Favorite Lead Actress Performances

Acting is such a large portion of a movie. A great performance can elevate an average film and a lousy performance can ruin a perfectly good film. The following is a list of ten of my favorite lead actress performances. Check out Kyle's blog at www.EnterTheMovies.blogspot.com for his list, too!

NOTE: We did agree to limit our lists to one performance per actress, just to allow more variety. Though this wasn't as big of a deal as with the actors list, I might have had one or two actresses with two performances listed here.

1. Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream

Requiem for a Dream is a difficult film to watch. The subject matter and tone is dark, depressing, and unsettling. Because of this, I've only seen the film in it's entirety once, but Burstyn's performance has stayed with me in the decade or so since I've seen it. She has a gamut of emotions to play - from mildly depressed to enthusiastic to overjoyed to paranoid to insane and finally ends in a near catatonic state - and Burstyn handles each one perfectly. Her monologue to her son about wanting to appear on television, and to fit into her favorite red dress while doing so, is heartbreaking and real. She imbues just the right amount of sadness and hopefulness during the three minute scene and I couldn't help but get sucked into her plight. Near the end, during a terrifying session of electroshock therapy, Burstyn shows her magnificent talent simply by acting with her eyes and facial contortions. The therapy seems almost too real to be a scene from a movie and I found myself gripped with fear and remorse for Burstyn's character - who had such simple aspirations but paid such a dramatic price. I think the Academy Awards made a grave mistake giving Julia Roberts the Best Actress trophy over Burstyn and I'm sure history will side with me.

2. Judi Dench in Notes on a Scandal

Judi Dench might be the best actress working today. Her performances in Notes on a Scandal and Philomena show how well she has matured and how capable she is in tackling such different roles. Without the one performance per actress rule in place, both would have made my list. In Notes on a Scandal, Dench plays a lonely old teacher who develops a crush on a new, younger teacher (the nearly equally marvelous Cate Blanchett) at her school and begins interjecting herself in the younger woman's life. The performance is a slow boil, building and building until the climax and then simmering back down. Dench hits each note perfectly and, at different times, makes you feel sorry for her character or outright despise her. So much of the performance is subtle and nuanced, with a lot of emotion being conveyed with just glances and body language, but Dench can also explode with the best of them. I've watched this film three times in the last two years or so and I appreciate different little things about Dench's work each time. That's the mark of a truly great performance.

3. Naomi Watts in The Impossible

I think Naomi Watts is one of the most talented actresses of her generation and she's impressed me in four or five feature films, but I believe she was best in The Impossible, as a mother who has to search for her family after a devastating tsunami hits Thailand. The role is physically and emotionally demanding and Watts has to carry a large portion of it - though all of her main costars do excellent work, as well. There are scenes of quiet desperation, violent rage, and extreme happiness and Watts is able to go back and forth between all these emotions with seemingly no difficulty. At no point did I ever catch her "acting" - all I saw was the character, dealing with everything that could possibly be thrown at her.

4. Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one of my all-time favorite films and if you read my blog regularly, you have seen it (and will continue to see it) mentioned repeatedly. In my opinion, there's not a flaw in the entire film and the various performances are the highlight. Louise Fletcher is simply sublime in her role as the extremely controlling and manipulative Nurse Ratched. I've seen Ratched listed among film's "most hated villains", but I never really saw her as a true villain. I think a lot of this is due to Fletcher's performance. It doesn't come off as a typical antagonist - her Nurse Ratched is a dedicated and professional care giver and she sees her methods as effective and necessary. A lesser actress might have overplayed the role, making Ratched into a caricature, but Fletcher does it beautifully - nailing every scene and line perfectly.

5. Reese Witherspoon in Election

Reese Witherspoon's Tracey Flick is a well written, multidimensional, and inherently human character. She's not the hero of Election, Alexander Payne's satirical dark comedy about high school politics, but she's not the villain, either. What makes the film great is that all the leads inhabit both sides of the traditional protagonist/antagonist spectrum. Witherspoon has shown, even as a child, that she's capable of playing all types of characters in interesting ways, but Flick is my favorite. She's conniving and deceitful, but also introspective and goodhearted. She's at times slyly sexual and overtly prudish. Witherspoon captures all these traits and turns in a well crafted and interesting performance. I'm a big fan of the book and now, whenever I reread it, I can't help but picture her in the role. She left no room for my imagination for any other interpretation. 

6. Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby

Hilary Swank is a bit of an oddity - she's turned in two excellent, Academy Award winning performances (for Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby), but hasn't done a whole lot else of note in her career. I think both performances are about equal, but I chose her role as aspiring pugilist Maggie Fitzgerald because I love the film and only like Boys Don't Cry. Maggie is a tough, determined, and smart woman nearing her 30th birthday, but she won't let go of her dream of becoming a fighter. Swank plays her simply, not overstating anything, and it's a treat to watch. She's soft spoken and polite, but will stand up for herself in and out of the ring. The physical aspects of the performance are easy to admire - Swank transformed into a pretty decent fighter - but the emotional undercurrent is where she really shines. After her unfortunate accident, Maggie has several touching moments with her boxing coach and Swank manages to break my heart with each viewing.

7. Audrey Tautou in Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain ("Amelie")

I fell in love with Amelie and its star - the beautiful Audrey Tautou - immediately when I first saw it in the theater in 2001. Amelie is a wonderful comic fantasy and Tautou plays the young French heroine as a quirky, imaginative soul who only wants to bring joy to others and, in the process, discovers her own one true love. There is so much heart and wonder expressed in Tautou's eyes that you don't even need the subtitles to understand what is going on in some scenes - you can simply watch her face and everything becomes clear. I have enjoyed Tautou in everything I've seen of her's - even the mostly boring The Da Vinci Code, which seemingly ended her American film career - but she's never been as effortlessly radiant and engaging as she is here. Amelie is a film that could have easily veered into obnoxiousness with a less sincere lead, but Tautou grounds even the most fantastical elements with a genuine and touching performance.

8. Renee Zellweger in Chicago

Renee Zellweger has an awful lot to do in Chicago, but handles it all, seemingly with ease. Her terrific performance as Roxie Hart, an accused murderess awaiting trial in 1920's Chicago, combines singing, dancing, and acting into one great package. Everything about Zellweger's performance is captivating, but it's her charisma that shines through and elevates the work. She seems born to play this role and I can't imagine any other actress doing as good a job as she did. One particular scene always comes to mind when I think of this film and her role specifically: the musical number "They Both Reached for the Gun". In it, Roxie is transformed into a marionette while Richard Gere's Billy Flynn acts as the puppet master. It's a brilliant display of physical acting, with Zellweger swaying back and forth, as perfectly loose and free flowing as a real marionette. I think Zellweger was a bit overshadowed by some of her co-stars and the film's spectacle itself. Even though she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, it seems like most people don't discuss her contribution to the film, which is a shame. It's a first rate performance.

9. Joan Allen in The Contender

Joan Allen plays her character, Senator Laine Hanson, as a quiet, reserved, and willful person who knows her rights and isn't willing to budge for anyone or anything. When the President of the United States (wonderfully played by Jeff Bridges) decides to nominate her for the position of Vice President, a possibly salacious moment from her past is brought to the attention of the media. Allen, who is most often a supporting player in films, shines here as the lead. Hanson won't back down and refuses to discuss the matter, even refusing to deny that it is true - all because a man wouldn't go through the same scrutiny. Hanson is strong, cool, and determined and when she finally does have an emotional moment or two, Allen doesn't overplay them. She lets everything come smoothly and naturally. In these types of political films, there's a tendency to chew the scenery, but Allen never goes to that level. It's an understated and layered performance throughout and the film deserves to have a larger following because of it.

10. Diane Keaton in Annie Hall

I will admit that it's been a long time since I've seen Annie Hall, which is a shame since I enjoyed it so much and it seems like it's a film that would improve with multiple viewings, but I've always fondly remembered Diane Keaton's performance as the titular character. She was a perfect partner for Woody Allen and the two had excellent chemistry together, playing off each other wonderfully. I loved Keaton's playful attitude (especially noticeable in parts like the lobster scene) and it seemed like she was having just as much fun making the film as the audience would later have watching it.

There's my list. As with the Favorite Lead Actor Performances, this was a very difficult one for me to compile and the list could change radically in a month or year's time.

What are some of your favorites? Do you love or hate any or my choices? Let me know and thanks for reading!

Next Friday's list: Part 4 of my 50 Favorite Films.