Saoirse Ronan remains an incredible actress who has mostly known for period dramas as a teenager, who has since become a prolific Academy Award-nominated actress. Just to add to her many achievements, in 2020, Time Magazine ranked her tenth on its list of the greatest actors of the twenty-first century.
Ronan has an insane ability to play powerful characters whilst also providing the viewer with clear insight into their vulnerability. Her wide repertoire and acting ability mean that she has not only played those in period dramas, but also raw and relatable contemporary women. This list pays tribute to her most complex roles that give way to real-life emotions.
10 Hanna (2011)
Just seventeen years old in this film, Ronan portrays a teenage girl let out into the world for the first time as a trained assassin. On her father's orders and seeking to kill a senior CIA agent Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett), Hanna has to use what knowledge she has been given in an unfamiliar world, and the results are entirely far from expected.
This film is arguably very underrated and Saoirse Ronan gives an outstanding performance as a young girl seeking to find her way in the world. Its well choreographed action sequences and slightly ethereal and fairy tale style makes the film all the more captivating.
9 The Lovely Bones (2009)
In this deeply upsetting supernatural thriller film, Saoirse Ronan portrays a murdered fourteen-year-old murdered and watching over her family an in-between place. With the novel of the same name being more intense and graphic in its description of events, the film version is gentler with viewers and instead gives a fantastical element - something which only director Peter Jackson could have added to the film.
Despite mixed reviews and complaints and fears of audiences being disturbed, The Lovely Bones was aimed towards a younger audience and therefore did well in that demographic as a result. Ronan excels in her portrayal of a ghost bitter with the world and those within it.
8 Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
Ronan reenacted the raw and rebellious story of real-life historical figure Mary, Queen of Scots and her feud with Queen Elizabeth I over the English throne. Her performance was incredible and arguably underrated in the awards upon its release. Starring alongside Margot Robbie, despite only being in one poignant scene together, they were perfect on screen as expected rivals but with an unexpected respect for each other.
Her characterization of Queen Mary has been heralded as showing another side to a well-known figure and has brought her to life in a more sympathetic way.
7 Little Women (2019)
In this Greta Gerwig remake of Little Women, Saoirse Ronan gives a captivating performance of Jo March as she and her sisters go through the ups and downs of life as they approach adulthood. The film was fresh, well-casted and captured the deep emotion of the 1868 novel, especially due to Ronan's performance.
Jo leads the story as a young woman struggling with a transition to adulthood and trying desperately to keep her family together. She successfully portrays the raw emotion of all of her sisters being treated very differently and feeling isolated and lost as a result.
6 On Chesil Beach (2017)
On Chesil Beach tells the complicated narrative of a young couple recently married who run into some difficulty very soon into their marriage. Set in many places, but with the plot formed around Chesil Beach in Dorset, England, Billy Howle and Saoirse Ronan portray a young couple with a very pure connection who struggle with their fears and anxieties of reality.
The film is marked by many incredibly artsy and poignant camera shots framed around the raw emotion of the couple. Saoirse Ronan's performance as Florence in particular is heart-breaking as she learns more about how she personally struggles to handle love and marriage.
5 Brooklyn (2015)
Brooklyn sees a young woman, Eilis, travel from her home town in Ireland to live in Brooklyn in the 1950s. Her journey is one of deep emotion and excitement as she moves to a new, large and unfamiliar place whilst making new friends and falling in love. Yet, events in her homeland cause Eilis to question everything.
Ronan's performance as Eilis is elating as she gently guides the viewer through her storyline in a very well-structured and captivating way. It feels very real as a story of immigration is placed at the heart of a pure story.
4 Atonement (2007)
At just thirteen years old, Ronan appears in this Ian McEwan novel adaptation as Briony Tallis, a main character who is pivotal in propelling the narrative in a bitter direction. Her performance caused her to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2008 and the film was hailed as a success.
Arguably Ronan's breakout role, director Joe Wright immediately recognized her incredible acting ability despite being so young. He has since argued that she helped shape the film into what it eventually became upon release. Upon this propulsion to stardom commenced a fantastic acting career.
3 The French Dispatch (2021)
Wes Anderson's wild and whimsical 2021 film witnesses a very brief cameo performance from Saoirse Ronan as a Showgirl. She certainly sparks plenty of intrigue and interest as to why she is there, particularly due to the bizarre criminal ongoings in this section of the comedy.
Whilst The French Dispatch is a fabulously crafted film with an unconventional story, Ronan displays her vocal abilities by singing a song to a character. Whilst this is not the first time that she has sung on screen, her character in the film is certainly a surprise for viewers, much like the other high-profile actor cameos in this masterpiece.
2 Ammonite (2020)
Perhaps more underrated and set on another Dorset beach, Ronan portrays a love interest for the unsung hero English paleontologist Mary Anning in Ammonite. Her character Charlotte Murchison worked with Anning in real life as a geoscientist and this perhaps fictional portrayal of their relationship is exciting and engaging to watch.
The film blurs slow stylized filming with brutal grey-skied realism with a slightly confusing storyline, but beautiful execution. Acting alongside Kate Winslet, the two have an electric and strangely powerful connection on screen. It is clear that we are watching two actors who are masters of their craft.
1 Ladybird (2017)
Much like her other roles, Lady Bird as a character is an unexpected yet exciting choice that helped propel the film to much positive critical acclaim. Starring as the bold and brilliant protagonist, Ronan captivates viewers with a coming-of-age narrative that sees a teenage girl in the early 2000s seeking to make something of herself.
Earning five Academy Award nominations, one for Ronan, Lady Bird is a lively and lamenting tale of what it must have been like to grow up in small-town America post-9/11. The film feels like a memory, or a clear snapshot in time and Ronan is instrumental in bringing it back to life.