The RyMickey Awards - Best Supporting Actress

The supporting actress category was much more well-rounded and substantial than the upcoming Best Actress category which was rather weak in 2009.

Runners-up

#10 - Vinessa Shaw - Two Lovers

...Vinessa Shaw is compelling here. She's not given anything out of the ordinary to do -- she's kind of stuck playing "the good girl" -- but she felt so real to me...

 #9 - Kate Del Castillo - Julia

...A great performance from Kate del Castillo as the seriously deranged Elena -- a desperate mother clinging onto unlikely hopes and dreams.

 #8 - Rachel Weisz - The Brothers Bloom

...Rachel Weisz is cute as a button and was incredibly funny -- something I've never seen her attempt before.

#7 - Rinko Kikuchi - The Brothers Bloom

...Rinko Kikuchi plays Bang Bang with gusto, creating the funniest character in the film despite the fact that she only spoke three words. 

#6 - Marion Cotillard - Nine

...The shining star of the women here is Marion Cotillard. As Guido's wife, she gets to sing two songs, both of which, to me, contain the heart, soul, and emotional center of the film. As she longs for her husband to be faithful, she realizes that she's probably fighting a losing battle. Her "My Husband Makes Movies" was just heartbreaking and she sells it.

 And the Top Five...

#5 - Zoë Saldana - Avatar

Unlike the Academy, I'm willing to honor motion-capture performances.  Ms. Saldana may not have physically been on the screen, but her characteristics certainly embodied Neytiri, creating a much richer character than I expected to see.

#4 - Jennifer Lawrence - The Burning Plain

Young and new to the acting game, Lawrence gives a riveting performance here as a teen forced to play the mother to her younger siblings.  I look forward to seeing this lady in the near future.

#3 - Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air

Vera Farmiga could be my favorite actress working today.  Her facial reactions, the simple ways she chooses to move/hold her arms, her delivery of lines -- I'm fascinated by it all.  She exudes intelligence (which works for this character) and that is incredibly sexy to me. 

#2 - Sofia Vassilieva - My Sister's Keeper

 Any other year and this actress whom I had never heard of would have walked away with the coveted RyMickey Award.  Vassilieva, as a young terminal cancer patient, is emotionally devastating here...and that's a good thing.  She is helped by the script which gives her the most powerful moments in the movie (including a touching romance with a fellow cancer patient), but, in the end, it is Vassilieva who deserves the credit.

#1 - Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

 So much has already been said about Mo'Nique's transformation in this movie, and as much as I'd like to disagree with all her award recognition, she gave the most riveting performance I've seen in a very long time.  It's not that she's simply a comedian in a dramatic role; it's that she completely embodies the role of the hideously abusive Mary.  By the end, when Mary begins to realize her faults...man, it's powerhouse acting at its finest.