Keira Knightley, a 37 year old British actress, has been in the public eye since the late 1990s, with one of her first roles being in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace’ and then 4 years later with  another hit, Bend It Like Beckham. Since then, her popularity has risen immensely with countless movie roles, Academy Award nominations, and numerous other awards. Although she can play any role, in my opinion, her best roles were in the outstanding period pieces. 

From The Duchess to The Imitation Game, and especially Pride & Prejudice, Keira Knightley has dominated this genre as the leading actress and overall best choice for the job. With a great accent, word choice, and look, she almost perfectly captivates the essence and demeanor of any pre-1940s woman every, single, time.

Atonement (2007), with 83% rotten tomatoes, follows Cecillia Tallis (Keira) and her childhood friend and lover Robbie Turner and how her younger sisters lie, tear them apart, and ultimately rob them of the chance to ever be together. This is a heart-wrenching story with a little mystery, leaving me in tears for hours thinking not only about how much I hate the little sister and wish the worst for her, but also how much I adored Cecillia and Robbie’s short-lived romance even when I knew they were doomed. I think about this movie about once a day and get angry every single time. If you’re looking for a heartbreaking movie about star-crossed lovers that’s not Romeo and Juliet, this is it. This being my absolute favorite on the list will not only leave you thinking about your own love life but the tragedy of lost love as a whole. 

Pride & Prejudice (2005), with 87% rotten tomatoes, is arguably her most famous role. The Jane Austen adaptation follows Elizabeth Bennet (Keira) and Mr. Darcy, a wealthy upperclassman who, after almost TWO HOURS of slow burn, eventually get married. While this movie does have a happy ending, unlike many Knightley films, the development of Darcy’s character was very well put-together and allows audiences to see the kind soul behind his frosty exterior. But Keira Knightley’s performance was incredible, perfectly portraying a young “rebellious” (for the time period) woman who unapologetically defies the expectations of her to marry the first half-decent man that offers, settle down, and pop out a ton of kids. Personally, I think this is one of her best works (I may be biased) but second only to Atonement. 

The Duchess (2008), with 62% rotten tomatoes, follows Georgina Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire (Keira), and her turbulent life following her marriage to the Duke of Devonshire. From multiple pregnancies (that aren’t boys), to numerous affairs, alcoholism, rape, and betrayal, the directors excellently depict how women during that era had so little choices and that the ones they did make for their own happiness had dire consequences. This movie made me cry many times. I could feel the fear and heartbreak that Georgina went through at multiple points in this movie and wish her husband the absolute worst. Although the movie, in my opinion, is not the most amazing of her works, if you’re looking for a classic depiction of the late 1800s women, then this is the movie for you. 

The Edge of Love (2008) with a 37% rotten tomato score is the lowest scoring on this list, but one of my top 4. It follows a club singer, Vera (Keira), and how she comes to meet her husband who is fighting in World War II. It also shows how her relationship with her childhood friend Dylan jeopardizes not only her own marriage, but also Dylan’s and her friendship with his wife Caitlin. From the beginning of the movie, you can tell that Dylan’s relationship with both women is MESSY, complicated, and will eventually lead to catastrophe. This movie had me screaming at the TV the entire time because of Keira Knightley’s character, and her constant bad choices towards the end of the movie made me not like her at all. It was honestly one stupid decision after another. While Vera claims to be loyal to her best friend and husband, she continuously puts herself in the position to betray them. Despite all of that, I still liked the movie and think that the rotten tomato score should definitely be higher strictly because of the acting performances.

A Dangerous Method (2011) with a 78% rotten tomato score was the hardest to watch. I had to stop multiple times to take a break from the movie. I found the movie uncomfortable and unsettling to a degree. The movie is mainly about Carl Jung’s discoveries in psychology and his friendship with Sigmund Freud. However, it also follows Jung’s mental hospital patient Sabina (Keira) and her unethical and unhealthy relationship with him. The thought of a doctor in such a position of power and knowledge taking advantage of a woman so mentally fragile was the most disturbing part for me. Although the movie was not really my speed, the acting from Knightley was outstanding and can be easily displayed in the first scene. She continues this wonderful performance throughout the movie along with her co-stars, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender, who both did an outstanding job. Even though this movie was not my personal favorite, the acting and storyline was exquisite and it definitely deserves the rating it got. 

The Imitation Game (2014) with a 90% rotten tomato score, being the highest scoring on the list, follows Alan Turing, a cryptoanalyst during World War II, who works on a top secret government project called Enigma used to send Nazi messages. He and a team work for over two years to crack this code, while also navigating the complicated social arena they are surrounded by. This movie was not about Keira Knightley’s character at all, but she still did an amazing job. If you’re looking for a classic period piece by her, this is definitely not it, but if you like movies about history that have twists and turns and aren’t 8 million hours long, this is for you. I was intrigued the entire time and knowing that this was a war movie, I thought it would be the usual WWII storyline. Surprisingly it was anything but that. The movie takes a different approach to the viewpoint of the war. Instead of it being from the soldiers perspective, they gave us a view into the lives of the people behind the war who did what no other minds in the world could. I would definitely recommend this movie as a history movie but not as a classic Keira Knightley movie. 

I would have included Anna Karenina on this list, but I simply do not have the time for a 2+ hours movie about a woman who makes obviously bad decisions.

To be completely honest, I think that Keira Knightley movies should be in their own genre because they are simply masterpieces. Even though I love ALL Keira Knightley movies from most to least favorite is Atonement, Pride & Prejudice, The Edge of Love, The Duchess, The Imitation Game, and with A Dangerous Method being last for obvious reasons.