Rachel McAdams is one of the most versatile and engaging actresses working today. She has the ability to make you cry your eyes out from one of her movies and still be able to play one of the most iconic high school bullies of all time in the next. No matter what role McAdams steps into, she is able to make audiences fall in love with her and her girl-next-door persona.
The actress from St. Thomas, Ontario grew up as a competitive figure skater from four to eighteen and began acting at twelve. She first began her acting journey in the theater and developed such a passion for it that she graduated with a degree in theater from York University. Since then, she has starred in dozens of iconic roles from comedies like Mean Girls to dramas like The Notebook. These films and dozens of others have helped shape McAdams into the household name she is today. While there are so many incredible movies of hers to choose from, here are some of the best Rachel McAdams movies.
Updated May 9th, 2023: This article has been updated with new great films starring Rachel McAdams and with even higher quality by Danilo Raúl.
15 Red Eye (2005)
McAdams has the chops to pull off a good thriller, as she did in 2005’s Red Eye under the watchful eye of the master of horror, Wes Craven. Co-starring Cillian Murphy, most of the film plot takes place in the cabin of a plane. Hotel manager Lisa Reisert must take a red-eye flight to Miami, and while making time, she meets a mysterious, charming man named Jack Rippner.
They bump into each other again on the plane, but it’s no coincidence. Rippner secretly plans to assassinate a high-ranking government official, and he needs Lisa, since her position at the hotel can help him carry out his plans. It’s a thrilling film where McAdams holds her own against magnificent odds and comes out on top.
14 The Family Stone (2005)
This silly little Christmas film has a plot driven by the award circumstances created by mixing the life we make far from home with the life we have at home. McAdams had the acting chops and the name to lead this family drama, yet she asserted herself in a supporting role and crushed it.
The Family Stone a funny, clumsy drama with many comedy bits where McAdams plays a tender antagonist who’s not mean with intent but out of sincerity. The Family Stone is written and directed by Thomas Bezucha and features the likes of Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Dermot Mulroney, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Claire Danes, and many others.
13 The Lucky Ones (2007)
Another comedy-drama, this one written and directed by Neil Burger. In this movie, we see three army soldiers making a road trip together as all their flights are canceled, and they can’t wait to return home. McAdams plays one of the three lead roles as PFC Colee Dunn, who is on a mission to visit an old friend.
The Lucky Ones is a solid movie where we get to explore the trial and tribulations of returning soldiers as they take a 30-day leave before returning to action. We get some heavy insight into all the issues they have to deal with. SSG Fred Cheever (played by Tim Robbins) is facing a divorce and money problems, while SSG T.K. Poole (played by Michael Peña) is dealing with an injury-inflicted case of impotence.
12 Married Life (2007)
Married Life is a powerful period drama written and directed by Ira Sachs, featuring Patricia Clarkson, Chris Cooper, Rachel McAdams, and Pierce Brosnan. The film adapts the novel Five Roundabouts to Heaven by John Bingham, published in 1953. The plot revolves around the life of middle-aged businessman Harry Allen and his wife, Pat.
McAdams plays Kay Nesbitt, Harry’s mistress, who, not feeling happy as second fiddle, ends up in a relationship with Harry’s friend Richard who offers to entertain her in her loneliness. The story quickly turns dark when Harry conspires to kill his wife and marry Kay, who becomes consumed by guilt.
11 Passion (2012)
McAdams has the chops to play a femme fatale, and that’s precisely what she does in Brian De Palma’s 2012 erotic thriller Passion, alongside Noomi Rapace. While adapting stories to modern sensibilities is not uncharted territory for De Palma, this movie was perceived as a commercial flop.
However, the performance of the two leading actresses stands out in this remake of Alain Corneau’s 2010 thriller Love Crime. McAdams plays Christine, a powerful advertising executive working in Germany, who is having an affair. Her protégé, Isabelle, has a bright idea for marketing a new piece of tech, which Christine claims is her own. After this betrayal, Isabelle uploads her version of the ad to the web, which goes viral. Enraged, Christine vows revenge, taunting her now enemy with a sex tape. The plot ticks as Christine is suddenly found dead, and it’s up to the rest of the cast to figure out who committed the murder.
10 Southpaw (2015)
Southpaw comes in at number ten on the list and is a sports drama film from director Antoine Fuqua. The movie was released in 2015 and stars Jake Gyllenhaal who plays Billy Hope a middleweight champion boxer who seems to have everything in life going for him until disaster hits. He finds himself as lost as ever without his wife Maureen Hope (McAdams) and daughter Leila Hope (Oona Laurence). Hope tries to make a comeback and reclaim his status in the world of boxing before it is too late.
9 Disobedience (2017)
This movie is a true testament to love and faith as the main characters explore the boundaries of both. Disobedience is a romantic drama released in 2017 by director Sebastian Leilo starring McAdams as Esti Kuperman and Rachel Weisz as Ronit Krushka. The two main characters Esti and Ronit find themselves back in the same city after not seeing each other since their childhood. When they finally reunite the passion they felt for one another as kids start back up again and the two defy against religion and society to be together.
8 Game Night (2018)
Game Night is a 2018 comedy/action film directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The movie stars McAdams and Jason Bateman along with Jesse Plemons, Kyle Chandler, and Billy Magnussen. Max (Bateman) and Annie’s (McAdams) weekly game night gets shaken up when Brooks (Chandler) decides to make things more interesting with a murder mystery party. The murder mystery seems like nothing but fun until the characters set out to solve the case and come to realize that this is much more than just a game.
7 Wedding Crashers (2005)
This next film is a huge fan favorite and one of McAdams’ funniest movies. Wedding Crashers is a comedy/romance that was released in 2005 and comes from director David Dobkin. The number of stars this movie has seems endless, and its huge cast is one of the reasons why it’s so successful.
From Owen Wilson to Rachel McAdams, Vince Vaughn, Isla Fisher, Jane Seymour, Christopher Walken, and Bradley Cooper the talent goes on and on. Wedding Crashers is a must-watch and definitely deserves its spot on the list of best McAdams movies.
6 The Vow (2012)
Channing Tatum and McAdams star in The Vow as a happy newlywed couple whose lives change forever when a car accident alters their reality. Paige (McAdams) wakes up from a coma with severe brain damage and can’t remember her husband Leo (Tatum). Leo does all he can to rekindle their connection and get his wife back. The film was a hit from the start, bringing in a little under $200 million at the box office.
5 About Time (2013)
About Time is a beautiful, funny, and endearing film about living every moment to the fullest and cherishing the time you have with the people you love while they’re here. In this romantic comedy, Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) is an awkward young guy who finds out that the men in his family have the ability to go back in time and either re-do or relive moments from their past.
Tim uses this gift to his advantage when he meets Mary (McAdams) and the two fall in love with the help of time travel. While this ability does help him in a lot of instances he comes to realize that not even this can shield him from heartbreak and loss.
4 Spotlight (2015)
Spotlight is by far the most critically acclaimed film McAdams has been a part of as it won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. In addition to its two wins, the film was also nominated for four other Oscars including Best Supporting Actress for McAdams’ portrayal of Sacha Pfeiffer.
This pivotal moment in McAdam’s career and signaled to the world that she is a serious dramatic actor. Spotlight was directed by Tom McCarthy and follows a team of journalists investigating allegations of sexual assault against priests who discover this behavior within the Roman Catholic Church is a much greater problem than they ever imagined.
3 Mean Girls (2004)
This next movie on the list is perhaps the most iconic McAdams movie of all time, Mean Girls. Tina Fey’s 2004 comedy directed by Mark Waters is a cult classic and a great movie overall. It seems as though everybody is constantly referencing this movie whether they are saying “On Wednesdays we wear pink,” “I’m not like a regular mom, I’m a cool mom,” or “Get in loser, we’re going shopping.”
McAdams plays one of the most iconic high school mean girls to ever exist in the world of cinema, Regina George, leader of the plastics and stars in the film alongside Lindsay Lohan, Tina Fey, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Caplan, and Daniel Franzese. The movie was recently adapted into a Broadway show which has also been a huge success.
2 Doctor Strange (2016)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe holds some of the most powerful and beloved action/fantasy movies to date. With 32 in the franchise that have collectively brought in nearly $30 billion dollars, there is no end in sight for the creation of Marvel movies. Doctor Strange is one of the characters that belong to the MCU and his films Doctor Strange and its sequel Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
Doctor Strange is played by Benedict Cumberbatch, and his wife in the film, Christine Palmer, is played by Rachel McAdams. Doctor Strange is one of the most powerful sorcerers in existence and throughout Doctor Strange and countless other Marvel movies he is called to help protect the universe with his ability to cast spells and fight with magic.
1 The Notebook (2004)
Coming in at number one on the list for the best Rachel McAdams movie is Nick Cassavetes’ The Notebook. When Allie Hamilton (McAdams) is approached one night at the fair by a small-town mill worker Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) her life changes forever. They spend a summer madly in love despite their social class differences and have the time of their lives until Allie is forced to attend school in New York and the two break up.
Years later Allie and Noah find their way back to one another and fight to make their relationship work in the midst of disapproving parents, Allie’s current engagement, and long-lost letters. This movie is one of the greatest love stories of all time and is by far the best Rachel McAdams movie.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
