Smackdown

The category again is Best Actress and the year is 2007. Well, this year was very exciting: in the end most people expected Julie Christie to win, but everyone knew that Marion could pull of an upset. She did and she made a lot of people ecstatic and some people furious. You will find out my reaction to her win very soon.
So the ranking:

1. Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose: I told you, very soon. :-) As Edith Piaf, the tortured French singer, Marion Cotillard was able to put on one of my favorite performances ever. At the beginning you see a loud, alcoholic young woman sturggling on the street, soon she becomes world-famous and self-confident diva and after the loss of her lover, a broken-down drug-addict. And the changes she goes through is magnificent: I think it's the beginning which could be the most distracting for the haters, but I think you cannot play a loud and over-the-top character subtly. Her scenes of grief are heartbreaking and the dying parts are simply mind-blowing and the interview... Gosh.
Grade:*****(*****)

2. Julie Christie in Away from Her: If Marion hadn't been nominated, of course she should have won. Julie Christie, whom I consider the most beautiful human being, has always been a huge favorite of mine. She manages to create a suffering character so thrillingly that she nearly breaks your heart. Christie's dignity and beauty are timeless. She need one or two looks and tells you everything. She perfectly gets across Fiona's pain and the loss of her mind and I simply cannot say anything else, except for congratulations.
Grade:*****

3. Laura Linney in The Savages: Now I really think that this performance is a bit overrated. The nomination was certainly well-deserved, but the win would have been a bit much. Linney plays Wendy, a neurotic writer who has to deal with the sickness of her father, her brother, her non-existing writing career, an older lover, a wild cat and a dead ficus. Well Wendy (just like the movie itself) is fantastically weird and quite funny and Linney never gets over the top in her scenes and she perfectly found the balance between the comedy and the drama.
Grade:****

4. Ellen Page in Juno: Now this performance is quite overrated. But again, the nomination was probably deserved. She is very funny and heartwarming as Juno, the self-confident and weird pergnant teenager. Her lines are excellent and the drama scenes were very well-acted by Page. When I was watching it, I was much more amazed by her than now, but I still like her performance. Actually, the more I write about her, the less confident I am that she's overrated.
Grade:***

5. Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age: And this is a seriously underrated performance and I would even say it's hated. But I could not resist it sometimes. I love Blanchett in the first movie, so of course this was a bit of disappointment, but this one was not so bad either. Although she had some overacted scenes, she also had marvellous moments, which really showed Blanchett's real abilities. So, not that bad.
Grade:***

So, what do you think?