Margot Robbie: Her 5 Best Movies Before Barbie

From Tarantino to Scorsese, Margot Robbie has already dated the biggest names in Hollywood. What are the already emblematic films of his young career?

OUR BARBIE MOVIE REVIEW

In just a decade on screen, Margot Robbie has taken Hollywood hostage. At the rate of more than two films a year since 2013, she has already filmed with monuments of the seventh art such as Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, while becoming the muse of emerging filmmakers such as Damien Chazelle and Greta Gerwig. A look back at the films and the roles that made this Barbie Hollywood’s newest star.

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

Released: 2013 – Duration: 2h59

Barbie Origins

There is clearly worse than starting his Hollywood career with Martin Scorsese. Barely 22 years old at the time of filming, Margot Robbie, however, displays in The wolf of Wall Street impressive confidence and assurance, especially since the filmmaker’s methodology relies heavily on the exercise of improvisation. Faced with the monster Leonardo DiCaprio, the actress is far from undeserving and even adapts wonderfully to the progressive madness of a feature film which seems to lose control at the same time as its protagonist.

If Scorsese knew how to iconize Robbie and turn him into a sex symbol in a handful of scenes, it would be simplistic to see his performance only through the prism of his beauty. Naomi uses her body as a weapon., and as an object of negotiation which regularly upsets the balance of power of the sequences. From this famous deprivation of sex in the nursery when waking up with a glass of water, she takes control to better disarm Jordan Belfort.

While Margot Robbie thought she would be unnoticed in the film compared to DiCaprio, The wolf of Wall Street confirmed how much the actress was going to impose herself in the future against the biggest stars (Will Smith in DiversionThen Suicide Squad), even eclipsing them by its charm and charisma.

ME, TONY

Released: 2017 – Duration: 2h01

Harding made the first triple axel in the history of American figure skating in 1991.

It’s the law of Hollywood: any young actress recognized for her beauty must become the figurehead of a biopic that won’t highlight her, to prove that she is a real actress beyond her plastic. For Margot Robbie, this biopic was Me Tonyaa film by Craig Gillespie about the story of Tonya Harding, the figure skater suspected of ordering an attack aimed at hurting rival Nancy Kerrigan.

The case that caused a scandal in 1994 is not – far from it – the only story of the film. Beyond the plot that played out around Kerrigan’s knee, Me Tonya tells the story of a young woman whose existence was hell from the start, and for whom figure skating and competition were the only joy in life. Doing the painting of class contempt, domestic violence and maternal cruelty from which Harding suffered, the film offers Robbie a wonderful playground where all the talent of the actress comes to light.

As well as black swan And Joker, Tonya is also entitled to a sequence of confrontation with her own image in front of a mirror, during which all her contained distress is formidably expressed by the almost motionless face of Margot Robbie. Among the striking sequences, it is also necessary to quote that of the court, where Tonya’s character despairingly explains that skating is her whole life, to her who has received no education. Robbie is heartbreaking there.

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Released: 2019 – Duration: 2h41

Sharon Tate discovering Barbie… in another life

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood instead focuses on the Rick Dalton-Cliff Booth duo played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt with their tale of the end of a Hollywood era. Margot Robbie therefore has a secondary role (still) at the heart of this very great film. Nevertheless, although she is not very present on the screen, the actress makes an impression. Not only that, she was undoubtedly one of the best choices to play the magnificent Sharon Tate, sad victim of the Manson Family in the late 60s.

But even more, the magnetism she manages to exude in just a few appearances (a pool party, a dance in her bedroom, a trip to the movies, a deep sleep) demonstrates her ability to do a lot with little. We can obviously regret that many scenes were cut during editing by Quentin Tarantino. That said, the choice of the filmmaker is surely one of the most beautiful ideas of the film.

By allowing us to see what Sharon Tate’s life was and could have been without her tragedy, Quentin Tarantino offers Margot Robbie a solar and liberated score, of stunning beauty. And when his simple voice on the intercom, like an angel fallen from heaven, comes to rewrite for eternity the great History (of cinema) in the last seconds of the film, the experience is all the more magical.

Our review of Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Birds of Prey

Released: 2020 – Duration: 1h49

Even though the DCU (formerly DCEU) has presumably been in tatters for Justice League and in pieces since The Flashthe universe has a few stronger propositions, such as man of steel in its infancy, or The Suicide Squad And Birds of Prey in which the iconic character of Harley Quinn appears. Despite the carnage of Suicide Squad and the close-ups of the Harlequinne’s buttocks, Margot Robbie had already shown herself more than convincing in this erratic role that she was the first to embody in live action (the interpretation of Mia Sara having been erased from memory). She therefore fully deserved to reappear far from the seductive camera of David Ayer.

Officiating again as a producer, Margot Robbie has therefore taken up her mallet in hand in Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Story of Harley Quinn, a feature film that stands out with the studio’s other productions. This one is positioned between the solo story and the group story, has chosen to revolve around anti-heroines very little known to the general public, while betting on an R classification (thus prohibited for minors unaccompanied by an adult in the United States).

Helped by a well-crafted stage, inventive fight choreographies and a pop artistic direction bordering on the outrageous, Margot Robbie is however an irresistible ball of energy who took care to refine his comic tempo, to accentuate his expressiveness and to perfect his physical abilities to camp this character difficult to understand and tame. Beyond confirming her status as creator and decision-maker, the emancipatory, colorful and spangled quest directed by Cathy Yan and written by Christina Hodson was therefore an opportunity for Margot Robbie to have fun and shine in an unclassifiable role that now sticks to her skin.

Our review of Birds of Prey

babylon

Released: 2023 – Duration: 3h09

Babylon, the mega-flop of early 2023

If there is one thing to defend/save in this babylon who largely divided (the public, the critics and the Large Screen), it is Margot Robbie, who replaced Emma Stone, supposed to take the role of Nellie LaRoy at the origin. It has almost all the most beautiful scenes of the film: the exhilarating intro in the mansion, the euphoric filming with tears, the nightmarish filming for the talkies… And no matter if she dances, howls, laughs, jerks or moans, she shines brightly.

babylon is almost a demo reel for Margot Robbie, especially in this scene where she has to demonstrate her acting skills to a director who commands her tears. A bit like Naomi Watts in the casting scene of Mulholland DriveMargot Robbie arouses discomfort and admiration as she seems to throw herself without a safety net, with incredible energy and in a mixture of violence and mesmerizing candor.

And it’s also the hallmark of great actresses: getting out of any situation, whether it’s an entire movie (for people who hate babylon), a wobbly scene (for the vomit party), or an archetypal character as possible (rise and fall of a star, a classic scheme). Margot Robbie is the light in the darkness of babylonand it is surely she who will remain the most in the lead in this mega-bid of the beginning of 2023 (budget of 80 million, barely 64 million at the box office).