Emily's performance ranked #18 on Premiere's greatest performances ever

That's like saying Heath Ledger sucked in Dark Knight because all he did was laugh and smack his lips a lot. It's an exaggeration based on fact, but one that ignores all the great parts of a performance and instead focuses on a character's individual tics.

So yeah, she bugs her eyes out lots in the film. She's on trial for her life, not to mention her faith and sanity are slipping every second. I'd bug my eyes out too.

When I first saw clips of the film, I said the same thing - "Jesus, all she's doing is making weird faces, and THIS is what respected critics like Kael and Sarris said was the best film performance of all time? Yeah right!"

But then I watched the entire movie, twice, and was blown away by her work in it. She knows when to be subtle, and when to look like she's crapping her pants - which, by the way, would be happening to the real Joan of Arc.

I'd suggest to watch it again, the whole way through. Most movie performances now treasure "realism" above all else, but Falconetti proves that a performance can often go over the top while still being completely true to the character and story.