Before Marvel, Elizabeth Olsen Starred In An Underseen Thriller With Robert De Niro

Elizabeth Olsen, the best Marvel Cinematic Universe villain and a vocal champion in the fight against movies made only for streaming, burst into notoriety in the early 2010s with a wild string of movies. Before she joined the MCU as Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff, she already had an impressive résumé that ranged from the excellent 2011 psychological thriller "Martha Marcy May Marlene" and the 2012 romantic dramedy "Liberal Arts" to the 2013 US remake of "Oldboy" and Gareth Edwards' 2014 take on "Godzilla."  

Amidst all this and impressively early in her career (let's all just quietly agree that those two mid-1990s child actor cameos in older siblings Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's projects don't count), Olsen managed to land a significant role in a movie starring none other than Robert De Niro. The film in question is "Red Lights" (2012), a supernatural thriller that puts Olsen in the company of not only De Niro, but Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Jones, and a slew of other greats ... and in a pretty hefty role, no less. 

Granted, you're unlikely to find "Red Lights" on a list of De Niro's 15 best movies any time soon — and chances are that the critically lambasted film will have a hard time making it on any of those other actors' best-of lists, either. Still, when you consider that Olsen was just starting out at the time, it's impressive that she was already operating on this level. 

Written and directed by Rodrigo Cortés (whose previous work included the Ryan Reynolds nail-biter "Buried"), "Red Lights" has a fascinating premise that puts De Niro in the kind of role he hasn't played too often in his career as Simon Silver, a famous blind psychic who may or may not have caused the death of his most ardent critic a few decades in the past. Murphy, Weaver, and Olsen play Tom Buckley, Margaret Matheson, and Sally Owen, three ardent skeptics at different stages of their academic careers. They become invested in Silver's case when the psychic makes a huge comeback — but they also have some reason to be wary of the man. 

While not exactly on the same level, the movie carries shades of Christopher Nolan's acclaimed "The Prestige" because its central mystery revolves around tricks and deeds that are seemingly impossible, as well as the authenticity of the person behind them. The film has a last-minute twist that brings a tonal shift that's truly worth witnessing, and it's genuinely entertaining to see both Olsen and Murphy in a plucky up-and-comer mode, plying their trade with established screen legends. As such, "Red Lights" is an entertaining watch for everyone who's interested in the genre, as long as you remember to lower your expectations a bit before diving in.