The Adam Driver Marine Corps to Hollywood via Broadway route isn’t the most conventional bus trip, and anyone who makes such a transition must require an extreme degree of versatility to truly pull it off. It is no surprise when viewing Adam Driver’s impressive and diverse arsenal of films that the aforementioned career trajectory belongs to him.
A simple Google search of “Adam Driver Marines” returns the amusing image of a baby-faced Driver (no, that’s not a bootleg Baby Driver), sporting the revered Marine “Blue Dress.” Having spent two years in service, the Star Wars actor sustained a fractured sternum in a mountain-biking accident, and was subsequently discharged. Upon reflection, the phrase “One man’s loss is another man’s gain” springs to mind. While the US military lost a promising, young marine, the acting and film world gained one of the brightest actors of current times, launched into stardom as an odd, unpredictable sex symbol by Lena Dunham's HBO show Girls.
Amongst his growing pool of admirers, Drive has received praise from people like Martin Scorsese, with the Goodfellas director stating, “He has a marvelous screen presence. One of the best, if not the best, actors of his generation.” Such glowing commendation from an industry great is demonstrative of the actor’s talents, and what better way to examine his dexterity as an actor than by going through his best films. These are the best Adam Driver movies, so far.
6 Logan Lucky
Adam Driver stars as left-armless bartender, Clyde Logan, in Steven Soderbergh’s colorful heist movie, Logan Lucky. He acts alongside a stellar Daniel Craig and Riley Keough, in a film where brothers Clyde and Jimmy (Channing Tatum) plot to carry out a heist on the famous Charlotte Motor Speedway with the help of lively convicted criminal, Joe Bang (Craig). The film is the embodiment of Soderbergh’s style: fast-paced, transient editing, amusing, wit-filled one-liners, and great chemistry amongst its heavyweight cast.
5 Frances Ha
Another Noah Baumbach creation availing the acting talents of Adam Driver, although to a much lesser extent. Remarkably, this was only his fourth feature length film, so it's perhaps understandable that his role was reduced to a relatively limited capacity. Frances Ha follows the tale of the titular Frances (Greta Gerwig, who will be paired with Driver again in White Noise), an eccentric, struggling dancer in New York who lives with her best friend, Sophie (Mickey Sumner). When news comes that Sophie is moving away, Frances is forced to seek alternative living arrangements and, from thereon, embarks on what can only be described as a minor existential crisis, as she moves from job-to-job, and place-to-place. While Driver’s screen-time is minimal, his contributions are noteworthy, quirky, and humorous additions to a film that just had to be included.
4 Silence
Martin Scorsese’s 2016 passion project, Silence is set in 17th century Japan as men of the cloth; Sebastiao Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver) venture through dangerous territory to find their leader and mentor, Cristvao Ferreira (Liam Neeson) as he purportedly renounces his faith while being tortured. Based on Shūsaku Endō’s 1966 historical novel, Scorsese had been developing Silence for 25 years prior to its release. The film itself is a slow-moving portrait of a gruesome pilgrimage, undertaken by daring Jesuit priests through a land where they are a persecuted minority (attempting to become a majority). Garfield and Driver compliment each other’s on-screen presence well, their beguiled renditions of holy-men delivered with conviction and gusto, albeit their Portuguese accents leave something to be desired.
3 BlackKklansman
Adam Driver was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as he starred alongside John David Washington in the satirical crime drama, BlackkKlansman. The movie details the suspenseful struggles of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) as he attempts to infiltrate the area’s local KKK group. Adam Driver plays Flip Zimmerman, Ron Stallworth’s co-worker, who is employed to liaise with the Klan. Spike Lee exquisitely amalgamates the comical undertones of the movie with the hard-hitting, sad truth of this story based on real life events, with a stunning prologue and incredibly powerful ending.
2 Paterson
Paterson follows the charming story of a Paterson City bus driver and poet, aptly named Paterson (Adam Driver), over the course of a week. Together with the melodic soundtrack and at times kaleidoscopic, hazy shot composition, Jim Jarmusch’s screenplay shapes together a true sense of banal realism while simultaneously maintaining a real sense of tranquility and peace that permeates through its characters. Adam Driver’s deft, gentle touch is sensational and really personifies the film's innocent and unassuming nature. The movie's simplicity is where its true genius lies, guided by Paterson’s very literal poetry about normal life, love, and the pure, unperturbed relationship he shares with his artistic girlfriend, Laura (Golshifteh Farahini). Like performances in most Jarmusch movies, Driver's is understated and both dryly funny and melancholic, but ultimately magnetic in one of 2016's best movies.
1 Marriage Story
It’s a rather tall order to overlook Noam Baumbach’s Netflix movie Marriage Story as the already-decorated actor's best film to date. Adam Driver plays playwright Charlie Barber (a thinly-veiled Noah Baumbach avatar) embattled in an acrimonious divorce with his soon-to-be ex-wife, Nicole (Scarlett Johansson). While neither party had planned to litigate, and wanted to separate amicably, through a mixture of pushy lawyers and damning revelations the former lovers become engulfed in a bitter feud. The honest and realistic Marriage Story entertains the belief that both parties want what’s best for their son Henry, exploring the complexities of divorce as their attempts to protect their son's best interests are tarnished by their own emotions, resentments, and shortcomings. The acting pair are excellent throughout, and truly encapsulate the essence of what separation can be like for a couple who are entangled by love and mistrust, as well as co-parenting a young child.