Young Adult (2011)

Young Adult is Jason Reitman's darkly comic 2011 drama about a jaded ghostwriter who returns to her small hometown determined to steal back her now-married high school boyfriend. Charlize Theron owns the film as its bitter, self-destructive lead, and the 3 scenes gathered here catch her at her most exposed, from stripped-down undressing shots to the kind of raw, unglamorous nudity the role called for. Short list, but essential viewing for anyone charting Theron's sexiest screen work.