Besides evoking true terror in viewers, the actress has a talent for humanizing her (often unrelatable, if not unlikeable) characters. Lorraine isn’t just a ghost hunter; she’s also a scared mother and passionate lover. Norma (Bates Motel) isn’t just an unhinged parent; she’s also a survivor and fierce protector. Soon to star in Apple TV+’s Five Days At Memorial, this article honors the actress’s work, listing her five best movies and series to date.
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Adapted from the John Boyne novel of the same name, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a historical drama movie directed by Mark Herman. Set during WWII, it tells the story of two boys: German Bruno (Asa Butterfield), whose father works as a commandment at a concentration camp, and Jewish Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), who is a prisoner of that camp. Separated by a barbed-wire fence, the two strike up a forbidden friendship that leads to unexpected consequences.
In this movie, Farmiga plays Elsa, the mother of Bruno and his sister Gretel (Amber Beattie). Despite being married to Ralf (David Thewlis) who, as previously mentioned, works as a camp commandment, Elsa is a sweet and somewhat passive woman who disagrees with violence but is afraid to disobey her husband and country. Farmiga’s role as Elsa is a minor one, but her breakdown at the end of the movie leaves a lasting impression.
Farmiga’s introduction to horror, Orphan is Jaume Collet-Serra’s cult-hit movie about a creepy nine-year-old girl and her kind adoptive family. After the horrific stillbirth of their third child, married couple Kate (Farmiga) and John Coleman (Peter Sarsgaard) decide to adopt Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) from a local orphanage. Immediately upon welcoming her home, Esther acts cold towards her new siblings, bullying them and framing them for her criminal acts. When Kate becomes privy to Esther’s bad behavior, she begins an investigation into her daughter and finds some shocking information.
Farmiga is brilliant as this mother who would do anything to protect her kids. A mother to two children herself, the actress steps into the role with ease, delivering truly heartwarming scenes as well as the expected terrifying ones. Kate’s character development is a joy to witness, as she goes from being scared of Esther and suffering in silence (she tells her husband her concerns, but he rebukes her) to finding her voice. Her final words to Esther are particularly satisfying, and will have viewers punching the air in triumph.
Each of The Conjuring movies is great in its own way, but none tops the first. Directed by James Wan, The Conjuring introduces Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Warrens are behind many famous cases (including The Amityville Horror case, which inspired Stuart Rosenberg’s movie of the same name) but this movie focuses on the Perron Family haunting. When the Perrons move into their 18-century farmhouse, they are haunted by an evil presence, and when that entity possesses one of their own, the Warrens become their last hope.
The Conjuring is an all-around great horror movie. It’s fun, jumpy, and highly original despite being based on a famous case and indulging in tropes. What makes it so special, however, is the on-screen chemistry between Farmiga and Wilson. The two actors are very convincing as a married couple, making audiences laugh one minute and gush the next. Farmiga has said it before, but The Conjuring isn’t just a horror movie. It’s also a story about love, and she and Wilson do their best to make it a great one.
Based on the 1959 novel Psycho by Robert Bloch (made famous by Alfred Hitchcock’s film adaptation), A&E’s Bates Motel follows mother and son Norma (Farmiga) and Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) as they attempt to make a fresh start in the fictional town of White Pine Bay. Opening up a motel with her recently-deceased husband’s money, Norma believes the worst is behind her, but when Norman’s mental health deteriorates, she is not so sure. In addition to guests and bills to worry about, Norma must now worry about the police officer on their back and the dead bodies that keep piling up.
Bates Motel is Farmiga’s best gig to date. Being a TV series and not a movie, she is given much more screen time to showcase her acting talents (five seasons worth, to be exact) and her range is incredible. Norma Bates is a complex character — at times sweet and nurturing, and at other times violent and unhinged — and Farmiga does a great job of capturing her many forms. It would be so easy for audiences to hate Norma, and with another actress playing her it might’ve been an inevitability, but Farmiga doesn’t allow it. Empathy is her superpower.
Based on the heartbreaking 1989 Central Park jogger case, Netflix’s When They See Us follows five boys from Harlem who were falsely accused of assaulting and raping a woman in New York’s Central Park. All Black or Latino, these boys — dubbed the Central Park Five — are Kevin Richardson (Asante Blackk), Raymond Santana (Marquis Rodriguez), Antron McCray (Caleel Harris), Yusef Salaam (Ethan Herisse), and Korey Wise (Jharrel Jerome). The series spans a quarter of a century, beginning in the Spring of 1989 with the boys’ questioning, and ending in 2002 with their exoneration.
Farmiga plays a very different role here as Elizabeth Lederer, the lead prosecutor in the Central Park jogger case. Unlike her other characters listed above, Elizabeth is an unlikeable woman with few redeeming qualities. Despite her doubts about the boy’s innocence, she continues to prosecute them anyway, showing no remorse as she does so. Farmiga is unrecognizable as Elizabeth — ditching her usual warmth and donning a tightly permed wig — and her performance is bound to have audiences riled up.
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