10. Carrie Coon - Gone Girl
Providing excellent support in a movie totally dominated by a single performance, Carrie Coon's portrayal of a sister caught up in the betrayal, lies, and complexity of her brothers highly publicized missing persons case is one of the more subdued performances of the film, but easily one of the most compelling and genuinely moving.
9. Rene Russo - Nightcrawler
Another supporting performance to a fantastic lead, Russo doesn't simply complement Gyllenhaal's incredible characterization, but actually manages to add to it. One of the most intriguing and disturbing on-screen pairs, the moral ambiguity of their characters make for an interesting basis for their relationship. Truly bizarre, but compelling.
8. Tilda Swinton - Only Lovers Left Alive
The best performance in a movie all about performances, Swinton's screen presence, as always, is almost enough to carry the film. Pair that with the underlying emotional complexity and wisdom of her characters, and you have one of the most fully fleshed-out roles of her career. And she has a very strong filmography.
7. Jessica Chastain - A Most Violent Year
One of the best actresses of our time giving one of the strongest performances of her career. An interesting character that toys with your expectations. Maybe not the most unique roles out there, but Chastain does everything she can with it and makes the most of her screen time.
6. Morgana O'Reilly - Housebound
A strange performance, given the fact the movie starts off with her robbing an ATM, and being a horrible person for the entire first 40-or-so minutes of the film, she manages to become someone you like and care about by the end. O'Reilly wins you over, delivers quite a few great lines, and shows off some fantastic comedic timing, helping to make her one of the best and most unique horror heroines of the past few years.
5. Emma Stone - Birdman
Though I'm not the hugest Emma Stone fan out there, I do enjoy her as an actress and think she's very talented. With that being said, Birdman is easily the best performance I have seen her in. Equal parts hilarious and moving, her relationship with Michael Keaton is one of the best father/daughter pairings in movie history. Her monologue midway through the film alone would be enough to earn her spot on this list.
4. Sara Paxton - Cheap Thrills
A disturbingly subdued performance in an otherwise graphic, in-your-face movie, Paxton's cunning supporting role is not the flashiest thing you'll ever see, but her ability to take this completely horrible person and make you think of her in any other way than hatred and disgust is quite impressive. It's especially impressive when watched back-to-back with a less sinister performance of hers, like in The Innkeepers. She has range, and this movie proved that to me.
3. Scarlett Johansson - Under The Skin
Definitely a different turn for Johansson, she manages to take this stripped down role and rebuild herself from the ground up. What she managed to do in her voice-only performance in 'Her', she does again here, but with her body. At times sympathetic and equally disturbing, this movie is a kind of twisted, stylistic masterpiece totally dependent on Johansson's excellent performance, and she handles the role perfectly.
2. Essie Davis - The Babadook
The Babadook is a good horror movie, but had any other actress taken on this role, I doubt it would have been nearly as effective as this. One of the best horror performances I've seen in a very long time, Davis takes the emotional fragility, strength, weakness, and insanity of this character and runs with it. Her performance is, at times, perhaps a little in need of reining in, but the overall effect is incredible.
1. Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Fitting that in a year packed with great female horror performances, this one would wind up on top. Not only is Pike absolutely terrifying in this movie, but also truly intriguing and unique. I have never seen another character quite like this, and that alone is enough to impress me. Take into consideration that and the fact her performance made me gasp at one point, gag a couple times, and not blink a single time she was on-screen, and you know you've got something quite special. Though I doubt she will walk away with the actual Oscar this year, she is the definite Best Actress winner in my book. One of the most intriguing characters in recent memory, and one of the finest performances of the decade.
I always love seeing what you have to say about things.
ReplyDeleteVery good selections. Ros is my #1 too. She's my hero.