Carrie-Anne Moss

Trinity's clothes in The Matrix (1999) are theatrical; Carrie-Anne Moss seems entirely at ease in them. Her composure makes Kym Barrett's costumes feel natural, and her precise physical work gives Trinity an authority that needs little explanation. We were moved by the warmth between Moss and Keanu Reeves, because their connection gives us people to care about amid the Wachowskis' explanations. The screenplay could spend more time with them and less on telling us how its world works.

Owen Paterson's severe production design makes the setting oppressive. The severity suits the film's concern with control, though Barrett's costumes offer a welcome relief from so much seriousness. She allows the film some pleasure in its own theatricality, while the chemistry with Reeves keeps the human stakes clear. Moss has described The Matrix simply: "I understood it from a feeling place; it was a love story."

The Matrix was her breakthrough; Memento (2000) followed with a different use for her abilities. As Natalie in Christopher Nolan's thriller, she brings emotional complexity to a supporting part. Science fiction and thrillers recur throughout her work, and physically demanding roles ask for the stamina and accuracy she supplied as Trinity. We would be sorry if that became all a casting director saw in her. Her toughness is more interesting when a part also allows her to be vulnerable.

Television gave her another prominent stretch as Jeri Hogarth in Marvel's Jessica Jones (2015). She returned to Trinity in The Matrix Resurrections (2021), a reminder of how firmly that role has stayed with her. Her later projects include The Acolyte (2024) and FUBAR (2025), continuing the prominent stretch of screen work that began in the mid-2010s. We recommend The Matrix for the warmth Moss and Reeves bring to it, with the warning that its explanations are not always so appealing.