Parker Posey is a queen of independent cinema, a talented character actor who often branches out into television, mainstream features across genres, and cult comedies. With over 100 acting credits under her belt, Posey is a seasoned and accomplished performer.
This list pays homage to Posey's decades-spanning career by highlighting her 10 best movies, ranked according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Ned Rifle (2015) - 78%
New York City-based Independent director Hal Hartley is responsible for this drama, the final in a trilogy following Henry Fool and Fay Grim. These films tell the story of an unscrupulous aspiring novelist named Henry Fool who, in the original film, impregnates Posey's character Fay Grim.
In Ned Rifle, Fool and Grim's grown son is the eponymous character. His mother is serving a life sentence in prison for terrorism, and his father now lives in Seattle. Ned decides to travel there in order to find his father. His goal isn't reconciliation; he wants to murder him.
Amateur (1995) - 78%
Another Hal Hartley film, Amateur follows four disparate characters with connections to the pornographic industry. Set in New York City, it stars Isabelle Huppert, Martin Donovan, Elina Löwensohn, and Michael Gaston.
Although Posey only has a small role in the movie, her impact on Hartley's films is undeniable.
Flirt (1996) - 80%
Flirt is an experimental romance organized into three parts. Each part's action transpires in a different city: New York, Berlin, and Toyko. Yet another Hal Hartley feature, each part features the exact same dialogue between characters. The effect is a postmodern look into the nature of contemporary love.
Posey plays New Yorker Emily, a love interest of Bill Sage's character Bill.
Clockwatchers (1998) - 83%
Clockwatchers is an underrated workplace comedy directed by Jill Sprecher and co-written by her sister Karen. In addition to Posey, the movie also stars Toni Collette, Lisa Kudrow, and Alanna Ubach.
The four women are temps in a large office who form a bond over their transient status. Despite having different personalities, they provide solace and comfort to each other in a world defined by cubicles, low hourly wages, and bureaucratic micromanaging.
A Mighty Wind (2003) - 87%
Posey stars in nearly every Christopher Guest mockumentary. These goofy ensemble films are anchored around large events, and A Mighty Wind focuses on a fictional folk music reunion concert in honor of a deceased producer named Irving Steinbloom.
Posey plays Sissy Knox, a member of the second generation of a group known as The Main Street Singers. Her other band members include characters played by Paul Dooley, Jane Lynch, and John Michael Higgins. They are managed by the incompetent Mike LaFontaine, played by Fred Willard.
Henry Fool (1998) - 89%
This first installment in Hal Hartley's Henry Fool trilogy features a young Parker Posey as Fay Grim, Henry's love interest. Henry is played by Thomas Jay Ryan. An inept novelist, Henry befriends a garbage man named Simon Grim, an aspiring poet played by James Urbaniak.
Fay is Simon's sister, and she develops a romance with Henry through her brother. As Simon's writing takes off, Henry's dithers as he falls into a life of abusing drugs and alcohol. By the end of the movie, Fay finds herself pregnant as Henry decides to flee the country.
Waiting For Guffman (1996) - 91%
Waiting for Guffman is the first ensemble mockumentary directed by Christopher Guest. It showcases residents of Blaine, Missouri as they prepare for the town's 150th-anniversary celebration. Guest plays the quirky and driven theatre director Corky St. Clair, responsible for the keystone of the celebration: a musical entitled Red, White, and Blaine.
Posey plays a Dairy Queen employee named Libby Mae Brown who decides to audition for the musical. She joins other cast members played by Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, and Matt Keeslar.
Dazed And Confused (1993) - 91%
Richard Linklater's classic teen comedy features some of the most famous actors still working today, including Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, and Renée Zellweger. Set in 1976, the movie traces the final day of classes for students at Lee High School in Austin, Texas.
Wiley Wiggins plays Mitch Kramer, a freshman targeted by seniors for the annual hazing tradition. Posey plays a senior, Darla Marks, in charge of terrorizing the freshman girls.
Best In Show (2000) - 94%
Christopher Guest's Best in Show tells the story of the strange people who decide to enter their dogs in Philadelphia's annual Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. It features his regular gang of actors. Posey plays Meg Swan, who competes with her Weimaraner Beatrice. Her husband, Hamilton, is played by Michael Hitchcock.
The Swans are uptight and neurotic catalog shoppers who met at Starbucks. Thanks to the manic nature of her humans, Beatrice suffers from severe emotional issues.
Columbus (2017) - 97%
Columbus is the feature film from South Korean director Kogonada. John Cho plays the son of a world-renowned architect, a man named Jae Yong Lee who falls into a coma after giving a lecture at a university in Columbus, Indiana. Cho's character Jin finds himself stuck in the Midwest while his father recovers.
Jin develops a friendship with a recent high school graduate named Casey, a local library employee who aspires to become an architect. Posey plays Jae Yong Lee's personal assistant, a woman named Eleanor.