A strong crop of contenders this year for the Best Leading Actress of 2013. In fact, as you go down the list, you'll notice that only one of the Academy's contenders makes my top five (although three others find their way into the Honorable Mentions section). It was a very good year for women in film.
Also in the running...
(in alphabetical order)
Gemma Arterton - Byzantium
Lake Bell - In a World...
Amanda Seyfried - Lovelace
Naomi Watts - Diana
Honorable Mentions
#10 - Shailene Woodley - The Spectacular Now
"Woodley's performance is subtle and gentle, lacking a showiness that we so often see."
#9 -Meryl Streep - August: Osage County
"Meryl Streep is quite good, playing the incredibly off-putting and sharp-tongued no-nonsense Violet."
#8 - Sandra Bullock - Gravity
"Bullock brings her character's desperate longing for companionship, courage, and will to survive front and center in what is probably the best work I've seen from her."
#7 - Brie Larson - Short Term 12
"Brie Larson is fantastic as Grace, perfectly balancing the somewhat tricky aspects of a character that asks her to console others despite the fact that she can't do the same for herself. Her Grace has a quiet strength that makes it all the more difficult to watch as we long for her to reconcile with her past and come to peace with whatever demons may have crossed her path."
#6 - Judi Dench - Philomena
"While we certainly feel sorry for her, Philomena is a strong woman and Dench never makes us pity her -- something that easily could've happened."
And the Top Five...
#5 - Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
It's not easy to upstage Meryl Streep, but Julia Roberts does just that in August: Osage County. Roberts was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards, but her role as Barbara is undoubtedly a co-lead with Streep (if not the true sole lead of the film). While I think the character of Barbara is a smidge flawed (just one of the many issues I have with the award-winning play by Tracy Letts), Roberts brings a quiet resilience to Barbara that centers the crazy clan at the film's core.
#4 - Adele Exarchopoulos - Blue Is the Warmest Color
Adele Exarchopoulos (who is in every scene) delivers a brave performance as Adele in Blue Is the Warmest Color, a role that requires her to bare all -- literally and figuratively. As a young girl coming to terms with her sexuality, her uncomfortable naivety and vulnerability as she discovers she may be falling in love with a woman is fascinating to watch.
#3 - Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks
Meryl Streep famously dissed Saving Mr. Banks at some awards luncheon and I think her bashing of the film ruined its Oscar chances. It's a shame, really, because Emma Thompson turns in a great performance as Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers. Starting off uppity, with clipped words and precise movements, we gradually see a little bit of loosening up as Travers' ice queen exterior melts away. Granted, she never quite finds herself satisfied with the final product, but in one of the film's last scenes, we get a long shot of Travers as she watches the Mary Poppins film play out on the screen at the premiere. In Thompson's face, we see someone both moved by the lovely depiction of family displayed on the screen, but also someone disgraced for feeling like she sold out -- an interesting paradox that Emma Thompson succeeds at selling.
#2 - Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Enough Said
Comedy is certainly difficult and is absolutely under-appreciated by the Academy. If they respected the craft, Julia Louis-Dreyfus would've been nominated and a contender for the win. We embrace her less-than-perfect mom Eva mainly because she doesn't ever claim to be without flaws. This relatable quality not only elevates the character, but also elevates the comedy, with Louis-Dreyfuss proving that she's a fantastic comedic actress (as if we didn't already know that) who should really garner some more leading movie roles after this one.
#1 - Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
When I first saw Blue Jasmine in the summer of 2013, I knew right then and there that Cate Blanchett was the hands-down favorite for the Oscar. At that point in time, the field was wide open, but I knew I was watching something pretty darn good. Having just watched A Streetcar Named Desire prior to Blue Jasmine, I found myself underwhelmed with the character of Blanche Dubois, but through Woody Allen's script, Blanchett rounds Jasmine, Allen's extrapolation of that Tennessee Williams character. Blanchett is electric, carrying the film from the opening scene, allowing simple changes in the timbre of her voice to convey all that the audience needs to know.
Previous RyMickey Award Winners
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