\t\u2018Dreamland\u2019 (2019)<\/p>\n
\t\t\t![\"Dreamland,](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paramount Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tIn an underrated performance, Robbie stars in Dreamland<\/a>, a film set in 1930s Texas with a Bonnie and Clyde-like premise. But this time, with a twist: now, the female is the criminal. Robbie plays Allison Wells, a fugitive bank robber who meets teenage Eugene Evans (played by Finn Cole of Peaky Blinders). He falls in love with her and becomes her partner in crime. The pair\u2019s chemistry is off the charts, which makes the performances feel genuine. Toward the end of the film, in Allison\u2019s final scene, Robbie radiates in the dramatic moment where she pleads with Eugene not to abandon her and their plans. \u201cI didn\u2019t make you into anything you didn\u2019t already want to be,\u201d Allison says to him while failing to realize what she\u2019s created. The charisma and vulnerability Robbie is able to bring to Allison were crucial for the role to work and for viewers to see the complexity of her journey.<\/p>\n \n\tThe lesser-known film first premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and did not have a wide theatrical release. It hit theaters for a limited run in November 2020 but struggled at the box office, as the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height. With Robbie\u2019s strong performance and Lyle Vincent\u2019s stunning cinematography, it\u2019s a shame this film didn\u2019t get more attention.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t\u2018Z for Zachariah\u2019 (2015)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tZ for Zachariah<\/a> is often overlooked when one thinks of Margot Robbie\u2019s projects. This early-career credit features Robbie as Ann, an innocent young woman who lives a secluded life on her family\u2019s farm, believing she is the last person on Earth after a nuclear war. The film is based on Robert C. O\u2019Brien\u2019s novel, directed by Craig Zobel (Mare of Easttown). It was an interesting choice for the actress as it\u2019s one of her first non-bombshell roles post-Wolf of Wall Street. Here, she\u2019s stripped down of all the glamour and her pure acting talents shine. Because the picture only features three characters in total, it relies heavily on the performances to carry it through.<\/p>\n \n\tThe film co-stars Chris Pine\u2019s Caleb and Chiwetel Ejiofor\u2019s Loomis, who find each other and try to survive living in the same house. They end up in a love triangle, with both men vying for Ann\u2019s affection, and she struggles with her emotions, tired of feeling isolated after her family\u2019s death. Robbie\u2019s able to convey humanity\u2019s need for connection so effortlessly. While her decision to choose one man over the other leads to a detrimental act of jealousy and leaves Ann heartbroken, it causes Robbie to experience loneliness in an even deeper way. In a film where the premise seems simple, she brings her all to it.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t\u2018Mary Queen of Scots\u2019 (2018)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tIt\u2019s almost a rite of passage that an actress plays a historical figure or is in a period piece at some point in their career. However, not all of them are memorable. But in this film<\/a> about Queen Elizabeth I (Robbie) and Mary Stuart\u2019s (Saoirse Ronan) rivalry for the throne, Robbie delivers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe film\u2019s big build-up moment is at the end when the two Queens come face to face for the first time. And the talents of Robbie and Ronan bounce off each other, with Robbie selling her performance by exuding the insecurity and envy Elizabeth I had for Mary. Robbie played a more vulnerable version of the monarch than might have been expected, as she struggles with maintaining power as a non-traditional Queen who has no spouse or children. Externally, Robbie also committed to the part, spending more than three hours a day in hair and makeup to replicate the Queen\u2019s iconic look, as well as her illnesses, such as the scars from smallpox, which resulted in her wearing the white facial powder. Although Robbie doesn\u2019t have a lot of screen time in this film as it focuses on Ronan\u2019s Mary, the moments that are shown of her are impressive.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t\u2018Once Upon a Time in Hollywood\u2019 (2019)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tDespite Robbie\u2019s minimal screen time in Quentin Tarantino\u2019s 2019 film<\/a>, she sure does leave an impression<\/a>. Working with the Pulp Fiction director was a dream of Robbie\u2019s, so after I, Tonya was released, she wrote him a letter, and he cast her in the film. Robbie plays Sharon Tate, the popular actress of the \u201860s who was married to director Roman Polanski and pregnant when she was murdered by members of the Manson Family in 1969. However, the film doesn\u2019t focus on the horrific murders, but instead highlights Tate\u2019s enamoring personality and presence. When the camera is on Robbie\u2019s Tate, she lights up the screen. Whether she\u2019s dancing or going to the Regency Bruin Theatre to watch herself in a movie, she exudes happiness, which is the key trait Robbie set out to accomplish.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIn preparation to portray the actress, Robbie spoke to Tate\u2019s family members, including her sister, read books about Tate and watched her films. On days she was filming, she said<\/a>, she would even tune out the real world by not checking emails to stay in the right mindset. Following the film\u2019s premiere, there was controversy over why Robbie didn\u2019t have more lines, to which Tarantino responded, \u201cI reject your hypothesis,\u201d when a journalist in Cannes asked him<\/a> about the decision. For her role to spark a debate when the film\u2019s two leads are Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio speaks to Robbie\u2019s ability to captivate an audience.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t\u2018Bombshell\u2019 (2019)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tOne of the first films inspired by the #MeToo movement<\/a> was Jay Roach\u2019s 2019 movie, Bombshell<\/a>. Unlike Robbie\u2019s co-stars Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman who portrayed real-life news anchors Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson, Robbie\u2019s character, associate producer, Kayla Pospisil, is fictional. However, it\u2019s based on the real-life women who allegedly endured harassment from Fox News\u2019 Roger Ailes.<\/p>\n \n\tThere\u2019s a powerful scene in the film where Robbie, Kelly and Carlson (the latter two allegedly experienced sexual misconduct from Ailes) are in an elevator together, and the silence is loud, representing the shared isolating feeling of fear to come forward. And Robbie\u2019s Kayla also has some of the most emotional and uncomfortable scenes in the film: she\u2019s called into Ailes\u2019 office thinking it\u2019s a formal meeting to discuss her potential to report on air, but instead, he asks her to stand up, give him a twirl and lift up her dress, leaving her feeling humiliated. Another memorable moment takes place when Kayla breaks down, hysterically crying after tells her colleague turned friend, Jess Carr (Kate McKinnon) what happened with Ailes. The raw talent Robbie brought to her character earned her a second Oscar nomination, this time as best supporting actress.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t\u2018Babylon\u2019 (2022)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tBabylon<\/a> is underappreciated. Damien Chazelle\u2019s fifth feature film was a love letter to cinema that explored the 1920s transition of silent films to talkies. The movie featured a star-studded cast \u2014 in addition to Robbie, including Brad Pitt, Jean Smart, Diego Calva and Tobey Maguire \u2014\u00a0all of whom delivered strong performances. Robbie plays actress Nellie LaRoy, who is a rising star and loves to party. However, Nellie\u2019s struggles to adapt to the changes being made in film lead to a meltdown at a party, which ultimately ruins her career.<\/p>\n \n\tThough Babylon received poor reviews and criticism for its three-and-a-half-hour runtime and being overindulgent, Robbie\u2019s performance was praised. In fact, her scenes are arguably the most entertaining, with a high-energy dance sequence at the beginning, a chaotic snake bite scene and her ability to cry on command while she\u2019s filming a movie \u2014 a skill Robbie learned while working on the Australian soap, Neighbours. The actress has said she wonders<\/a> if, in 20 years, Babylon will be better received and connect with audiences in a later era. It very well could be. And that\u2019d be a true meta moment for the film\u2019s message and its final montage.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t\u2018Barbie\u2019 (2023)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tBlonde and flawless like a Barbie doll? Yeah, Margot Robbie fits the bill. In all seriousness, though, shout-out to everyone who advocated for Robbie to play the lead role in, not just produce, the film. In a movie that could very easily come across as superficial, as it\u2019s based on the Mattel plastic doll, Barbie, the film Barbie<\/a> has so much substance. As Robbie\u2019s Barbie leaves Barbie Land behind to enter the real world, she realizes the obstacles women face and the unrealistic expectations set to be perfect, so well described in America Ferrera\u2019s memorable monologue. Robbie nailed the complexity of a human Barbie while balancing the role\u2019s comedic tones, not to mention the training she underwent to achieve her physique and the dance lessons for that grand party scene.<\/p>\n \n\tRobbie proved she\u2019s a leading lady as the film broke box office records<\/a>, earning more than $1.4 billion worldwide. It became the top-grossing film<\/a> in Warner Bros.\u2019 history. However, though the movie was nominated for eight Oscars, it only won one award, for best original song, and Robbie memorably failed to receive a best actress nomination and director Greta Gerwig didn\u2019t receive a best director nod. But hey, there\u2019s always the sequel<\/a>, right? Here\u2019s to hoping!<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t\u2018The Wolf of Wall Street\u2019 (2013)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tThis was the role that put Margot Robbie on the map. While she had a prominent role in the Australian soap Neighbours years prior, Martin Scorsese\u2019s 2013 black comedy, The Wolf of Wall Street<\/a>, was her first American film. Based on Jordan Belfort\u2019s memoir of the same name, the feature shows Belfort\u2019s (Leonardo DiCaprio) transformation from a once modest stockbroker to a greedy millionaire and the head of brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont \u2014 as well as how his drug-fueled behaviors affected his relationships around him, including with his wife, Naomi (Robbie).\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe hottest blonde ever,\u201d read the description of Naomi (aka the \u201cDuchess of Bay Ridge\u201d) in the film\u2019s script while Scorsese was casting for the part. During the audition for the film, she slapped DiCaprio across the face, fearing she would either be blacklisted or praised for her performance; the latter happened, and that move ultimately booked her the job. Robbie\u2019s Naomi delivers several memorable lines that are still quoted in pop culture today like when she says, \u201cwere not gonna be friends\u201d to DiCaprio\u2019s Jordan when he\u2019s still married to his first wife, or \u201cWho\u2019s Venice, huh?,\u201d \u201cWho? Who? What are you, a fucking owl?,\u201d when she suspects Jordan\u2019s been cheating on her. And you can\u2019t forget the iconic scene (pictured above) when she withholds sex from Jordan as she thinks he\u2019s been unfaithful, again.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIn a role where her character mainly serves as Jordan\u2019s arm candy, Robbie instead used the opportunity to show her dramatic acting chops. In one of the film\u2019s final sequences, she tells Jordan she wants a divorce, and she makes you feel her fear as she thinks she\u2019s going to lose their child because of his recklessness. It\u2019s hard to fathom this role didn\u2019t earn Robbie her first Oscar nomination \u2014 and even harder to believe Robbie, herself, doesn\u2019t think<\/a> she did a good job \u2014 but it instead proved she was here to stay in Hollywood.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t\u2018The Suicide Squad\u2019 (2021)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tFew actors seem like they were born to play certain comic book characters. Heath Ledger as The Joker, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Tom Holland as Spider-Man \u2014 and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Let\u2019s be clear, all three of her turns as Harley are great. The debut in 2016\u2019s Suicide Squad was needed to see her backstory as Dr. Harleen Quinzel; it was also satisfying to see her and The Joker (Jared Leto) finally together in a live-action adaptation of the comics, even if the film itself had its problems. Birds of Prey (2020) was also entertaining to see an expansion of the Clown Princess of Crime and her trying to move on from that co-dependent relationship and lead a fierce girl group.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tBut above all, her performance in 2021\u2019s The Suicide Squad<\/a> is the best. She\u2019s funny, full of high energy, and it\u2019s clear she\u2019s fully grown into what Harley should be. For the first time, fans see her completely independent of Mr. J., which adds an unpredictable element to single Harley that\u2019s fun to watch. She also has that explosive escape sequence that the film\u2019s writer-director, James Gunn, wrote for her, and Robbie trained to pull off the stunt herself, in addition to creating the choreography. As Gunn continues to expand the DC Universe, hopefully viewers will continue to see Robbie as Harley.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t\u2018I, Tonya\u2019 (2017)<\/p>\n \t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Parisa Taghizadeh\/Roadside Attractions\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Focus Features\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Andrew Cooper\/Columbia Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle\/Lionsgate\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paramount Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Warner Bros.\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Mary Cybulski\/Paramount Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Warner Bros.\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: 30West\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n