This is an odd year. I must admit I haven't seen two of the performances - one is one of the most loved, and two the most hated.

The nominees for this year were:
Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age as "Queen Elizabeth I"
Julie Christie in Away from Her as "Fiona"
Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose as "Edith Piaf"
Laura Linney in The Savages as "Wendy Savage"
Ellen Page in Juno as "Juno MacGuff"

My ranking:
1. Cotillard - problems the I have with Despite, the pacing film's and structure Cotillard still give the best performance of the bunch, powerful with perfect mimicry that never lost sight of the character's human core.

2. Linney - She was witty and human and just perfect in this role. Her work gives us the idea that this woman has a life and backstory all of her own - her snarky asides seem completely natural, as does the rapport with her brother.

3. Page - She does a great job of sounding the overly stylized dialogue sound natural, and she sells both the emotional scenes and the comedy with aplomb, making sure to show that Juno is intelligent but not at all as worldly and emotionally mature as she thinks she is.

-. Christie - haven't seen it.

-. Blanchett - haven't seen it.

My Personal Ballot:
1. Wei Tang in Lust, Caution as "Wong Chia Chi/Mak Tai Tai"
2. Brenda Blethyn in Introducing the Dwights as "Jean"
3. Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose as "Edith Piaf"
4. Anamaria Marinca in 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days as "Otilia"
5. Laura Linney in The Savages as "Wendy Savage"

And even though she didn't make it onto my final ballot (she *just* missed out) I'd like to notice Ashley Judd for her sublime work in Bug, probably the acting high point of her career so far.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: puxzkkx,

1-Christie
2-Page
3-Cotillard
4-Blanchett
5-Linney

1) Cotillard
2) Linney
3) Christie
4) Page



5) Blanchett

Marion Cotillard. Best not nominated: Helena Bonham Carter in Sweeney Todd.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: R2684,

01. Linney
02. Christie
03. Page
04. Cotillard
05. Blanchett


My picks:

01. Laura Linney, The Savages / Jindabyne
02. Anamaria Marinca, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
03. Anna Faris, Smiley Face
04. Nicole Kidman, Margot at the Wedding
05. Tabu, The Namesake

I've been dying to see Smiley Face.

Marion Cotillard. One of the best performances I have ever seen! Easily makes my Top 10 of the Best Actress winners!

This is one of the easiest calls I can make:

#1. Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
-The best performance of the decade and one of the greatest performances to have come out in the last 25 years. Despite the fact that she didn't sing the songs for herself (although you can't blame them for that because Edith Piaf's voice was very unique), her acting was still very top-notch. There is the cliche saying where people talk about how "I didn't think I was watching 'so-and-so', I was watching the real person". I rarely ever feel this about a performance but with this performance, I thought she was able to embody Piaf and, at times, I couldn't believe that it was the same woman that I had been seeing in interviews. Easily one of the greatest performances ever.

#2. Julie Christie, Away From Her
-Julie Christie is a great actress and that is apparent in many of her performances, including her performance in "Away From Her". The only real problems I had with her peformance were that it almost felt like it was borderline supporting (unless I am just not remembering it well), and I thought she was an even plane with Gordon Pinsent and the wonderful Olympia Dukakis, unlike Cotillard, who completely OWNED her movie. Julie Christie's performance could've easily won the Oscar in almost any other year, but there is no way that she would've deserved it over Cotillard.

#3. Ellen Page, Juno
-I really liked her performance when I first saw it but it didn't WOW me or anything. Over time, the interesting thing I have discovered is that the performances are getting better but the movie is losing its luster. I really enjoyed Ellen Page in this movie and I think she is a great actress (she shines in both "Hard Candy" and especially in the TV-Movie "An American Crime"). For Juno though, her nomination was definitely reward enough.

#4. Laura Linney, The Savages
-I really love Laura Linney and she is one of the people in Hollywood that I hope gets an Oscar within the next few years. In fact, I still think she should've gotten a nomination for "The Truman Show" and she was worthy of a win for that role. Her performance in "The Savages" was very good and worthy of a nom but once again, having Cotillard in this category was big bummer for these 4 ladies.

#5. Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
-This slot should've gone to Amy Adams, Helena Bonham Carter, or even Angelina Jolie. I think Cate Blanchett is a great actress but this performance, along with her's in "I'm Not There", both should not have been nominated. I thought that she was over-the-top and even hammy at times. It is sad that she may end up being snubbed for "TCCofBB" when she was nominated for those performances last year.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: AJ,

I agree that Page was good in 'An American Crime'. Catherine Keener was awful though - boo on her Globe nomination that should've gone to Page.

quote:

Originally posted by puxzkkx:
I agree that Page was good in 'An American Crime'. Catherine Keener was awful though - boo on her Globe nomination that should've gone to Page.

I thought Keener was worthy of nominations but the fact that Page was snubbed was absolutely criminal!!

1. MARION COTILLARD


2. Cate Blanchett
3. Laura Linney
4. Ellen Page
5. Julie Christie

1) Cotillard
2) Christie
3) Page
4) Linney
5) Blanchett

1. Laura Linney
2. Julie Christie
3. Marion Cotillard ... wonderful, I just can't support an actor lip syncing... no way, no how...
4. Cate Blanchett
5. Ellen Page

1. Cotillard
2. Christie
3. Page
4. Linney
5. Blanchett

1. Julie Christie, "Away from Her"
2. Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
3. Laura Linney, "The Savages"
4. Ellen Page, "Juno"
5. Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"

A category full of strong performances. There's no denying that Cotillard gave a tour de force, but given the ostentatious way the film was cut, I couldn't connect to the performance as much more than a performance reel. It was Christie, under the marvelous direction of Sarah Polley, that I connected the most to.

Linney is one of the best actresses working. Was thrilled she got the surprise nomination for "The Savages." Liked Ellen Page in "Juno," but she should have been nominated for her much better performance the previous year, in "Hard Candy." And Blanchett -- well, "Golden Age" wasn't good, but Blanchett managed admirably under Shekhar Kapur's bombastic direction. Kapur showed a steadier hand with the first film, for which Blanchett should have won.

I really hated Cotillard's performance. To me, it was nothing more than histrionics and emoting. There was nothing natural, nothing realistic, nothing lived in whatsoever. To me, it was not only not Oscar-worthy, but cringe-inducingly bad. I know people love it, and I will honestly never understand why. It was simply awful - the worst winner of this category and maybe any that I have seen.

Of the nominees, my vote would have gone to Linney. She is one of the best in the business, and The Savages would have very good performance for her to get the Oscar she deserves. Christie, as well, would have been a perfectly good winner.

Page is perfectly fine in Juno, but is undone by the ridiculous script that keeps her completely unrelatable. In a performance that needs sympathy to work, a Juno that is unsympathetic can't succeed as a performance. Like 742, I think she was much better the year before in Hard Candy.

I haven't seen Blanchett and don't plan to.

My nominees would have looked very different that the actual nominees:
1. Tabu, The Namesake
2. Amy Adams, Enchanted
3. Laura Linney, The Savages
4. Helena Bonham Carter, Sweeney Todd
5. Keri Russell, Waitress

1.

Cotillard easily. Although, admittingly, it would've been an even more impressive hat trick if she had actually sang the role too.

Speaking of music, I would've made my winner Helena Bonham Carter if it not for her incredibly weak singing of Sondheim's remarkable but not-for-beginners score. Otherwise, I thought she was fantastic.

Anamaria Marinca was absolutely sublime in 4M3W2D, it's a shame she wasn't seriously considered.

quote:

Originally posted by puxzkkx:
My Personal Ballot:
1. Wei Tang in Lust, Caution as "Wong Chia Chi/Mak Tai Tai"

Good call!