Best films/tv series of Lesley Manville?

May 27, 2023 2:01 PM

I am a huge admirer of the actress Lesley Manville, and I was wondering if there are any good films and tv series that you recommend of hers? I really liked her in Mum, Magpie Murders, Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris, Phantom Thread, and Another Year. But are there other older and new works of hers to recommend?
posted by RearWindow to Society & Culture (14 answers total)

I really enjoyed Topsy-Turvy. She doesn't have a huge role, but the whole thing is fun.
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 2:31 PM on May 27, 2023 [1 favorite]

See her in “Topsy-Turvy,” directed by Mike Leigh.
posted by BostonTerrier at 2:32 PM on May 27, 2023

I forget how big her roles are, but "Vera Drake" and "Secrets and Lies," both also by Mike Leigh, are good.
posted by rhizome at 2:47 PM on May 27, 2023 [1 favorite]

Sherwood, from last year, was very, very good.
posted by dudekiller at 3:02 PM on May 27, 2023 [2 favorites]

She has a small but wonderful role in Mike Leigh's Mr. Turner.
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 3:13 PM on May 27, 2023 [1 favorite]

She was fantastic in Harlots. (Which also features the brilliant Samantha Morton.)
posted by mochapickle at 3:22 PM on May 27, 2023 [5 favorites]

She's brilliant in Harlots
posted by melisande at 3:30 PM on May 27, 2023 [2 favorites]

jinx
posted by melisande at 3:31 PM on May 27, 2023 [1 favorite]

I really liked her in Ordinary Love, with Liam Neeson about how a cancer diagnosis affects a middled aged relationship.
posted by amestoy at 12:31 AM on May 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

Mum was fun
posted by mmmbacon at 8:18 AM on May 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

She's good in the most recent season (and the coming one, I think) of The Crown, playing Princess Margaret. And as others have said, she's lovely in Topsy-Turvy in a smaller role with an incredibly poignant scene near the end.
posted by less-of-course at 9:23 AM on May 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

She plays the heroine's mother in North and South - the BBC 2004 adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel, not the cheezy 1980s Civil War miniseries.
posted by Preserver at 12:06 PM on May 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

She plays Susan in Bed Among the Lentils (BBC series Talking Heads by Alan Bennett).
posted by charlen at 12:43 PM on May 28, 2023

I see no one has mentioned Citadel, the current action show on Amazon Prime. It’s…probably because it’s kind of an awful show but she is very memorable as a Machiavellian, sinister character.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 6:14 PM on May 28, 2023