The Friday Five: Saoirse Ronan

The Friday Five: 
Saoirse Ronan
Young Irish actress Saoirse Ronan is one of this generation's most talented actresses, someone who I could see being compared to Meryl Streep in decades to come.  At such a young age she's already received several Academy Award nominations and has appeared in some stellar films, and here are my personal five favorite Saoirse Ronan films.



**THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS**







#5
 How I Live Now
Saoirse Ronan plays an introverted, strong-willed American who's sent to stay with her aunt in the English countrside during a volatile war.  While there she finds love and encounters hardship as the war comes close to home, separating the family as she embarks on a journey to bring everyone back together again and find her lost love.  Ronan is in her element here, playing a strong-willed, determined character to perfection.











#4
 Hanna
Although she's more known for her dramatic performances, Saoirse Ronan can also showcase intense action prowess, and "Hanna" is proof of that.  Ronan plays the titular character who's raised by her CIA father in the winter wilderness and trained to be an unstoppable assassin.  She's tasked with an assignment to take out her father's former co-worker and she uses all her training to her full advantage, while also uncovering hidden secrets about her life.  Ronan balances steely determination with youthful innocence very well here, and the action sequences are intense and exciting.











#3
 Atonement
She doesn't appear much in this acclaimed dramatic piece, but "Atonement" is what made Saoirse Ronan an international star and earned the young starlet her first Academy Award nomination.  Ronan plays Briony, the younger sister of Keira Knightley's Cecilia, who falsely accuses Cecilia's lover Robbie of doing something unspeakable, resulting in the two being separated and sending Robbie to the army.  Her actions have decades of repercussions, and the effects take its toll on everyone involved.  Ronan was able to tell more than just her words with her soul-piercing eyes and demeanor, and you can clearly see a superstar being born.











#2
 Brooklyn
Besides being totally blown away by the ethereal beauty Saoirse Ronan naturally possesses, "Brooklyn" also showcases her emotional dramatic chops and provides a truly moving, stirring, beautiful love story.  Getting to speak in her native Irish accent, Ronan plays Eilis, a young Irish immigrant who goes to America and finds love in Italian boy Tony.  As she starts her new life in America, tragedy strikes home that sends her back to Ireland and into the arms of another man, and she struggles with wanting to stay in her homeland and return to her true home.  The film garnered several award nominations, and Ronan received her first Best Actress Oscar nomination here - and it's more than deserved. 











#1
 Lady Bird
In this fantastic coming-of-age dramedy, Ronan plays Lady Bird, a free-spirited young girl who wants to escape her mundane life in Sacramento (and especially her overbearing, equally strong-willed mother) and attend college somewhere far away.  The relationship Ronan builds with Laurie Metcalf - who plays her mother - is downright beautifully tragic, and the energy between the two is electrifying and firmly establishes both as stellar actresses - as both earned Academy Award nominations for their performances. 



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