Elle Fanning’s 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Elle Fanning is one of the most talented young actresses of her generation. Since making her screen debut at the age of two in the film I Am Sam, Fanning has gone on to accrue a staggering 60 film and TV credits since 2001. For context, that’s roughly the same amount as her sister, Dakota Fanning, who is four years older.

Elle Fanning has also worked with some of the finest directors in Hollywood, including Francis Ford Coppola, David Fincher, Sofia Coppola, Mike Mills, J.J. Abrams, Nicolas Winding Refn, Alejandro Inarritu, and many more. With Fanning set to bow in The Great via Hulu Friday, May 15, here are her 10 best movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes!

10 Somewhere (2010) 71%

Under the delicate direction of Sofia Coppola, Fanning gives one of her earliest heartfelt turns in Somewhere, a movie about a wayward actor struggling through the ennui of a midlife crisis.

The “day in the life” style follows Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff), a cynical actor staying in Hollywood’s fancy Chateau Marmont as he tries to navigate his flailing career. When Johnny’s young daughter Cleo (Fanning) enters the picture, he begins to soften up, refocus his priorities, and snap out of his drug-addled malaise.

9 The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008) 71%

In David Fincher’s take on the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald tale, Fanning portrays the seven-year-old version of Daisy. Hey, who wouldn’t want to grow up and become Cate Blanchett!?

The three-time Oscar-winning film traces the unlikely existence of Ben Button (Brad Pitt), a man born at the end of his life who gradually ages backward over time. He ultimately forges the love of a lifetime with Daisy, a woman whose mother grew up in the nursing home where Benjamin was raised.

8 I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With (2006) 73%

In what’s sure to be one of her most esoteric titles to date, Fanning flashed her comedic chops opposite Jeff Garlin and Sarah Silverman in I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With. Now that’s a mouthful!

The flick follows James Aaron (Garlin, who also wrote and directed), a Second City performer beset by a run of bad luck. He loses his job, girlfriend, and fails to land an audition for a stage adaptation of his favorite movie. However, things look up when James meets Beth (Silverman), an offbeat soul who may hold the key to his happiness.

7 Galveston (2018) 73%

Adapted from the novel written by True Detective scribe Nic Pizzolatto, Fanning stars opposite Ben Foster in the incendiary crime picture Galveston.

Directed by French actress-turned-filmmaker Melanie Laurent, the story follows a spree of hyper-violent vengeance when a cancer-stricken hitman returns to his Texas homeland. Foster plays Roy Cady, an ailing assassin in New Orleans out to settle old scores following a mob-related setup. Fanning shines as Rocky, a teenage prostitute Roy takes under his wing en route to Texas.

6 Trumbo (2015) 74%

In the real-life account of Hall of Fame Hollywood scribe Dalton Trumbo, Fanning adds much-needed pathos as the daughter of the embattled titular figure. Bryan Cranston also scored a much-deserved Oscar nod for his performance!

Dalton Trumbo was the hottest writer in Hollywood during the 1940s until he was outed as a Communist supporter. Once named, he was immediately blacklisted in Hollywood and told he’d never work again. Despite the obstacles, Trumbo skirted the strictures of Hollywood unions en route to winning Oscars for Roman Holiday and The Brave One.

5 The Boxtrolls (2014) 77%

Fanning plays the integral role of Winnie Portley-Rind in The Boxtrolls, a movie that not only scored well among critics but also went on to land an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature!

The film traces an orphan named Eggs (Isaac Hampstead-Wright) who is raised by a clan of subterranean, trash-collecting cave-dwellers known as Boxtrolls. Fanning plays Winnie, the first human friend of Eggs and daughter of Lord (Jared Harris) and Lady Portley-Rind (Toni Collette). With Winnie’s help, Eggs begins to feel at home.

4 Ginger & Rosa (2013) 78%

Starring opposite Alice Englert, Fanning gives one of the most compelling and nuanced turns of her career thus far in the magnificent coming-of-age tale Ginger & Rosa!

Written and directed by Sally Potter, the film tracks the rocky adolescent growth of two inseparable besties in 1960s London. Ginger (Fanning) and Rosa (Englert) do everything together until a fateful day in 1962 changes everything. With the Cuban Missile Crisis in full-effect during 1962, the two best friends react in different ways that threaten to undermine their kinship.

3 The Beguiled (2017) 79%

Even among a gorgeous cast of fellow actresses, Fanning tends to outshine them all in The Beguiled, Sofia Coppola’s elegant remake of the 1971 Clint Eastwood thriller.

The catty tale of desire, jealousy, and repressed sexuality picks up when a wounded Union soldier (Colin Farrell) stumbles upon a school for girls in Virginia during the American Civil War. The ravishing women take an immediate shine to the man, causing a series of infighting, backstabbing, and other duplicitous dealings. Fanning steals the show from the likes of Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Oona Laurence, and more!

2 Super 8 (2011) 81%

Thanks to J.J. Abrams, Super 8 is the marvelous mega-movie that put Fanning on the map. The shroud of secrecy surrounding the movie’s brilliant marketing campaign made it feel like the must-see event of the young new decade!

The sci-fi mystery gets going in 1979 when a crew of preteens visits their Ohio town’s train-tracks to film a Super 8 video. When they inadvertently capture an explosive train wreck, the footage leads to the discovery of an alien entity onboard. Even at 13 years old, Fanning flashed a maturity far beyond her years as Alice, the voice of reason among the male-centric kids.

1 20th Century Women (2016) 88%

From one movie set in 1979 to another! Fanning more than holds her own opposite the heavyweight acting likes of Annette Bening and Greta Gerwig in the bohemian coming-of-age story, 20th Century Women.

Written and directed by Mike Mills, the semiautobiographical film charts the formative years of Jamie Fields (Lucas Jade Zumann), who grows up under the supervising tutelage of his single mother Dorothea (Bening). The film celebrates the women who help raise Jamie in the boarding house his mother runs in Southern California. Fanning plays Julie, Jamie’s best friend growing up. The film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay!