The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 2011

2011

So the much anticipated ranking:

5. Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn

I suppose my biggest issue with this performance was that Michelle could have been given so much more. She's proven it over the years that she's able to perform miracles on the screen with the right material. Well, this material just wasn't right for her. She did all that she could with this part, both technically and emotionally. It's a great performance, it's just not something to go crazy about.

4. Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs

Great Glenn's performance as Albert is not her best work, and it doesn't have the totally mindblowing and disturbing effect of some of her other roles, it's a wonderfully touching and emotional performance. It may not give you a huge experience, it's like reading a chapter from a classic novel: inspiring, uplifting and beautiful in itself and more than serves its purpuse. I stand by her!

3. Rooney Mara in The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo

Rooney Mara gives a wonderful, impressive and very complex performance as Lisbeth Salander. What may seem robotic to others is just pure greatness for me. She brilliantly portrays her character's vulnerability and humiliation, but also her cool and incredibly exciting personality. She shows so many sides and reveals so many layers of this woman so effortlessly that she might come off as doing no acting at all.

2. Viola Davis in The Help

Viola Davis is able to give a layered and heartbreaking performance as Aibileen. In each and every moment of the film, she's endlessly loveable, showing so many emotions and faces of this character. Her incredible talent shines through this somewhat thin material and is able to be wonderfully moving, natural and funny at the same time. I have my isssues about her role, but she's just fantastic

1. Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady

In the end, this is a very obvious choice in every possible way. Meryl is everything that a Best Actress winner should be. She gives a fantastic performance as Margaret Thatcher. She's just brilliant in the technical part of her performance, nails the emotional scenes and she's just thoroughly impressive playing this very controversial and divisive character. Simply brilliant.

 So I can proudly announce

that the winner is...

Meryl Streep 

in 

The Iron Lady

Hail Meryl!

Final thoughts: So Meryl wins her third... from me at the very least and FROM THE ACADEMY AS WELL! YAY!. :) Moreover, she's set a record as my only three time winner so far. Moreover, she's also my first consecutive winner. :) I hope that I won't get too repetitive with Meryl. After the rare vicious comments about her in the past, I feel like going back to her. She's downright brilliant as Thatcher. Viola was also fantastic and I wouldn't be mad if she won (I would be happy for her), just quite disappointed. Michelle was an obvious fifth, Great Glenn and Rooney were pretty much equal to me. My love for Great Glenn caused kind of a controversy here, but I was incredibly glad about the supportive comments. And I'm not someone who remains ungrateful so mrripley, Louis and Fritz can all pick a year (and of course, the previously requested years of Louis and Fritz will be done next, I just didn't have time, sorry). Thank you guys! Also, congrats to Joe Burns and greysie on the correct predictions, they can also pick a year!

*Addition: There was a pretty big Meryl vs. Viola fight among bloggers and fans and we ignored that the best performance of the year (Charlize Theron's) was actually snubbed. She acted five circles around any of these great ladies. Amazing. 

Omissions:

• Charlize Theron in Young Adult *My pick*
• Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids

The next year: 

• I Want To Live: The sequel!
• Klute: The Sequel! 

What do you think? Any thoughts on your mind? Any comments on this  Oscar year (I'll do some posts and rankings on it during the weekend)?

Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn

Michelle Williams received her third Oscar nomination for playing the screen icon Marilyn Monroe in the movie My Week with Marilyn. It's interesting that Michelle was the one who was mostly praised by the critics for her performance (and got the most awards), now she's not a really serious contender. Meryl and Viola are both so much stronger than her and it's quite sad that she doesn't have much chance as she's a great actress who really deserves to win an Oscar some day. Somehow, I feel she had a better chance of winning last year since then she was obviously the third one and now Glenn Close might easily get ahead of her. But we'll see. I can also see her pulling off an upset. 

My Week with Marilyn is probably the best title given to any movie and says the most about it. It really feels like you're watching it for a whole damn week and it's so uninteresting, bland and boring, it just drags along from one dreary scene to the other. Kenneth Branagh got an Oscar nomination for his performance as Sir Laurence Olivier, which might be deserved (compared to Jonah Hill, it definitely is). This movie is another proof to how shitty this Oscar field is and 2011 was in terms of movies (seriously, it was a better year for television). But here's hoping for better years! 

Whoever was going to play Marilyn Monroe in this movie was going to get Oscar nominated - that was my intitial thought about this movie. Marilyn is really a role to kill for: she has numerous possiblities to show the actress' range and talent. She needs everything, humor, sensitivity, an unmistakeable star quality. Michelle Williams may have seemed odd for the part considering she looks nothing like Marilyn Monroe, but honestly who can look like her? Marilyn was such a unique personality - I think nobody else could play her other than herself. But now here we have Michelle Williams, the best actress of her generation, with an incredible amount of sensitivity, beauty and radiant personality of her own. 

The main problem with My Week with Marilyn's Marilyn is that it's not as great as it could have been. Yes, Michelle is wonderful with what she has to work with but she doesn't have that much to do at all. What she most successful at is creating the star quality of Marilyn Monroe. For each and every second she's on screen, we can clearly understand why people went crazy for Marilyn back in her day. She's so fragile,  disturbed, radiant, attractive, seductive, sexy and all around brilliant - things about Marilyn that Michelle perfectly recreated on the screen. Although there isn't much of a  physical resemblance between the two ladies, I can hardly think of someone who could have pulled this part of Marilyn off so beautifully. All in all, it's just so easy to fall in love with Michelle's Marilyn Monroe.

As I've mentioned earlier, Michelle doesn't really have a great movie behind her. Not only that, her part is not as showy as it would initially seem. There are small breakdowns and touching moments here and there, it's just that we don't get a real portrait of Marilyn Monroe. Really, what was the goal of the Picture? It seemed to me that the director couldn't find out what to focus on: Marilyn's own storyline, the making of The Prince and The Showgirl, the love affair (?) between Colin Clark and Marilyn and as a result, we get total chaos in the movie: as painful as it may seem, Michelle suffers from this. Not all that much, because her talent shines through even the lousiest material. 

The chemistry between Eddie Redmayne and Michelle is clearly lacking and that's not really the fault Michelle. Redmayne is way too much of a dreamer and I couldn't really believe that he falls head over heels for Marilyn. Michelle does everything possible to be as seductive and sexy as possible, but I guess it wasn't enough.

Last year I kept praising Michelle's wonderful emotional intelligency in her performance in Blue Valentine. As Marilyn Monroe, she shows the same intelligence but not as rawly and effectively as last year. It might be unfair to compare her two roles to each other, but all I'm trying to say is Michelle is actually way too good for this dreary TV movie (there you go, I said that). All around it seemed much more like an Emmy performance for Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, not something that Oscar should really go for. THIS Marilyn Monroe she gets to chance to play is not enough for her talent. 

However, she shows some of that intelligency in some of the scenes, the one where she plays "the lost little girl" as Kenneth Branagh puts it as Sir Laurence Olivier. I was especially impressed by the scenes where we got to see Marilyn's insecurities and emotional fragility. I really connected with her character that way, mostly thanks to Michelle's interpretation. I especially loved the moment where she was watching a dollhouse with Colin. There's so much innocence and sweet despair displayed there by her that I couldn't get enough of it. I was really hoping that we would get more scenes of that calibre. And there are some, here and there. Her "big" breakdown in her bed is another wonderful example of how much Michelle can do as an actress. 

However, the songs were the real highlights of this movie: there's everything in them that the movie lacked. They are wonderfully expressive, exciting, heartbreaking, beautiful, touching and all the other things. In the end, Michelle's performance becomes as heartwrenching as it had to be and as we all know, a great ending can make up for all the other problems. 

I suppose my biggest issue with this performance was that Michelle could have been given so much more. She's proven it over the years that she's able to perform miracles on the screen with the right material. Well, this material just wasn't right for her. She did all that she could with this part, both technically and emotionally. Although some say it's mostly an imitation, I feel that Michelle very much inhabited this character and made it her own. It's a really great performance, it's just not something to go crazy about (just like everything else this year). 

What do you think?

The Next Year

2011

So the nominees are:

• Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
• Viola Davis in The Help
• Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
• Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn

So, another year has come and as of now, the race is very exciting. All of them have a more or less legitimate shot at winning (except for maybe Rooney) so we'll just have to wait until SAG announces (tonight) :). 

But more importantly ;), who will get my vote? What do you think? Can Meryl get her third win from me (and become my first consecutive winner)? Or will I go with one of the four other fantastic ladies, including Great Glenn? Who's your pick? What's your prediction for my ranking? (I'm really interested in that) :) 

The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 2010

2010

The much anticipated ranking:

5. Annette Bening in The Kids Are All right

I would be quite upset if Annette won in a shocker. Not because I hate her, I just don't feel that this is something that is worthy of an Oscar with such a competition. It's true that Bening has her great and memorable scenes, but this is not an amazing performance by any means. It's just very good, proper acting in a fine movie.

4. Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole

I can say that Nicole Kidman gave a very heartbreaking and beautiful performance as Rebecca Corbett. Although it did not blow my socks off, it was a very emotional and wonderful experience for me. Nicole approached this character very subtly and as a result, we got an excellent performance by her.

3. Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone

This was a very exceptional performance by a young actress, which may not be amazing or mindblowing for the first time but it's very intense and memorable work. Lawrence took the character of Ree Dolly and created a real character. I really appreciated this achievement because of its fierce nature.

2. Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine

This is a terrific, very unusual performance that is extremely memorable and haunting. Michelle Williams took a very ordinary character and made her something very interesting. It may not be for everyone, but it's surely breathtaking breathtaking once in a while. A real treat for Best Actress fans.

1. Natalie Portman in Black Swan

I can say that Natalie Portman, an actress whom a did not consider a real talent, kicks ass as Nina and gives a performance that has the strength of Mo'Nique in Precious, Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose. If she wins, it will be hard for the next winner to live up to the standard she showed. A terrifying, brilliant performance after which you feel being hit by a full-guided tour bus.

So I can proudly announce

that my winner is...

Natalie Portman

in

Black Swan

You won at least this one, Natalie! :D

Final thoughts: Wow, ranking is rarely so easy. I must say that this year is not THAT fantastic. Only Natalie and Michelle fall into that category. Nicole is very great, so is Jennifer, Annette is very good. I hope that if anyone upsets that will be Michelle or Nicole though that's almost impossible. Personally, I would hate a Bening win and her chances are getting bigger and bigger (please tell in the comments that Natalie will win). Sorry fans, I don't want to offend anyone but that performance was not something I would call the best. I really enjoyed this year anyhow.

Omissions: I can't think of any. Maybe Julianna Margulies in City Island though I would consider her supporting. Many say she's leading. I don't really mind the Moore snub. I feel, though, that the comparisions between Annette and Julianne are inevitable and that will take a lot of votes away from Annette.

And there's also a winner of the predicting contest: Malcolm, congratulations on your great predictions! :)

The ranking of the already reviewed years:

1. 1969
2. 1974
3. 1989
4. 1959
5. 1939
6. 2010
7. 2009
8. 1980
9. 1941
10. 1963
11. 1966
12. 1973
13. 1990
14. 1978
15. 1954
16. 1948
17. 2002
18. 1940
19. 1998

About the next year: Wow, again, I couldn't decide so I let you decide, which should be my 20th reviewed year (I was thinking about 1968 as it's so historical, but I'd really like to do the other two, too). There's a poll on your right. Happy voting!

Note: Unfortunately I will have to create a new poll as I won't be able to do 1971, because Sunday, Bloody Sunday was removed from Youtube. Sorry to everyone who voted for that year. I included 1977 instead and there's a brand new poll.

Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine

Michelle Williams received her second Oscar nomination for playing Cindy, a woman having serious marital problems in the very unusual movie, Blue Valentine. Williams' nomination wasn't a very sure thing, quite frankly. Not because she did not deserve it (she did) but because her movie is so unusual and indie, actually not many thought at the beginning of this season that she would get so far. Therefore she doesn't have much chance of winning in two weeks' time, in her case it's true that it's an honor just to be nominated.

Blue Valentine is a very unusual and innovative movie in many ways and yet it was a bit disappointing to me. It might be probably because I've heard such good things about it everywhere that I had super-high expectations from it. The screenplay is just excellent and I'm quite shocked that it was not nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category as they just love those indie screenplays. Ryan Gosling gives a very good though and a nomination would have been very deserved for him. I'm not that upset, though that it did not happen.

Michelle Williams is such an interesting actress. She's definitely the best actress of her generation. She has a unique, beautiful presence on the screen and one can so easily relate to her characters. Her acting style is so uncanny and impressive, she always takes my breath away. Moreover, she's also incredibly versatile. One day, she will definitely become an Oscar winner, I think though she might have to wait a couple of years to get the award.

Her performance in Blue Valentine is something that isn't mindblowing while you're watching it, but grows on you in time and haunts you. At first glance, it might seem to be another audience-pleasing weirdo-girl performance, but it's something much more than that. Cindy is a very ordinary woman/girl coming from a lower middle-class family. She did not have a very easy life, she had many boyfriends. The only person with whom she has a decent relationship is her grandmother.

Michelle Williams approached this character with such subtlety and I always felt that she understood all the problems of this character. Furthermore, Williams is so damn fearless and she's never afraid of looking ugly and being unlikeable on the screen. Although it's easy to relate to the character, Cindy is never really likeable. In addition, Williams added so much mystery to Cindy. I could never find out her intentions and I became so puzzled but in a very good way.

The only complaint of mine about this performance might be its pace. It starts out quite slow and I felt that it should have been a bit more dynamic. It might also be that Michelle only wanted to develop the character more carefully, this was just a bit odd, I think. However, with some little gestures and nuances, I got much closer to Cindy and I was impressed by Williams' performance more. There are small pictures and movements that are now ingrained in my memory. Like her smiles in the scene on the bus where she's telling a joke to her boyfriend. It's such a realistic and natural moment and I felt like being there. It was excellent. The other is when she runs to the bathroom at the hotel and starts crying and sobbing. It was just breathtaking to watch.

Williams basically plays two characters in this movie: the young Cindy and the more mature Cindy who are basically polar opposites. Williams was not given a chance to develop her throughout the movie from one scene to another and yet the decelopment of Cindy is clearly visible. All the emotions are so superbly displayed by Michelle.

The highlights of her whole performance are quite probably the fight scenes at the hospital when Ryan Gosling is raging and yelling and she's shouting at him. I was so blown away by those moments. The chemistry between them worked so brilliantly and they worked together so thrillingly. Those were one of the finest moments I've ever seen in a movie.

So, to sum up, this is a terrific, very unusual performance that is extremely memorable and haunting. Michelle Williams took a very ordinary character and made her something very interesting. It may not be for everyone, but it's surely breathtaking breathtaking once in a while. A real treat for Best Actress fans.

A very strong 4,5.

The Next Year

2010

So the nominees are:

• Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right
• Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole
• Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone
• Natalie Portman in Black Swan
• Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine

Seems to be a great year. We'll see. What are your predictions for my ranking and for Oscar's preference (Natalie seems to be a shoo-in, but Annette might surprise)? The predicting contest is on.

I'm saying right now that Natalie's review comes on 19th February.