There aren’t many actors in Hollywood that have reinvented themselves to the same extent as Robert Pattinson. A former teen heartthrob known for his star-making performance in the Twilight series, Pattinson successfully rebuilt his professional reputation by the mid 2010s, reasserting his place as a versatile dramatic performer throughout the next decade.
Returning to mainstream film with more recent movies like Tenet and The Batman, Pattinson has proven himself far more than a mere teen idol, handling everything from gritty superhero films to Lovecraftian horror films with awe-inspiring ease.
Tenet may have spelled out Pattinson’s return to mainstream pop culture, but The Batman outfitted the former teen star with his first major role since Twilight’s conclusion roughly a decade prior. A notably darker interpretation of the Dark Knight’s comic book adventures, Pattinson offered a fresh and original interpretation of the title character in 2022’s The Batman. Plagued by his parents’ deaths and longing to make a difference in Gotham City, Pattinson’s Caped Crusader grapples with an assortment of issues within The Batman, distancing himself from almost every portrayal of the character that came prior. Watch The Batman on Max.
As with each of director Robert Eggers’ movies, The Lighthouse is unlike any other movie in contemporary cinema, even when compared to Eggers’ previous work in 2015’s The Witch. A bold, black-and-white psychological horror film, The Lighthouse focuses on two men’s gradual descent into insanity while tending to an isolated New England lighthouse in the late 19th century. Adopting period-accurate maritime accents and mumbling their way through colorfully nonsensical tirades, Pattinson and his co-star Willem Dafoe disappear into their roles in The Lighthouse, ensuring a movie as unforgettably strange as The Shining, The Witch, or The Babadook before it. Watch The Lighthouse on Max.
A breathtaking crime thriller from the endlessly talented Safdie brothers, Pattinson once again managed to show off his eminent adaptability as an actor through his gripping performance in Good Time. Hurtling through each scene with grit and determination, Pattinson gives it his all as desperate New York thief Connie Nikas. Desperately trying to free his imprisoned brother from jail, Pattinson’s Connie constantly races against the clock in an attempt to help his younger sibling any way he can, facing a parade of dangerous obstacles along the way. Watch Good Time on Max.
Between its futuristic setting, ensemble cast, and nonlinear presentation, there’s a lot to unpack when it comes to 2018’s High Life. A wondrous sci-fi horror film from respected auteur Claire Denis, High Life once again finds Pattinson working alongside a world-renowned filmmaker. As with his various collaborations with the Safdies, Christopher Nolan, and Robert Eggers, Pattinson wholeheartedly commits to his starring role in High Life, opting for a more subtle performance when it comes to the movie’s withdrawn lead character. Watch High Life on Max.
Pattinson’s long-awaited return to mainstream cinema came with Christopher Nolan’s time-bending 2020 thriller, Tenet. After almost a decade spent in the indie circuit, Pattinson had successfully broken free from audiences’ perception of him as Edward Cullen, allowing him to seamlessly inhabit the role of Tenet’s Neil. An enigmatic espionage operative with a mysterious connection to the Protagonist’s past, Pattinson’s Neil manages to hit all the major characteristics when it comes to a James Bond-esque British spy, especially in regards to his charm and utter likability as a character. Watch Tenet on Amazon Video.
One of the earliest indie films Pattinson made after Twilight, The Rover also serves as one of the best post-apocalyptic films of the past decade. Taking some degree of inspiration from Mad Max, The Rover pits Guy Pearce’s grizzled Australian wanderer with Pattinson’s young, relatively inexperienced amateur thief, Reynolds. Stumbling through each scene with the wide-eyed expression of a lost puppy, Pattinson expertly displays Reynolds’ childlike naivety in each of his scenes, maintaining an excellent dynamic with Pearce’s hardened lone survivor. Watch The Rover on Amazon Video.
A little-known addition to Pattinson’s filmography, Damsel also happens to provide the actor with one of his most unusual roles yet. A satirical take on the traditional singing cowboy archetype, Pattinson takes center stage in Damsel as the loquacious Western traveler, Samuel Alabaster. Billing himself as a charismatic pioneer who’s only interested in reuniting with his lost love, the sobering reality behind Samuel’s facade makes Damsel the fascinating modern film it is, subverting every trope viewers associate with the traditional Western narrative. Watch Damsel on Prime Video and FreeVee.
