10 Essential Andrew Garfield Performances (That Aren’t Spider-Man)

As a film enthusiast and critic who has followed Andrew Garfield‘s career since his breakout performance in “Boy A,” I am consistently amazed by the depth and versatility he brings to each role. His ability to transform himself into vastly different characters, while maintaining a unique, identifiable essence, is truly remarkable.

As a film enthusiast, I’ve found myself pondering over the influx of captivating, British heartthrobs who graced our screens around the 2010s (let’s call it the British Charm Offensive Wave, for now). Actors like Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Eddie Redmayne were among the heavyweights, vying for Oscars, anchoring blockbuster franchises, or creating genuine cinematic masterpieces.

Andrew Garfield, who once played Spider-Man, continues to embrace the role even after his blockbuster days, much like Daniel Radcliffe and Robert Pattinson from the British franchise. Instead of sticking to conventional paths post-stardom, he’s chosen projects with thoughtful consideration and an unexpected twist. You’ll find biopics that aim for prestige, explorations of American religion, personal auteur projects, and not one, but two intricate and unconventional LA satires in his portfolio. While not all his films receive initial acclaim at their release (films like “Silence” and “Under the Silver Lake” were box office disappointments), Garfield’s enthusiasm for tackling the unusual, complex, and surprising showcases an ambitious spirit. If he chooses to revisit Spider-Man when the character’s enduring popularity calls for a triumphant return, that’s his call!

The recently released romantic comedy-drama titled “We Live in Time” offers a seemingly ordinary part within Andrew Garfield’s diverse acting career. In this film, he portrays a divorced cereal company employee who finds himself smitten with a chef (Florence Pugh). The story unfolds as he navigates the ups and downs of courtship, childbirth, and cancer. To acknowledge the range of characters Andrew Garfield has played before and after his blockbuster appearances as Peter Parker, here are ten crucial roles he undertook that do not involve web-slinging.

Never Let Me Go (2010)

In the same year as his standout role in The Social Network (which was released shortly after Never Let Me Go), Andrew Garfield delivered a muted yet impactful performance in Alex Garland’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, Hailsham. Alongside Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley, Garfield portrayed a human clone educated at a boarding school in an alternate 1900s England. These clones lived secluded lives, shielded from the joys of normal life, with the responsibility of donating their healthy organs to “natural” humans when needed. The sensitive character Tommy D (played by Garfield) found himself at the heart of a romantic triangle, grappling with a poignant realization of his own inadequacies. Garfield’s tender and anxious portrayal was a striking contrast to the dynamic performances he delivered in The Social Network. (It’s worth noting that both film directors, David Fincher and Mark Romanek, had backgrounds in music videos, having even collaborated with Madonna. Interestingly, Andrew Garfield has only appeared in one music video, where he portrayed a transgender woman in Arcade Fire’s “We Exist.” Given various factors, it’s unlikely that Garfield would agree to such a role today.)

The Social Network (2010)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=tjMGuJMIgwM&pp=ygUeaSdtIGNvbWluZyBiYWNrIGZvciBldmVyeXRoaW5n

In this movie, Garfield didn’t have a debut on the big screen as dramatic as this one. Nothing in his previous roles even came close to matching the size, complexity, and intensity of this film. Garfield portrayed a fictionalized depiction of Eduardo Saverin, a Brazilian co-founder of Facebook, in the story by David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin about youthful betrayal amidst the social media boom. While Jesse Eisenberg played Mark Zuckerberg as a sharp genius who built his victim complex into every decision, Garfield embodied the disbelief and frustration of being penalized for not supporting every business move of Zuckerberg. He is slim, youthful-looking, yet charismatic and attractive; he exists in a delicate balance between conventional success and disruptive tech innovator. However, when he loses his temper, it’s a sight to behold – no one has portrayed “screaming while trying not to cry” as convincingly since then.

99 Homes (2014)

In his third film following his portrayal of our beloved superhero, Andrew Garfield squared off against a sinister force far more complex than any encountered in his Spider-Man series: ruthless real estate tycoons from Florida. Ramin Bahrani directed this gripping drama, where Dennis (Garfield), a construction worker laid off in Orlando, finds himself on the brink of eviction. His only hope is to work for Rick (Michael Shannon), the businessman who had previously displaced his family. Garfield seamlessly blends into the film’s gritty underworld with a natural, physical grace—it appears as though the power given to Dennis is merely on loan from Rick’s stronger capitalist influence. 99 Homes may be one of Andrew Garfield’s less celebrated leading roles, but it demonstrated his ability to balance the despair of the working class with the self-serving greed of capitalism.

Silence (2016)

Martin Scorsese chose Andrew Garfield to spearhead his long-awaited, deeply personal project about a Portuguese Jesuit mission seeking their vanished mentor in Edo-era Japan. Author Shūsaku Endō shares a spiritual kinship with Scorsese; their Catholic beliefs are central to their identity and art, yet fraught with self-doubt. In the intersection of Scorsese’s emotionally intense epic and Endō’s intimate exploration of Christian penance and pride lies Garfield, who portrays Father Rodrigues’ journey of enlightenment and disillusionment with a spiritual fervor that is both vulnerable and stubborn – sometimes switching between the two within a single line of dialogue. It’s arguably Garfield’s finest performance; he tackles the daunting material with a subtle physicality (often giving the impression that Rodrigues might crumble under the weight of his vocation), and directs a petty attitude towards both his Japanese captors and the “Kakure Kirishitan” who fail to meet his saintly expectations. Garfield’s frail physique seems inseparable from the expansive (Taiwan-shot) landscapes he confronts and the oppressive, confined spaces he is forced into; every obstacle Rodrigues faces eventually becomes a part of him, every principle he brought to Japan eventually comes under scrutiny. Silence is a modern masterpiece that grapples with finding peace in the face of the unknown – Garfield delivers his most remarkable performance for his most arduous role.

Under the Silver Lake (2018)

Initially met with criticism at Cannes and marred by a flawed release from A24, the movie “Under the Silver Lake” presents Andrew Garfield as Sam, a disheveled private investigator navigating a puzzle of enigmatic codes in Los Angeles after a perplexing woman (Riley Keough) goes missing from his apartment complex. Garfield is deeply immersed in writer-director David Robert Mitchell’s unique and intentionally unsettling neo-noir aesthetic, portraying a laid-back detective with stylish sunglasses and a slouched demeanor who fails to recognize his own prejudices while exposing the callousness and possessiveness of L.A.’s elite. Garfield’s lean physique and deliberate movements perfectly capture Sam the Stoner’s baffling journey, taking him through sterile swimming pools, lifeless parties, and airless suburbs, where he makes monumental leaps in deciphering conspiracies that may or may not be real. Sam seems tailor-made for the Stan Twitter audience.

Mainstream (2021)

In Andrew Garfield’s acting journey, the biggest uncertainty arose when Gia Coppola, relative to Sofia, Francis, and Romy Mars, chose him to play Link – a charismatic, drifter-turned-influencer who uses YouTube to challenge the apathy and self-absorption of Gen-Z through unhinged and inconsistent rants. Essentially, it’s a modern take on Network, with a new generation exploiting the ambiguous, provocative ramblings of a troubled and dangerous figurehead. The film, titled Mainstream, while visually appealing at times, often lacks clarity and originality in its critique of the internet content industry. However, Garfield delivers an uninhibited performance that borders on “car crash” territory but always manages to avoid going overboard. The movie ends with Link teetering on the brink of permanent cancellation, responding with a live-streamed dance spectacle and a rant reminiscent of Tim Robinson’s “Coffin Flop,” which might just be the most compelling ten minutes of Garfield’s career.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)

In this rephrased version, let’s focus on maintaining the original meaning while using simpler language:

tick, tick … BOOM! (2021)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=kCt1MWLel1Q

Andrew Garfield has been nominated for two Lead Actor Oscars, one being for his role as Desmond Doss in “Hacksaw Ridge,” although the film itself isn’t particularly exciting. However, Garfield is still proud of the director. His second nomination was more deserved, and it was for a musical adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s “rock monologue” titled “Tick, Tick… Boom!”. In this role, Garfield showcases his best theater-kid energy and impressive vocal skills. His portrayal of Larson is full of energy, nervousness, and intense affection for urban beauty, while collapsing into self-pity when his relentless career focus is criticized. Lin-Manuel Miranda has long admired Larson’s work, so Garfield had to meet high expectations from the director. He delivered an energetic, dynamic, and emotional performance that brought lesser-known works of Larson into the limelight.

Under the Banner of Heaven (2022)

In a different scenario, it’s plausible that Andrew Garfield would portray a devout Mormon police officer, given his ability to embody a disciplined, upright, and spiritually grounded persona. The character of Detective Jeb Pyre, created for the miniseries adapted from Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction book, undergoes a transformation as he delves into the murder investigation of Brenda Lafferty (Daisy Edgar-Jones), perpetrated by fundamentalists of the School of the Prophets. Pyre is one of four Christian characters that Garfield has portrayed, although the interpretation of Mormons within Christianity is a topic of debate among various religious institutions. As he navigates the turmoil and doubt of his faith, Pyre demonstrates frustration and powerlessness, a skill Garfield honed through previous roles. With his intense, curious gaze and meticulous, yet wavering authority, Pyre struggles to maintain the faith that has been the foundation of his life. Notably, this isn’t Garfield’s first foray into true crime miniseries; in 2009, he played a tenacious young journalist chasing the Yorkshire Ripper in the British Red Riding trilogy.

We Live in Time (2024)

Andrew Garfield’s earliest lead role was in a much bleaker film by director John Crowley, Boy A, where he played a young man released from prison after committing a violent crime as a child. But aside from the Garfield connection, We Live in Time is much more in tune with the sweet romance and literary melodrama of Crowley’s Brooklyn and Life After Life — although We Live in Time is the only one to not be adapted from a book. We’ve spent years pushing for superhero actors to utilize their charm in crowd-pleasing rom-coms, and Garfield and Pugh gamely answered our call. Garfield’s aptitude for self-conscious interiority and expertly modifying the tone and intensity of his performance is perfectly suited for the earnest, chaotic and heartrending demands of this modern dramedy. It’s the most Garfield has felt like a stereotypical movie character, the type of broadly defined but emotionally driven everyman that proliferated in the boom of cozy-but-weepy British melodramas over the past 30 years. The fact that Garfield smuggles in this much sensitivity, balancing the severity of how his family must cope under devastating pressure with hilarious, foppish warmth, is a testament to how instinctively and convincingly he adapts to whatever role he lands. The fact that Garfield feels like a tested everyman and a rom-com archetype points to his strength as a performer; it’s not that he changes himself to fit every role, but that his performances all contain an alchemy of his abilities. In every role, there is a mix of theatrical and intimate, of pastiche and realism, of spiritual and the mundane. He’s not just in demand — he apparently won’t take a role unless it demands something from him.

2024-10-22 21:54