Emily Blunt is one of the most exciting actress around and she is back on the big screen this week with her new crime thriller Sicario, which sees her team up with filmmaker Denis Villeneuve for the first time.
Emily Blunt In Sicario
Blunt is a big of a favourite here at FemaleFirst and Sicario is a movie that is set to be a tough leading role that will show another side to her as an actress. The movie has already been tipped as a possible Oscar contender.
To celebrate the release of the film, we look back at Blunt's career and picked out some of her best performances so far.
- The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
While Blunt was no stranger to acting and the big screen in 2006, The Devil Wears Prada was the movie that really helped put her on the map as she teamed up with Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.
The movie was based on the novel of the same name and saw David Frankel in the director's chair. Blunt took on the supporting role of Miranda Priestly's senior assistant Emily Charlton, a role that really showed off her comedic skills.
It's hard to believe that The Devil Wears Prada will be ten years old next year but it remains one of Blunt's funniest performances - I have always been a huge fan of this character and how Blunt played her. She more than holds her own alongside Streep and Hathaway and it was a movie that really did send her star rocketing.
Blunt, Streep, and Hathaway all give strong central performances and it is great to see them all bouncing of each other - resulting in some of the film's funniest scenes.
The Devil Wears Prada was one of the surprise box office hits of summer 2006 and grossed over $326 million by the end of its theatrical run. Blunt went on to pick up a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Baftas and the Golden Globes but was overlooked by the Oscars.
- The Young Victoria (2009)
Blunt continued to make a name for herself after the success of The Devil Wears Prada with Sunshine Cleaning and Charlie Wilson's War, before landing the role of Queen Victoria in The Young Victoria in 2009.
The Young Victoria was one of Blunt's biggest lead roles of her career to date as she teamed up with director Jean-Marc Vallée while Julian Fellowes had penned the screenplay.
The movie charted the first turbulent years of Queen Victoria's reign and how she battled against the fact that she was a woman on the throne. The movie also charts her romance with Price Albert.
For me, The Young Victoria was one of the best period dramas to hit the big screen in 2009 with Blunt the perfect choice in the title role. Blunt perfectly captured the strength and the vulnerability of the young queen. Blunt shines from start to finish and she remains one of the greatest big screen monarchs of recent years.
Blunt and the script beautifully bring together the political and personal threads of the story to make this woman an incredibly well rounded and interesting character. The Young Victoria is a movie that is rich in political intrigue, personal drama and relationships with great performances from Blunt and Rupert Friend.
The movie went on to be nominated for three Oscars, going on to win Best Costume Design.
- The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
In 2011, Blunt teamed up with Matt Damon for The Adjustment Bureau, which was loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story, "Adjustment Team." The movie marked the feature film directorial debut of George Nolfi, who also penned the film's screenplay.
The affair between politician David (Damon) and ballerina Elise (Blunt) is affected by mysterious forces keeping the lovers apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself - the men of The Adjustment Bureau - who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path...or risk everything to defy Fate and be with her.
It is not often that you see romance and science fiction blended together but, for me, The Adjustment Bureau finds the perfect mix between the two. However, it is the romance element that is the strongest aspect of the film... and that is thanks to two great central performances from Blunt and Damon.
From the moment the two characters meet, there is a great chemistry between the pair and it is this spark between Blunt and Damon that pushes the central relationship and makes it totally believable. They makes a wonderful film partnership and you are rooting for them to be together from the very beginning.
The Adjustment Bureau is more of a romance movie that a sci-fi film and I like the new spin on the romance genre. The movie is fast-paced and intelligent with Damon and Blunt on top form. Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, and Terence Stamp completed the exciting and talented cast list.
- Your Sister's Sister (2012)
Lynn Shelton return to the director's chair and writing duties in 2012 with Your Sister's Sister, which was her first feature film since Humpday back in 2009.
The movie sees Blunt take on the central role of Iris, who invites her friend Jack to stay at her family's island getaway after the death of his brother. At their remote cabin, Jack's drunken encounter with Hannah, Iris' sister, kicks off a revealing stretch of days. Blunt is joined on the cast list by Mark Duplass and Rosemarie DeWitt.
Your Sister's Sister is a movie with an enormous heart and brings more to the rom-com genre that the usual throw away films in this genre. The movie recognises that people go through major things in life and you see these characters trying to work their way through that in this movie.
Don't get me wrong, Your Sister's Sister is not all doom and gloom, but it is a little more grounded in reality that most films that we see in this genre. There's something real and honest about the story and the characters and I found that to be incredibly refreshing.
Blunt, Duplass and DeWitt all deliver wonderful central performances and the banter and chemistry between them really elevates Your Sister's Sister and makes it the film that it is. It is crucial that these central relationships work and the improvisation between them feels incredibly natural and off the cuff.
Your Sister's Sister premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to gross $3.2 million, easily making back its 125,000 budget.
- Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Blunt turned her hands to the big budget blockbuster in 2014 as she teamed up with Tom Cruise for the first time. The movie was based on the 2004 novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka and saw Doug Liman return to the director's chair.
Edge of Tomorrow was one of the highlights of last summer and was one of the best science fiction movies to hit the big screen in 2014. It also provided Blunt with one of her most action packed roles to date - I love her in this type of strong role and would to see her take on more films and characters like this.
Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop-forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again...and again. But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.
From start to finish, Edge of Tomorrow is an action packed movie that has some interesting central characters and a really exciting, intelligent, and tight script. This is more than a mindless blockbuster and should be the template for which a lot of the summer movies are modelled as it delivered on every level.
Cruise and Blunt made the perfect action team - Cruise proved that he is more than capable of still leading these types of movies, while Blunt showed that she should land more blockbuster lead roles.
Edge of Tomorrow was a hit with the critics upon release and went on to gross over $369 million at the global box office - in fact, it really did deserve to be far more successful than it actually was.
Other Emily Blunt movies that are not to be missed including Into The Woods, Looper, The Muppets, and Sunshine Cleaning.
Sicario is released 8th October.
Tagged in Emily Blunt The Young Victoria