Appearing in superhero blockbusters to award-winning dramas, Margot Robbie is certainly one of the most exciting film stars working today. My wife and I definitely count her as one of our favorites. But what makes her stand out above the rest?
Margot Robbie is currently in a league of her own. It has been a decade since her stateside breakout role in The Wolf of Wall Street. In that time, the native Australian has cemented herself as one of Hollywood’s most exciting actors. She typically brings old-school star power to the modern era’s ubiquitous genres, as she turns in great performances in action blockbusters and historical dramas alike. She now has a habit of effortlessly stealing the spotlight from her some of her most famous costars while working with many of contemporary cinema’s most prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Adam McKay, Damien Chazelle and James Gunn. And just last year, the entire world went on a Barbie Dream Vacation, thanks in part to her performance in the Greta Gerwig hit of 2023. In honor of that, I present the five roles of Margot Robbie that deserve your attention today.
5. I, Tonya (2017)
The role of infamous figure skater Tonya Harding earned Robbie her first Oscar nomination. In one of her most multifaceted performances to date, Robbie’s Tonya is altogether funny, intense, and commanding, but at other times, she’s deadly serious and immensely fragile. The film also put on display one of her greatest strengths; that is Robbie is seemingly unafraid to portray complicated, unlikable characters who deal in moral shades of gray. Robbie plays Harding with a balance of ferocity and sympathy that constantly challenges your allegiance to her character and successfully complicates the legacy of a figure who most people dismiss as the villain of an extraordinary puzzlingly scandal. And it ranks in as her number 5 role.
4. Focus (2015)
This lighthearted crime thriller would cast Robbie and ( at the time ) future Suicide Squad costar Will Smith as dueling flirtatious con artists. Their sizzling romantic entanglement complicates the layers of duplicity and deception that their work requires, and Robbie playfully hides how much her character knows. As a matter of fact, it’s delightfully unclear whether she’s totally oblivious or a criminal mastermind with extraordinarily superb bluffing skills. The actress remains likable and commanding despite concealing a significant portion of her motivations and feelings. It’s this charming performance in a fun, breezy little movie that ranks in as her number 4 role.
3. The Suicide Squad (2021)
2016’s Suicide Squad was a certified misfire despite a brilliant turn-in from Robbie. As it would turn out, she would get a better chance to shine in the 2021 do over as her iconic character Harley Quinn. The Suicide Squad is a much stronger film in every way including a strong performance from Robbie. Harley Quinn is, without a doubt, one of the more difficult superhero characters to translate to live-action entertainment. I mean she was created for a cartoon children’s show. But Robbie walks the line nicely, giving the character a larger-than-life charisma without going too over the top. Add in the graceful physicality of her fight scenes and you have a Harley that’s one of the most compelling visual combatants in modern superhero movies, twirling and flipping between enemies with the precision of an elegant ballerina.
2. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
The role that put Robbie on the American map came via playing playing Naomi, the vivacious young wife of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) in Martin Scorsese’s tragicomedy white collar crime thriller. The protagonist’s preposterous rise and fall may be easiest to track through the eyes of his love interest. Their relationship begins with an absurd but believable flurry of lust and infatuation, then quickly avalanches into a mess of coked-up excess and abuse that justifiably turns Naomi away from her husband. Her heightened Brooklyn accent plays perfectly here with the exaggerated nature of the character. Keen observers will also notice that it serves as a warm-up for a similar voice she later employs as Harley Quinn.
1. Barbie (2023)
If The Wolf of Wall Street put Robbie on the map, this is where she painted it pink. Honestly, it’s a role that felt tailor-made for her, and not just for her physical likeness to a “Stereotypical Barbie”, but for her ability to subvert that stereotype while still embodying it. This Barbie begins her journey to hero with the desire to escape the horrors of existential dread and cellulite, only to discover how our world chews women up and spits them out.
It’s during Barbie’s epiphany about the paradox of patriarchal standards that the narrator breaks the fourth wall, pointing out the irony in having one of the most conventionally attractive and successful A-list actresses meditating on feeling like she isn’t enough. But Robbie’s casting remains perfect because she can’t live up to the stereotype, which no one can. She is able to carry director Greta Gerwig’s common themes of girlhood, independence and displacement while still maintaining the essence of Barbie’s idealized doll. This is no small feat for any actress, but Robbie once again, sticks the landing.
So again, these are the roles I believe are perfect for one to grow in their knowledge of the exceptional talent of Margot Robbie. As always, your opinions are welcomed.
Lee Pittman – June 26, 2024
