The 10 Best Performances Of 2016 (So Far)

10) Toby Jones – Tale Of Tales

Matteo Garrone’s Tale of Tales is a fairytale like no other, a portmanteau of sex, gore and grim fantasy that finds Salma Hayek devouring the heart of a sea monster, and a randy Vincent Cassel romping his way through a magical realm of crones turned into beautiful young women. Arguably the best of the film’s three strands though is that which stars Toby Jones, as a bored manchild king rearing a flea until it’s of gigantic proportions.

It’s Jones, in his overgrown toddler naïveté, who so elevates the Highmountain segment of the movie. It’s a blackly comic turn that gets Garrone’s comedy-horror approach better than no other in the (impressive) cast. The apologetic look on Jones’ face when an ogre wins his King’s daughter in a competition of his own design is priceless.