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Top 10 Keanu Reeves

Perhaps best known for action roles in blockbusters like Speed and The Matrix, Keanu Reeves actually has more strings to his bow, and some of his most nuanced acting can be seen in small independent films requiring a subtle, cynical demeanour, at which he excels...

His Top 10 Films

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

Taking some tips from Sean Penn’s early performance in Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Keanu Reeves plays ditzy dunce Ted with style, but this film differs from its high school wastrel-movie rivals by way of madcap sci-fi. The eponymous duo meet a man named Rufus who allows them to travel through time so that they can pass their history class and thus focus on their inevitable rock stardom.

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Point Break (1991)

Sun-kissed coastlines, splashing surf and action-packed set pieces places The Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break on a fine line between crime drama and action comedy, as Reeves’ rookie FBI agent infiltrates the surfing community to smoke out Patrick Swayze’s successful group of bank robbers, The Ex-Presidents. It’s the first of two cameos in a Keanu Reeves film from a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

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My Own Private Idaho (1991)

And the other Chili Peppers cameo is here, in a sparse, strangely romantic film about street hustlers, written by director Gus Van Sant as an update of Shakespeare’s Henry IV plays. Scott (Reeves) has abandoned his silver-spoon heritage for a more bohemian life on the street with best friend Mike (the late River Phoenix), who suffers from narcolepsy and is quietly in love with the heterosexual Scott. An unusual, days-in-the-life tale of male prostitution and unrequited love.

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Speed (1994)

Keanu’s Die Hard, essentially – a simple, silly, but spectacular actioner that made stars of Reeves and the plucky Sandra Bullock. She winds up piloting the bus containing Dennis Hopper’s bomb, which the crazed extortionist has rigged to blow if the bus cuts below 50mph. Reeves hurls himself into the exhilarating fray and makes for a likeable hero amid the stunts and effects, and Speed won two Academy Awards, for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing.

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Devil’s Advocate (1997)

Though melodramatic and slightly sexist, this supernatural thriller allows Reeves to work through well-trodden character prototypes and expand his range – naïve Florida defence attorney moves to the big city with sweet southern wife (Charlize Theron) and dissolves into an amoral, conniving monstrosity under the tutelage of Al Pacino’s diabolical law boss. It’s a Grisham-esque courtroom drama that spirals into a hysterical and very entertaining Omen/Exorcist thriller.

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The Matrix (1999)

A cyberpunk classic that broke sci-fi ground (and kicked Phantom Menace butt), The Matrix finally made Keanu Reeves cool. Borrowing from William Gibson and Descartes as much as from generic science fiction, the Wachowski brothers created a complex universe that manages to raise philosophical questions while supplying high-adrenaline thrills and game-changing effects. Plus there’s learning kung fu by osmosis and Laurence Fishburne in armless shades.

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The Gift (2000)

A drastic departure from Reeves, he is unnervingly good as Hilary Swank’s wife-beating redneck husband in this richly atmospheric and underrated piece of Southern gothic horror. Sam Raimi directs and there are subtle turns all round – Cate Blanchett’s fortune-teller, Giovanni Ribisi’s needle-point performance as a young schizophrenic, and Greg Kinnear, who’s either very like his Little Miss Sunshine character, or completely different, depending on how you look at it.

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Constantine (2005)

A loose adaptation of DC Comics’ Hellblazer, this film has a thread of realism that winds through the hybrid of supernatural fantasy and action-horror. John Constantine (Reeves) is struggling to make his peace with heaven by risking his life casting demons out of children; he is also dying of lung cancer. It’s stylish and flashy, with some subtle comedy and a wonderful supporting cast: Rachel Weisz, Tilda Swinton (as the Angel Gabriel), and Peter Stormare as an incorrigible Lucifer.

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Thumbsucker (2005)

A world away from action blockbusters, Reeves really shines in this offbeat independent comedy, as a pseudo-Zen orthodontist who attempts to hypnotise a teenage boy out of sucking his thumb. His acting here seems effortless, intelligent and fiercely funny – his character, Perry Lyman, dry and ridiculous and foisting bizarre mind control experiments on his young patient (Lou Taylor Pucci). Co-stars Tilda Swinton (as the boy's mother) and Vince Vaughn as a supportive teacher.

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A Scanner Darkly (2006)

A dark, witty adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story, this features Reeves as an undercover agent infiltrating the supply chain for an addictive, illegal drug known as Substance D. Directed by Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise/Sunset), A Scanner Darkly uses a technique called Rotoscoping: tracing over live action footage to give the film a composited comic-book look. In deadpan mode throughout, Reeves perfectly complements Robert Downey Jr’s ever-present cynicism.

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Charlotte Newman