Independent filmmaking is the foundation for which the film industry lies, so it is no surprise that it often provides the medium with its greatest performances. The unfortunate truth isthat superhero movies and other blockbustersno longer give performers the opportunity to truly sink their teeth into roles that challenge them. Acting has often become commerce and nothing else, but the best of indie cinema is able to remind performers and cinephiles alike why filmmaking is such an exciting art form.
Independent filmmaking has exploded within the past few years, as studios like A24 and Neon have been able to inspire enthusiasm from a younger generation of film fans that are excited about going to see new projects in the theater. In many ways, it feels like it isa new “Golden Age of Hollywood.”Here are the ten best indie movies with great acting, ranked.
10‘Whiplash’ (2014)
Directed by Damien Chazelle
Whiplashis one of the best films aboutthe drive for artistic perfection, as it perfectly subverts what audiences may have come to expect from a story about the relationship between an obsessive young performer and their mentor.Miles Tellergave the best performance of his career as an aspiring jazz player who begins to go too far in his quest to be “great,” to the point that it becomes dangerous to his physical and mental health.
Whiplashis best known for the performance by J.K. Simmons as the abusive jazz teacher Fletcher, which won him a very well-deserved Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. While Simmons has been a working character actor with years of great performances behind him inOzandSpider-Manamong others,Whiplashwas certainly the film he had been waiting his entire career for.
In Whiplash, a talented young drummer is pushed to his limits by a demanding instructor as he strives for musical perfection. This intense pursuit challenges his dedication and mental fortitude, forcing him to confront personal ambitions and the sacrifices required to achieve greatness in the world of music.
Rent on Amazon
9‘The Witch’ (2016)
Directed by Robert Eggers
The Witchis a modernhorror masterpiece from Robert Eggers, who cut away from the popular “jump scare” style of scares in order to tell a deeply horrific story about the evil inherent to the foundation of America. While there are certainly some very creepy supernatural elements that are amplified in the third act, the majority of the tension withinThe Witchrests on the fraught dynamic between a father (Ralph Ineson) and his daughter (Anya Taylor-Joy).
The entire cast ofThe Witchnails the restrictive nature of the period-authentic dialogue, which makes the film feel even more accurate to real aspects of Colonial history. It was certainly Taylor-Joy’s breakout role as the “scream queen” of her generation, and led to her further success in high concept genre films likeSplitandFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagaamong many others.
A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
Watch on Prime Video
8‘Pig’ (2021)
Directed by Michael Sarnoski
Pigis an intimate examination of grief and lossthat featuresone of the best performances ofNicolas Cage’s entire career.Cage has become an actor that has been easy to mock, as he has spent the last few decades of his career making fairly low budget genre films that are very over-the-top, and often don’t get a wide theatrical release.
Pigshowed that Cage was still a serious actor at heartwho did not need to rely on idiosyncrasies in order to succeed with his performances; he carries the weight of tragedy on his shoulders, and only raises his voice when the film calls for it. Cage also gives a performance that does not attempt to steal the spotlight, as he allowed the rising starAlex Wolffto shine and give one of the best performances of his emerging career.
Watch on Hulu
7‘Frances Ha’ (2013)
Directed by Noah Baumbach
Frances Hawas a star making film for Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote the film alongside her regular collaborator (and future husband)Noah Baumbach. Gerwig would later become even more prominent as a writer and director in her own right, but she has never been more charming onscreen than she is in thisearnest comedy about female friendship.
Gerwig has a profound sense of comic timing, and often does not shy away from the physical nature of the film’s sense of humor. A film likeFrances Harisks being irritating if the audience is not on board with the personality of the protagonist, but Gerwig is able to make every action that her character takes seem plausible. The film also offered a strong showcase forAdam Driver, who proved in the aftermath of his breakout role onGirlsthat he was well-suited to be a serious film actor who worked with the industry’s best directors.
Frances Ha
Frances Ha follows an aspiring dancer living in New York City as she navigates friendships, career aspirations, and her identity. Facing numerous challenges to achieve her dreams, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery that delves into the complexities of modern life’s personal and professional intersections.
Watch on Netflix
6‘American Honey’ (2016)
Directed by Andrea Arnold
American Honeyis an ambitious, often disturbing epic about the dark side of the American dream, and is simultaneously quite uplifting and incredibly devastating. Writer and directorAndrew Arnoldhas shown throughout her career that she has a great ability to spot emerging talent, andAmerican Honeyoffered a breakout role forSasha Lane, who stars as a troubled teenage girl that decides to join a group of bohemian young people that travel the country selling magazines.
Lane captures thecomplex feelings that come with growing up, and allows her character to make mistakes in the most natural of ways.Riley Keoughis also giving a great performance as an older member of the group who offers frank, often disruptive advice to the younger people that look to her for guidance as they shape their futures while on the road.
American Honey
Watch on Max
5‘25th Hour’ (2002)
Directed by Spike Lee
25th Houris perhaps the most personal film about Spike Lee’s love of New York City, as the film was released only a year after the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center on July 23, 2025. Although it is reallya love letter to the Big Apple,25th Hourfeatures one of the best performances ofEdward Norton’s entire career as a convicted felon who tries to bond with his friends in the hours leading up to going back to prison.
Norton shows an unexpected warmth and compassion to a very dark role, and replaces any vain attempts at chewing the scenery with the utmost efforts of sincerity. While it sadly was not a performance that earned him an Academy Award nomination, Norton is as affable, moving, and completely three-dimensional in25th Houras he has ever been before.
Cornered by the DEA, convicted New York drug dealer Montgomery Brogan reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining hours before facing a seven-year jail term.
4‘A Serious Man’ (2009)
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
A Serious Manis one of the darkest films that the Coen brothers have ever made, asit’s a psychologically tormenting storyabout what happens when someone’s worst anxieties about what could go wrong actually come true. At the heart of this darkly hilarious romp is an amazing performance byMichael Stuhlbarg, who plays a Jewish professor whose life seems to be collapsing around him.
Stuhlbarg is among the most underrated actors working today, and finally is given the opportunity to play a leading role. Rarely has Jewish anxiety been better depicted on screen, as Stuhlbarg captures a sense of perpetual dread that becomes both frightening and hilarious as the film becomes more extreme. It takes a great actor to get on the unique wavelength that the Coen brothers operate on, but Stuhlbarg nailed the right approach, and perfectly fit into this idiosyncratic web of intrigue and ambiguity.
A Serious Man
Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern physics teacher, watches his life unravel over multiple sudden incidents. Though seeking meaning and answers amidst his turmoils, he seems to keep sinking.
3‘Call Me By Your Name’ (2017)
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Call Me By Your Nameis one of the best coming-of-age movies ever made, as there aren’tmany films about romancethat capture how challenging it can be for young people to fall in love when they do not yet have the maturity to understand what a long term relationship should look like.Timothée Chalametearned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance as Elio, a young man who falls in love with an older student (Armie Hammer) during his summer vacation.
Chalemet is willing to be completely vulnerable, and does not shy away from the more intimate moments of the film. Although he plays a character that nearly any audience member should be able to relate to, a terrific monologue by Michael Stuhlbarg during the film’s final moments ranks as one of the greatest father-son moments in cinema history.
Call Me by Your Name
In 1980s Italy, romance blossoms between a seventeen-year-old student and the older man hired as his father’s research assistant.
2‘Good Time’ (2017)
Directed by Josh and Benny Safdie
Good Timeis arguably the film thatproved that Robert Pattinson was a serious actor, as he had been sadly typecast after his role as Edward inThe Twilight Saga.It was obvious that Pattinson had talents that were not being entirely utilized by all of his collaborators, butGood Timeallowed him to play a tough, mean-spirited anti-hero who becomes a victim of his own sense of greed.
Pattinson pulls off an incredible feat, as his character is both completely unlikeable and impossible to look away from; despite the evil deeds that he commits throughout one wild night in New York City, there’s a deep level of charisma within Pattinson’s performance that is impossible to deny. Additionally,Good Timefeatures some memorable performances from more established actors, including the legendaryJennifer Jason LeighandCaptain Phillipsbreakout starBarkhad Abdi.
After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City’s underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail.
1‘Margaret’ (2011)
Directed by Kenneth Lonergan
Margaretis among the most underrated American epics,asKenneth Lonergan’s massive examination of guilt and trauma is perhaps the strongest response that American cinema has had to the feelings of loneliness and isolation that emerged in the aftermath of 9/11. At the heart ofMargaretis an all-time great performance byAnna Paquin,who stars as a troubled teenage girlwho begins to feel that she was responsible for a deadly traffic accident that resulted in the death of innocent people.
Paquin captures the impossible feelings of endless empathy that come with being young, as her character is not able to live with the reality that she may have caused something devastating. Additionally,Margarethas a robust supporting cast that includesMatt Damon, Jean Reno, John Gallagher Jr., J. Cameron-Smith, Matthew Broderick, Mark Ruffalo,andKieran Culkinamong others.
