Great Female Performances of 2010 That Probably Won't Win Oscars
Submitted by AJDaGreat on Sun, 01/23/2011 - 15:58
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- I was really struck by how many great female performances there were last year. You hear so much talk about how there aren't great parts for women in movies anymore, but I think women got many chances to shine last year and they really trounced the men. The Oscars are looking like probably either Natalie Portman or Annette Bening for Best Actress, and either Melissa Leo or Helena Bonham Carter for Best Supporting Actress, but I wanted to take this time to honor the many great female performances that probably won't get recognized with Oscar wins. In rough order of preference, and with some hastily scribbled notes.
- 1. Lesley Manville (Another Year) - A dazzling, layered performance, both sympathetic and necessarily abrasive at the same time. Melodramatic and funny all at the same time, and she feels so real as the aging woman waiting for the great life that never came.
- 2. Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) - A fearless performance by such a young actress, she (like Manville) is caught in an odd limbo between Lead and Supporting. Either way you think of it, she's terrific.
- 3. The supporting cast of Black Swan - Mila has been nominated for more precursors, and she nails the dark eroticism of the role, but I may prefer Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder, both of whom did incredibly powerful work here.
- 4. Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine) - Real, raw emotion in this complex, naturalistic film.
- 5. Emma Stone (Easy A) - Pitch-perfect and superlatively charming, it's rare that women get to star in teen sex comedies and rarer still that they're this funny.
- 6. Amy Adams (The Fighter) - Not as acclaimed as Leo's performance, but Adams is very impressive as the brash outsider of the family. She shines, even in a top-notch cast.
- 7. Julianne Moore (The Kids Are All Right) - Again, the acclaim of her performance has taken a backseat to Bening's, but Moore was the real standout for me. She's always great to watch.
- 8. Tilda Swinton (I Am Love) - Swinton pulls off the emotional core and the sensuality with such ease here. Her acting is stunning to watch.
- 9. Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole) - Kidman usually plays these hyperrealistic movie characters in experimental films or epics, so it was nice to see how well she tackled this down-to-earth performance.
- 10. Rebecca Hall (The Town) - The acclaim was for Jeremy Renner, but Hall was the standout of the cast in my eyes. They called upon her to be the emotional center of the film, and she handles it perfectly.
- Also, some close runners-up:
- Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
- Marion Cotillard (Inception)
- Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
- Amy Ryan (Jack Goes Boating)
- Naomi Watts (Fair Game)
- Olivia Williams (The Ghost Writer)
- Greta Gerwig (Greenberg)
The Oscar should go to Knives Chau, of Scott Pilgrim fame. In fact every movie should have a cute 17 year old Chinese girl in it.