4. Elle Fanning – Super 8
Although not yet having as large a body of work as her big sister Dakota, Elle has strung together a number of impressive and memorable performances, undoubtedly reaching their apex (so far) with JJ Abrams’ Super 8.
Elle’s Alice Dainard gets roped into performing in the boys’ Super 8 zombie epic and immediately acts the rest of the cast off the screen (both in Super 8 and in the film-within-a-film). Whereas Dakota has tended towards being obviously cutesy and therefore a little annoying, Elle’s performances have so far proven more subtle and she grabs one’s attention here as well.
Her difficult relationship with her Dad, her remorse at the pain Joe is going through – it is all delivered with so little affectation. The inter-relationships of the film-making friends and Joe’s relationship with his father may drive the film, but Elle’s performance lingers longest in the memory – a reputation-making performance.
