2020: The year of Robert Pattinson

I'm sure he's at the front of everyone's minds at the moment. The young actor who graced the vampire world as Edward Cullen in Twilight has now become an esteemed performer taking on a variety of unique roles in 2020 alone. His work schedule in 2018/19 must have been hectic. So what is it about Mr Pattinson that casting directors are so drawn to...we discuss his performances in 2020 and what lies ahead for him.

1. Tenet

Now don't worry, you're not expected to understand Tenet to follow this particular blog (between you and me, I've still got no idea), but you should have been able to notice Robert Pattinson plunging himself into the action movie world alongside John David Washington. Now I wasn't a huge fan of this film, but the performances from the two leads kept me enthralled and intrigued. Pattinson in particular was curiously performed; he was suave and mysterious yet unpredictable. When watching the film the first time round, I expected him to turn on The Protagonist at some point, instead we're given a blooming relationship that leads to an enigmatic conclusion which Pattinson delivers rather awkwardly; his accent falling from view and an audience left struggling to comprehend.

★★★ - Neil, Tenet

2. The Devil All the Time

I felt that Pattinson became a bit lost in this film. It was almost as if the director wasn't sure how to use him or what his strengths were. He delivers some groundbreaking sermons that are award-worthy in themselves but the film doesn't give the actor the time to explore the character. That being said, the tension that he and Tom Holland create in the chapel was honestly butt-clenching (see Devil All the Time review for more). Pattinson refused to have dialect-coaching for this film, adament he would work out the accent himself. He then didn't reveal the accent to Antonio Campos (the director) until the first day of shooting...a brave move that I'd say paid off.

★★★ - Reverend Preston Teagardin, The Devil All the Time

3. The Lighthouse

Now, at first I had conflicting views about Pattinson's performance in The Lighthouse. I couldn't place his accent and I wasn't at all confident that he could either. Especially when opposite the great Willem Dafoe who was outstanding, Pattinson had a tough task from the off. But then when I reflected on the gritty picture, I realised how much of a gruelling, physical performance had been given. He seemed to be a sweaty mess from start to finish and his moments alone were truly mesmerising. Any monologues that he yelled in Dafoe's direction were scarily brilliant and his quiet moments of carnage were even more so. This is a great performance and a hint at where Pattinson's career could take him...the Oscars perhaps?

★★★★ - Thomas Howard, The Lighthouse

4. The Batman & beyond...

Now as we all know Robert Pattinson has been cast as the next dark knight. With rumours circulating of his clashes with the director and images emerging of Pattinson wearing the cape and sporting the mask, how excited should we be for this film?

From the first trailer, it seems the film will contain a similar amount of grit as the Dark Knight trilogy included. This would be the best direction when the trilogy was so unbelievably successful, but let's just hope that it's a different enough performance and it contains enough originality.

Christian Bale was an incredible Bruce Wayne, but his villains were also excellent: Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, Heath Ledger and Tom Hardy. With a villainous supporting cast like that it would have been impressive if the film had flopped; and Matt Reeves' The Batman seems to be following suit casting Colin Farrell, Paul Dano and Zoë Kravitz you'd be pretty dim to not be excited for this one.

If Pattinson manages to secure a classy and dextrous performance as The Caped Crusader, then the world truly will be his oyster, it could open up a world of opportunity and a real gateway into receiving roles in first class films. As Man of Steel did for Henry Cavill; as Iron Man did for Robert Downey Jr; as Wonder Woman did for Gal Gadot.

Will Pattinson be next?