quaid goes on the run to find answers. Everyone he knows is against him, and those he shouldn’t trust, the resistance, may be the only people who can help.

Total Recall is the reimagined version of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger classic. It’s a more visually stunning movie showing Earth’s futuristic cityscapes, a gravity elevator that travels straight through the planet offering some unique weightless VFX, and a revamped plot that centers only on Earth, not Earth and Mars like the original. Farrell competently fits into the action role and is convincing as Quaid, the super spy with super skills, who is trying to stay alive long enough to find out who he is and do the right thing.

The New World (2005)

Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) arrives in the Americas to help found the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia. Not long after, he is captured by Native Americans, but he is saved from death by the beautiful Pocahontas (Q’orianka Kilcher), who he falls in love with. The natives wish the English would leave, and when they don’t, the inevitable bloodshed follows. Smith is torn between his love for Pocahontas and his duty to England, and either way Pocahontas will be changed forever.

The New World is a 17th century historical romance that uses many Native American actors in its various roles in an attempt at authenticity. The film goes so far as to use authentic Native clothing and trained the actors to use the extinct Powhatan language. Although historically, the love story element has seen much elaboration, Farrell and Kilcher make an endearing couple, and Farrell lets us in on his softer side of acting.

RELATED: ‘The Batman’: Colin Farrell’s Penguin Was Inspired by Fredo From ‘The Godfather’

The Lobster (2015)

David (Colin Farrell) finds himself single again after his wife leaves him for another man. Being single can be wondrous, but David lives in a society where single people have 45 days to find a mate, or they will be transformed into an animal of their choice. David is forced to stay at a special hotel with other singles, and after various failed matches, he flees the hotel to live in the woods with the loners, where love is banned. Annoyingly, David finally finds his match, but the leader of the loners has other plans – a raid on the hotel and punishment for David’s new love interest.

Brilliantly original and utterly bonkers, The Lobster is a surreal dark comedy; a dystopian tale of caution. An evocative and powerful story that comments on our social needs, as a society, to become couples. It mocks the idea of superficial matching that social media and dating apps force on impressionable people. As a whole, it’s savagely funny. Farrell is purposely docile in his role as a man that is forced to accept his world’s satirical rules of courtship.

In Bruges (2008)

Two Irish hitmen, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken Daley (Brendan Gleeson), spend two weeks hiding out in the picturesque town of Bruges after a boy was accidently killed by Ray in his last hit. After a few days of sightseeing, Ken is ordered to kill Ray by their boss, Harry Waters (Ralph Fiennes), on the grounds that he has to die for killing a child. Ken can’t kill Ray when he realizes he is already suicidal, and when Harry finds out he immediately embarks for Bruges to sort out the mess once and for all.

In Bruges is a dark comedy of unrelentingly snappy dialogue between Ray, the miserable, repentant hitman, and Ken, the much wiser and more positive culture vulture. Colin Farrell won a Best Actor Golden Globe for his part, one that utilizes his whole body and facial expressions, comically portraying a man going through hell. Clever, artistic, and respectfully shot whilst showcasing the quaint pseudo-medieval town of Bruges. Gleeson and Farrell are a unique double act.

Alexander (2004)

Alexander is a three-hour epic chronicling the rise and fall of Alexander the Great (Colin Farrell), arguably the greatest general the world has ever seen. Beginning as a boy growing up with his mother, Alexander finds joy in music and love and excels in military skill. When his father is assassinated, Alexander becomes king, and he begins an eight-year campaign waging war across Asia. The loyalty of his men are tested, and the pledge to his best friend Hephaistion (Jared Leto) that if Hephaistion dies first, Alexander will follow him into the afterlife, becomes a stark reality.

Although Alexander is historically inaccurate, this is a dramatized account of the life of the Macedonian King, and with the view that it’s not a documentary, it’s not a bad movie. There are four versions in total that director Oliver Stone has overseen, Alexander: The Ultimate Cut (2014) being the clearest depiction (and the best version) of the complicated ruler’s life. If swords and sandals are your thing, plumb for The Ultimate Cut and ignore the critics!

True Detective (Season 2)

Set in California,True Detective Season 2 follows the intertwining stories of police officers from three different departments that are all co-operating after a corrupt official, Caspere, is found dead on the side of the road. Francis “Frank” Semyon (Vince Vaughn), a criminal boss in the process of going legit, stands to lose his investments into a venture overseen by Caspere and also starts to conduct his own investigation.

Completely unrelated to Season 1, Season 2 slowly builds exceptional pathos for Frank, the criminal that just wants to live the peaceful life with his wife Jordan (Kelly Reilly), a woman that stands by her husband’s side, no matter how desperate he becomes. Pathos also extends to Detective Raymond “Ray” Velcoro, (Colin Farrell) a dirty cop owned by the mob, a father seeking custody of his son, and a man deep in obvious corruption. Will the Golden State shine favorably on Ray, letting him keep his badge and family, and on Frank, to keep his entire business empire, or will the dark clouds of death and despair amass for them both? A gripping eight part crime thriller that explores the good side of bad people.

Miami Vice (2006)

In the middle of a prostitute sting at a Miami nightclub, Detective James “Sonny” Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Detective Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) receive a phone call from a troubled informant. As a consequence they are enlisted and thrust into the world of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, posing as drug smugglers. Earning the trust of a Colombian cartel, Crockett and Tubbs offer their logistical services to move the cartel’s drugs in speedboats. They argue with their real bosses to keep deep undercover, but Crockett gets more than he bargained for when he falls for Isabella (Gong Li) the drug kingpin’s lover, and he puts the whole operation into danger.

Miami Vice is a buddy cop, action thriller and an adaptation of the 1980s television show of the same name. With its neo-noir flair featuring heavy amounts of handheld camera work, giving it a close and personal style that at times resembles real-life TV crime, Miami Vice is as stylish and cool as its soundtrack. Farrell and Foxx are unshakable and driven in their unamused roles, while speeding the narrative along with constant urgency. A cool spin on the original, but there’s enough left for a credible and decent homage.

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