Even though she was only born in 1989, Elizabeth Olsen is one of the households names and the most successful actresses of her generation. She followed in the footsteps of her older sisters, Mary-Kate and Ashley, but unlike the Olsen twins, Elizabeth Olsen remains active as an actress even as an adult.
Related:Underrated Monica Bellucci Movies
She catapulted to stardom when she was cast as Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch in theMCUand became even more prominent as the firstMCUcharacter that got her solo show (alongside Vision) onDisney+. These days, Elizabeth Olsen is reprising her role as Scarlet Witch inDoctor Stranger in the Multiverse of Madnessbut she has other movies under her belt, some of which are underrated and deserve more attention.
5Martha Macy May Marlene (2011)
One of Elizabeth Olsen’s first major feature films was this psychological drama. Olsen played the difficult part of a young woman Martha who escapes from a cult and has to find a way how to return to a normal life. But even though her sister Lucy and Lucy’s husband Ted are helping her, this task might prove too much for Martha. The movie combines both events happening in the present time and relevant flashbacks which allows the audience to get to know Martha well, as well as other characters.
Despite her young age, Elizabeth Olsen gave an excellent performance in the demanding role, and it’s easy to sympathize with Martha and become invested in her destiny.Martha Macy May Marlenehas a strong cast overall, though, also starring well-known names such as Sarah Paulson, and Hugh Dancy. What makes Olsen’s performance even more impressive is that she was cast as Martha only two weeks before the filming started, and as such, she didn’t have that much time to prepare for the role.
4Liberal Arts (2012)
Whenactors turn to directingand play a leading part in their movie as well, it doesn’t always turn out great. Fortunately,Liberal Artsis one of the movies in which the combo work. Josh Radnor (best known from the sitcomHow I Met Your Mother) both directs the movie and stars as a professor Jesse who falls in love with a younger student Zibby (Olsen).
Related:Underrated Keanu Reeves Movies Fans Might Have Missed
While not every plot twist manages to surprise the audience, the actors deliver solid performances, and the movie has both fun and romantic moments. It’s not as overly optimistic as other romantic comedies, though, as it points out that sometimes relationship can be problematic, for example when there’s a bigger age gap between the couple (which there is between Jesse and Zibby).
3Wind River (2017)
With 243 thousand ratings on IMDb,Wind Rivergot a fair share of attention but still not as much as it would have deserved or as much as Elizabeth Olsen’s MCU movies. In the MCU,Wanda builds a strong friendship with Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeyeand they fight side by side in the Civil War as well as protect each other. Those MCU fans who enjoyed seeing them interact in the MCU shouldn’t miss out on watchingWind Riversince Olsen and Renner reunited in the movie and play the leading roles.
Olsen portrays the young FBI agent Jane Banner (probably not related to Bruce Banner aka Hulk) who goes to Wind River to investigate a murder, and cooperates with the tracker Cory Lambert (Renner). Olsen and Renner created a memorable duo in the movie andWind Riveroffers a strong atmosphere as well. If that wasn’t enough, it’s interesting to watch how the story will turn out and whether Jane will find the person responsible. An interesting fact about the movie is that it was inspired by real events which makes it even more chilling - both figuratively and literally, since it takes place in winter.
2Kodachrome (2017)
Regardless of what genre she appears in, Elizabeth Olsen can be relied on to give a solid performance. Her most memorable roles are the ones in which she gets to interact with characters different from the one she plays. That’s also the case inthis unusual road trip movieand drama. The main focus lies on Ben (Ed Harris), a celebrated photograph who’s dying and asks his estranged son Matt to help him fulfill his final wish. Another person who joins the duo on their long journey is Ben’s carer Zooey.
Related:Underrated Jim Carrey Movies
Kodachromeflew under the radar and has only about 16 thousand ratings on IMDb, but it doesn’t disappoint anyone who enjoys stories that combine drama and humor. Ben isn’t very sympathetic, at least in the beginning, but that doesn’t mean it’s not interesting to see how his story will develop. It helps that Harris, Olsen and Jason Sudeikis work well together, and the moments in which they argue or just simply talk belong among some of the best in the movie. Olsen doesn’t have as much space in the movie as Harris and Sudeikis, but she easily draws attention to herself in every scene she appears in.
1Ingrid Goes West (2017)
2017 was a good year for Elizabeth Olsen and also for all her fans who enjoy seeing her in roles not related to the MCU because since then, Olsen has been focused on playing Wanda Maximoff. But in this comedy movie, her character is very different from Wanda. Olsen stars as a social media star Taylor, influencer, if you’d like, that has her own stalker Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza). When Aubrey moves to Los Angeles because she wants to befriend Taylor, things get complicated.
On one hand, the story is somewhat disturbing at times, considering stalking is no laughing matter. On the other hand,Ingrid Goes Westoffers more than one funny moment so even though the movie has the power to make the audience think about Ingrid’s actions, it can also make the viewers laugh.Aubrey Plaza is excellent in the leading roleand Elizabeth Olsen is shining as the arrogant influencer who lives more on social media than in real world.
