The Bustle Ballot
The Award For Best Meltdown Goes To...
A tribute to this year’s most operatic train-wrecks.
It was a great year for spiraling — on screen, at least. The best films of 2021 offered no shortage of dramatic downfalls and truly unhinged monologues, Shakespearean or otherwise.
A breakdown can take many forms, and no two look alike. Some are brought on by genuine tragedy, while others are entirely uncalled for — emotional indulgences, taken by characters with outsized egos and even bigger insecurities. They can constitute the entire arc of a film, or serve as a sideshow; they can be fueled by sadness, or result from anger. But every devolution has one thing in common: They’re delicious to watch. Here, Bustle has compiled a list of this year’s award-worthy meltdowns and crowned a winner.
The Runners-Up
Lady Gaga, House of Gucci
Does this one really require an explanation? Not every method actor’s performance requires an on-set psychiatric nurse, but watching Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani, it’s easy to see why this was a necessary precaution.
Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth
In this true-to-script Shakespearean film adaptation, Washington’s Macbeth slowly goes mad after usurping the throne. It’s clear what he’s thinking in every close-up, as Washington offers a masterful take on the centuries-old character.
Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza
Cooper’s meltdown as real-life film producer Jon Peters (slash boyfriend to Barbra StreiSSSand) is a sprint. From unjustly berating a 15-year-old to threatening to light gasoline, this fiasco goes from zero to 60 in a tight 30.
Rachel Sennott, Shiva Baby
Twenty-somethings love making everything about themselves, so nothing quite captures the Millennial/Gen Z zeitgeist like having a public anxiety attack at someone else’s shiva. Truly iconic.
Winner: Kristen Stewart for Spencer
In arguably her best role to date, Kristen Stewart is on the verge of a breakdown throughout her performance as the People’s Princess. The film begins with a flustered Lady Di getting lost on the way to Queen Elizabeth’s Norfolk estate for the Christmas holidays. Once she arrives and the three-day celebration begins, Diana’s slow descent accelerates: As the paparazzi test the estate’s fences and the royals encircle her, slowly eliminating her allies, she curls in on herself. She has visions of communing with Anne Boleyn, chewing on soup-splattered pearls, and clipping her arm with a pair of pliers — all leading to a fever dream-like climax, in which she nearly throws herself down a flight of stairs, couture gown and all.
It’s all very theatrical, and Stewart sells it, remaining outwardly tempered even as she’s about to boil over inside. Her performance is a masterclass in restraint, but also what happens when the levies give way.
