Rooney Mara has a sixth sense for daring dramas, starring in some of the most unforgettable movies of the past decade. With awards contender Nightmare Alley still in theaters and exciting new projects on the way, Mara is at the top of her game, continuing to attract the most well-respected directors and auteurs working today. She already has two career Oscar nominations under her belt, so the only question is when she will be giving her acceptance speech.
Though she started acting after older sister Kate, Rooney Mara was fearless from the beginning, crossing genres with ease and finding success quickly. Her early role in coming-of-age movie Tanner Hall was followed by a turn in the 2010 reboot Nightmare on Elm Street. Mara seems to feel most at home in bold, provocative projects. This is fitting considering she broke through to the mainsteam playing the fierce titular character of David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Her career exploded after picking up an Oscar nomination for the role, and different parts in the following years cemented her as one of the most talented actresses of the early 2010s. Mara brings a grounding force of empathy to any role, from punk hacker to angry ex.
Only good things are ahead for Rooney, who is set to star as Audrey Hepburn in a forthcoming biopic by Luca Guadagnino. Let’s take a look back at her ten best films.
10 Song to Song
Rooney Mara proves why she's beloved among arthouse directors in the Terrence Malick drama Song to Song, an experimental view into a love triangle traversing the Austin, Texas music scene. The film is composed of some striking visuals, a Malick trademark, having been described by the New Yorker as a “copious array of images of a breathtakingly generous, gentle beauty.” The actors often narrate over the scenes and provide deep insight into their thoughts and feelings. As songwriter Faye, Mara harnesses the emotional depth she's known for to portray an artist as she loses, and later gains, love.
9 Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot
This touching dramedy directed by Gus Van Sant follows John (Joaquin Phoenix) who, when left wheelchair-bound after a drunk driving accident, falls in love with his physical therapist Annu (Rooney Mara). Based on the real life story of satirical cartoonist John Callahan, Van Sant expands one man’s experience into something more universal, leaving audiences to revel in the charming ways that tragedy can harbor comedy. Mara’s performance as the gentle Swedish therapist brings a lot of levity and warmth to the film, anchoring its troubled protagonist.
8 Side Effects
This bonkers thriller from Steven Soderbergh was met with conflicting reactions from critics and audiences alike, with some criticizing the preposterous plot. That said, most agreed that Mara saved the film with a performance that demonstrated, as the Guardian wrote, “an ability to be scared and be scary at the same time.” She plays Emily, a woman seemingly on the brink of collapse following her husband’s release from prison. Things descend into pill-fueled insanity when Emily’s psychiatrist prescribes her a new drug for depression, and the nightmarish side effects take over the film. Thanks to Mara's performance, as Emily loses her grip on reality, so do we.
7 Nightmare Alley
Still in theaters, Nightmare Alley is the latest from legendary director Guillermo del Toro. The film places Rooney Mara in an all-star cast as she navigates the cons and illusions of a 1940s circus. Adapted from the 1947 cult classic (and the 1946 literary source material), the plot follows depraved carnival illusionist Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper). Oscar-winning Del Toro wanted to build on the original book and movie to explore new depths of psychological terror. Mara plays the goodhearted Molly, who naively enters Carlisle’s world of manipulation. She recently described her interest in the character: “She has the ability to have love and compassion for anyone, even in their worst moments, almost to a fault and almost to her undoing.”
6 Kubo and the Two Strings
Though her only venture into animated voice acting to date, Kubo and the Two Strings was a great success for Mara. The film, directed by Travis Knight, is absolutely bursting with inventive visuals and delightful animation. It follows the young Kubo on an epic quest to find his missing eye, encountering danger around every corner. Mara plays two of Kubo’s adversaries, The Sisters, who try to capture Kubo at their father’s command; she is genuinely creepy and unsettling with her masterfully controlled performance. With a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, the film was certainly an all around hit.
5 Her
Have you ever wondered how you would feel if your partner fell in love with someone else? What if it was an AI? Rooney Mara answers this question in Spike Jonze’s Her, playing Catherine, the soon-to-be ex-wife of protagonist Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix). Mara perfectly calibrates her performance to reflect the conflicts of a marriage on its deathbed, portraying both resentment and longing for the past. Theodore’s relationship with a virtual operating system is the nail in the coffin for his marriage and Mara’s powerful, empathetic performance gives us a window into the end. Ironically, the film led to off-screen romantic success with her on-screen ex. Mara and co-star Phoenix now share a son.
4 The Social Network
Mara’s memorable turn as Mark Zuckerburg’s scorned ex-girlfriend, Erica Albright, was a highlight of The Social Network. This dramatization of the Facebook origin story is one of David Fincher’s most beloved films. While she’s only in a handful of scenes, Mara makes a lasting impression in the opening minutes that lasts to the very final scene. Her character Erica is one of the most significant for understanding Zuckerburg, remaining the object of his obsessions and insecurities long after their original breakup. Rooney Mara sets the tone for the film, epitomizing the perfect balance of wit and tense emotion that the movie is known for.
3 A Ghost Story
One of Mara’s most unforgettable performances sounds deceivingly simple in this film without much dialogue: a widow is haunted by her husband’s ghost. The reality is that A Ghost Story is a complex exploration of loss and grief. David Lowery’s film begins when a loving couple, C (Casey Affleck) and M (Mara), move into a new home. When C dies in an accident, he returns as a ghost (yes, in traditional bedsheet-with-eyeholes form) to watch his wife cope with his death. After she moves away, the ghostly C watches as new residents come and go. Though it was shot on a low budget and largely remains in a single location, the film is emotionally and intellectually expansive and the performances allow it to transcend its limitations. A long, single scene of Mara eating a pie is strangely one of the most memorable, melancholic sequences in recent cinematic history. It gives new meaning to the word “haunt," and implies that we are all haunted houses in our own way. It’s available to watch on Netflix, but only until the end of the month, so if anyone wants a quiet, fascinating, and devastating romantic drama, they should check it out now.
2 The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
It was early in her career, but Rooney Mara’s second collaboration with David Fincher was an absolute show stopper and some of her best work of all time. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, based on Stieg Larsson’s best-selling novel and the subsequent Swedish films, launched Mara into critical and public renown with a stunning performance as badass hacker Lisbeth Salander. The film follows Mikael (Daniel Craig), a disgraced journalist who teams up with Lisbeth to solve the disappearance of a billionaire’s niece. Mara stands out as the highlight of the film, and it’s a shame we didn’t get to see her continue in follow-up installments. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that a Mara-starring sequel will ever happen, so audiences will just have to revisit the 2011 classic (and its unforgettable, Enya-scored torture scene).
1 Carol
Todd Haynes’ adaptation of the novel The Price of Salt is a meticulous portrait of unrequited longing between two women. Carol, played by Cate Blanchett, pines after naive department store worker Therese, played by Mara. The film earned several awards nominations, including a second Oscar nod for Mara. Undeniably one of the best queer films of the 2010s, and among Rooney Mara’s best performances, Carol tackles its central romance with empathy and tact, and at Christmas, no less! Thanks to this movie, we now know we would be happy just watching Rooney Mara stare out windows for eternity. It's impossible to forget her sensitive, nuanced performance as Therese (or that Santa hat) as the beautiful young woman matures and explores her own desires.