Makeup and masks show the uneasy convergence of performance and persona, especially in an extraordinary scene of domestic dirty dancing, in which Sheil achieves a terrifying psychodramatic intensity.

NEWYORKER: Silver Bullets

When he spouts his off-kilter ideas, his self-absorption can be disarmingly childlike, but Mr. Sheen's performance highlights the gulf between James Dean's poignant persona and Kit's hollow posturing, his fear that the world isn't listening.

WSJ: 'Badlands': A Collision of Beauty and Ugly Reality | Masterpiece Column by Kristin M. Jones

It's hard to imagine what the film would have been like with Smith's charmingly cocky persona as opposed to Keanu Reeves' slightly wooden performance.

FORBES: Hollywood