10. Short Cuts (1993)
To make a list of Lily Tomlin’s best performances, you run the risk of simply listing a bunch of Robert Altman films (they made four together; in The Player she just has a cameo). In the sprawling Short Cuts, even though she has a pivotal role – as the waitress involved in the accident from which the whole film hangs – Tomlin’s good-natured, moral performance has a habit of getting lost in the din of actors seeking to make their mark, only really coming to the fore after a few rewatches.
