Julia Roberts is an actor who has brought alive many unforgettable characters on screen. Here are some of her most amazing performances you should not miss:
Mother’s Day
This is a feel-good comedy that celebrates the many different shapes of motherhood. In the movie, Roberts plays a mother who gives up her only child for adoption. She brings out very subtle ease in her performance and moves you with an intense, yet very precise expression of the role. She performs with conviction and even though this is an unconventional mother, in the end, she wins the heart of the viewer with her commitment to the character’s emotions.
Valentine’s Day
This is a holiday movie that follows different characters as they find love in different forms on Valentine’s Day. Roberts plays a character who finds love in a long conversation with a handsome businessman on a flight. In the end, it turns out to be something much different from what we may expect. She performs with a very removed kind of involvement which really underlines the complex emotions of the character.
Mary Reilly
This is a horror film in which Julia Roberts played the lead. This is the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde told from the perspective of the housekeeper played by Roberts. She harbors a secret infatuation with the doctor. The film is gripping and her performance elevates the mood of the film with her solid performance. Se exhibits a vulnerability that adds a lot of gravity to the entire film, as well as brings out her sharp eye for detail in acting.
Mona Lisa Smile
Set in the 1950s, this is the story of an art teacher played by Roberts. Her character is one who encourages her classroom of conservative girls to open their minds up to art and expression. The film itself is relevant for its socio-political context. Roberts delivers a performance that drives the narrative home with sharpness. She is very matter-of-fact and also tenders in the way she holds her students by the hand into newer horizons of expression.
Eat Pray Love
This is a film that’s inspired by a bestselling book of the same title. It tells the story of a newly divorced woman who embarks on a solo-travel journey around the world to better understand herself. Roberts plays the character with an understanding of all its nuances. She is relatable and extremely lovable on screen. Her performance makes the character feel personal, a thing only brilliant actors can make the viewer feel.
Stepmom
This is a family drama with a heart in which Roberts played a role that comes across as a bit negative in the beginning. She plays the girlfriend of a man who is divorced from his wife and has three kids. The wife is then diagnosed with cancer, and Roberts steps into a bond with the children and helps the family to brace through this difficult phase. She performs so well that by the end of the film, she wins your heart.
Runaway Bride
Roberts plays a famously indecisive woman in this film. She then becomes the subject of a journalist’s latest piece after running away from her third wedding. Her portrayal of a woman who has trouble making long-term decisions is very relatable and strikes a chord with the viewer. She is effortless in her confusions which really lifts the story into something entertaining.
Conspiracy Theory
This is an intense film in which Roberts delivers yet another memorable performance. She plays an attorney who becomes involved with a paranoid taxi driver while trying to solve her father’s murder. She is very self-affirmative and that makes you truly believe in her character. She knows all the nuances of her role, which comes through in compelling ways. Her performance is something that really holds together the film.
Pretty Woman
There can be no list of Julia Roberts’ performances without mentioning Vivan Ward, her character in Pretty Woman. She plays a sex worker who unexpectedly finds herself in new territory when she meets a corporate businessman who wants her to be his client for the next week. Complications ensue when the pair ponder if they could ever be a real couple outside of their hotel room. Roberts is known for this role because she has delivered an exceptional performance. She is tender, bold, sure, and confused all at once in this beautiful film with a layered storyline.
August: Osage County
This is a film that earned Roberts an Oscar nomination. The story focuses on a group of women who return to see their mother who subjects them to harsh criticism after the demise of their father. Among the daughters, Roberts plays the oldest and most willing to challenge her mother’s brutal honesty. She exhibits a mature, well-grounded performance which is one of the high points of the film. Years later, she is still the same solid performer, only better with time and films.
