2010 

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO ...

____________________________________________________________________

Annette Bening in THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

"Annette Bening gives a poignant performance that embarks the audience to live with her a great emotional journey."

★★★★★

Jennifer Lawrence in WINTER'S BONE

"Jennifer Lawrence delivers a haunting and complex performance with so much realism and full of empathy."

★★★★★

Natalie Portman in BLACK SWAN

"Natalie Portman, in a very emotionally and physically challenging performance gives a tour de force."

★★★★★

Nicole Kidman in RABBIT HOLE

"Nicole Kidman puts her soul in this film and gives an emotionally challenging performance.

★★★★★

Michelle Williams in BLUE VALENTINE

"She faces any challenges and gives once more one of the most realistic, convincing and authentic portrayal."

★★★★★

                                             THE CONCLUSION                                                

2010 was an incredible year for actresses, and those five actresses were the best that year, but I would have maybe replaced Annette by Julianne Moore. Everyone in this line-up gave a very intense performance. The ranking was difficult to make, especially in the top three, but Michelle Williams is hands down my pick, she doesn't give a performance, she doesn't act, she embodies Cindy, in a way I have rarely seen on screen. Natalie Portman and Nicole Kidman are really close to Williams, each one probably gave the best performance in their respective career, I put Kidman ahead because even if Natalie is exceptionnal, I think the role of Nina Sayers is such a showy and rich role that any talented actresses could give at least a fine performance with it. Jennifer Lawrence is a real surprise, she's clearly one of my new favorite actresses, and I really want to see what she will do next. Annette Bening really impresses me. Usually, I'm not fond of her acting, but here, she's really great. The Competition was so hard that year, everyone gave an Oscar calibre performance.

                                   THE ACADEMY AWARDS and ME                                      

    NEXT YEAR: THE NEW BANNER AT THE TOP IS AN EASY CLUE.

NATALIE PORTMAN  

as Nina Sayers in BLACK SWAN (2010)
____________________________________________________________________

Nina is a ballerina whose life is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy decides to replace prima ballerina for the opening production, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily, who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. 

"He picked me, mommy! I'm the new swan queen!"

                                         - Nina Sayers

Natalie Portman is a great actress, but she never really challenged herself until this role in « Black Swan ». She received her second Oscar Nomination and first win, playing Nina, a young ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. It’s a real showcase for an actress, she is in every single scene of the movie. She can bring all kind of emotions: Despair,

joy, disappointment, anger, fear, determination, and pleasure. Well, she is really captivating, and convincing. From the naïve and Fragile young woman, Natalie Portman turns herself into this seductive and confident Nina, and manages to portray an incredibly convincing transformation. Her transformation through the movie is disturbing and very intense. At first, she's sweet, innocent then she transforms herself into this volcanic and sensual ballerina. We can really salute the hard work she's done. She works on her voice and finds something deeper and affected, she also manages to recreate the gestures and the physical behavior of a ballerina. She gives a very tortured and damaged performance and shows rightly the background and the discipline of ballet. The relation with her mother reminds the one in the movie “Carrie”- Their relationship is very complex, raw and tense, it is really well-executed on screen, thanks in part to the amazing Barbara Hershey. I don’t find the “lesbian” relationship really interesting and doesn’t bring anything special to the film, but that’s okay. Mila Kunis is damned sexy and provocative. 

"[She] is captivating as Nina ... she captures the confusion of a repressed young woman thrown into a world of danger and temptation with frightening veracity."

                                                                                               - Screen Daily

In maybe the role of her lifetime, Natalie Portman, in a very emotionally and physically challenging performance gives a tour de force. She embodies a ballerina larger than life. The role itself is really Oscar worthy, but it needed someone as Natalie to really be exceptional.

★★★★★

ANNETTE BENING  

as Nic in THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (2010)

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At the urging of her 15 year-old brother Laser, the now 18 year-old Joni makes contact with their biological father, Paul, who as a teenager himself donated his sperm to a cryo-bank. Their parents, same sex couple Jules and Nic, aren't quite sure what to make of it when they learn what their kids have done. Jules likes him far more than Nic who begins to feel that he is taking their family away from her. It all becomes very complicated when Paul and Jules begin sleeping together and Paul starts to fall for her. 

"Yeah? Well I need your observations like I need a dick in my ass!"

                                         - Nic

Annette Bening received her fourth Oscar nomination playing Nic, a lesbian woman, married to Jules. She is hurt when the children decide to bring Paul, the sperm donor, into their lives, and worried that he will disrupt the family dynamic. Annette Bening gives a poignant performance that embarks the audience to live with her a great emotional journey. She reaches a very high level of emotional gravity with the ups

and downs of her character. There is a very intelligent progression in her interpretation, divided in three distinct phases, allowing her to show her wide range of skills. (1) When she appears the first time on screen, we get it. Jules is a very tough, bossy and confident lesbian woman.  She is very secure in her job, very strong-minded. She is the one with responsibilities, she is the one who has to take care of the family and she likes that. She doesn’t like when things change or move on. Annette Bening personates at the perfection this side of her character. There are many things in her diction and her behavior which claim authority. (2) Then Mark, the sperm donor, comes in their life. She is automatically on the defensive. She is very disturbed, bewildered and affected by the fact that her children want to meet their “father”. Annette Bening managed to explore every corners of her character.  She presents Nic as a real human being, not a caricature or a cliché. Everything comes naturally in her performance. She is very spontaneous and intuitive in her acting. (3) When Nic finds out that Jules was cheating her with Mark, her world falls apart. She becomes very emotional, angry, conflicted by many different feelings. She’s a strong woman and tries to hide her emotions, but she can’t. Annette Bening is very effective, she communicates her character’s pain very truthfully, and embarks the audience on an emotional roller coasters. Annette Bening is never on the same note. Her commitment and her understanding of her character is undeniable.  She manages to convey all the emotions and the flaws of her character, without judgment. Her chemistry with Jules, played wonderfully and powerfully by Julianne Moore, is fresh, incontestable and evident.  We can say the same thing with Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson.  They are a family, they don’t play one. 

"A smart, funny, insightful take on the dynamics of Modern Families. It taps into both the universal and specific dynamics of the family unit. Bening gives a career best performance."

                                                                                               - Channel 10 Australia

Despite her limited time on screen, Annette Bening gives one of her finest performances. She manages to fully develop her character’s personality thanks in part to a very well-written character and magical partners. She is poignant, spontaneous and natural. 

★★★★★

MICHELLE WILLIAMS 

as Cindy Heller in BLUE VALENTINE (2010)
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Dean and Cindy are a young, working class married couple - Dean currently working as a painter, and Cindy working as a nurse in a medical clinic - with a young daughter named Frankie. Despite their relatively tender ages, they are both ravaged by the life they've eked out together and by the experiences they've had leading into their marriage. Dean, a high school drop out, comes from a broken home. He never saw himself getting married or having a family despite falling in love at first sight with Cindy. 

"What did it feel like when you fell in love?"

                                         - Cindy

Michelle Williams received her first Oscar nomination in the Best Actress category for her performance as Cindy, a pre-med student living with her unhappy parents and caring for her grandmother, who meets Dean, a young high school dropout. They meet by chance and rush into marriage. At the beginning of their relationship, everything seems so easy. They are young, fiery, and full of dreams. All these scenes are dazzling and magical, and represent perfectly the naivety and the innocence when love grows between two people. Michelle Williams is really terrific (as Ryan Gosling) in these early scenes. She is genuine, lovable and extremely compelling.

Years later, Dean and Cindy are married and have a daughter. Dean is currently working as a painter, and Cindy is working as a nurse in a medical clinic, they're clearly not as happy as they once were. From the lovely and positive young woman, she completely transforms herself into the angry and chained Cindy, and yet manages to give her complexity and intensity. She is full of bitterness because she didn’t achieve what she was intended to. Michelle Williams uses all her facial expressions to show her vulnerability and anger. In both periods, Michelle Williams is outstanding, and makes the transition between the two naturally and in very convincing way. Michelle Williams gives a tour de force thanks to a very emotionally challenging role. She doesn’t afraid to appear unlikeable. She doesn’t act, she doesn’t pretend to be Cindy:  she embodies Cindy with every fiber of her being. In the hope of resurrecting their troubled relationship, Dean brings Cindy to a motel.  All these scenes are powerful, intense and authentic, it doesn't take long for them to realize that the magic isn't coming back. Michelle Williams makes us feel easily her inner struggles, torn between relief and regrets. The chemistry between Cindy and Dean, played beautifully by Ryan Gosling who gives a ravaged and intense performance (he should have been nominated for an Academy Award), is undeniable. Everything seems so true between them, their relationship is not created because it’s real, not fake.

"This emotionally gripping examination of a marriage on the rocks isn't always easy to watch, but Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling give performances of unusual depth and power."

                                                                                               - ReelViews

Michelle Williams is certainly the most gifted actresses of her generation. She faces any challenges and gives once more one of the most realistic, convincing and authentic portrayal. She’s compelling and breathtaking, and gives everything to her craft.

★★★★★

JENNIFER LAWRENCE 

as Ree Dolly in WINTER'S BONE (2010)
____________________________________________________________________

With an absent father and a withdrawn and depressed mother, 17 year-old Ree Dolly keeps her family together in a dirt poor rural area. She's taken aback however when the local Sheriff tells her that her father put up their house as collateral for his bail and unless he shows up for his trial in a week's time, they will lose it all. She knows her father is involved in the local drug trade and manufactures crystal meth, but everywhere she goes the message is the same: stay out of it and stop poking your nose in other people's business.

"What I really can't stand is the way I feel ashamed... for dad!"

                                         - Ree Dolly

Jennifer Lawrence, received her first and last Oscar nomination to date, playing Ree Dolly, a seventeen years old girl who has to raise her two younger siblings and find a way to keep the house her father put as bond. Jennifer Lawrence delivers a raw and poignant performance. It’s very rare for a young and new actress to put so much maturity in her acting. The life is not easy for her, she had to grow up quicker than other kids because her mother is mentally ill, and her father is declared “MISSING”.

Jennifer Lawrence gives a complex portrait, and shows the strong, brave and determined sides of her character quite stunningly. It’s a physically and emotionally challenging performance, and she manages to give to Ree a real authenticity. The scene in which she tries to speak to her mother, and asks for help is heartbreaking. She is vulnerable and very effective in her way to approach her sensibility. It’s a great piece of acting. Ree doesn’t know what to do, she is deadlocked. The world and the people surrounding her are dark, scary and violent. The scene where she is beaten is really hard to see, and Jennifer is surprisingly effective and believable in it. Silence and secret are main words in this area for those people but Ree doesn't take NO for an answer. She lives in a world where you have to survive or you die. Jennifer Lawrence’s acting is incredibly realistic, and the words coming out of her mouth seem so natural. She makes us feel bad when she is hurt, and sorry when she is in a difficult situation, but also painful when she is vulnerable. She is going deeper and deeper in the understanding of her character. 

"Granik handles this volatile, borderline horrific material with unblinking ferocity and feeling.... In Lawrence, Granik has found just the right young actress to inhabit Ree. Her performance is more than acting, it's a gathering storm"

                                                                                               - Peter Travers

Jennifer Lawrence delivers a haunting and complex performance with so much realism and empathy. She gives life to a character of unusual strength. In a very complicated role, she is fantastic and dazzles in this Oscar-caliber performance. 

★★★★★

NICOLE KIDMAN  

as Becca Corbett in RABBIT HOLE (2010)
____________________________________________________________________

Becca and Howie Corbett are a happily married couple whose perfect world is forever changed when their young son is killed by a car. Becca tries to redefine her existence in a surreal landscape of well-meaning family and friends. Painful, poignant, and often funny, Becca's experiences lead her to find solace in a mysterious relationship with the teenage driver of the car that killed Danny. The Corbetts, both adrift, make surprising and dangerous choices as they choose a path that will determine their fate... 

"It feels like maybe I don’t feel badly enough for you! Maybe I’m not feeling enough! What do you want from me?"

                                         - Becca Corbett

Nicole Kidman received her third and last Academy Award nomination to date, playing Becca Corbett, an executive-turned-stay-at-home mother who tries to redefine her life after the death of Danny, her 8 years old son. Nicole Kidman delivers a raw and complex portrait, her performance is unbearably authentic and human. She allows herself to go in some dark places to find the right amount of subtlety and truth. She is not overacting, she stays simple and gives a quiet, but also powerful interpretation. Nicole Kidman doesn’t have to cry or yell to show any emotions. Her performance is so real and palpable, that she easily makes us feel her sorrow and her struggle. Nicole Kidman takes the right decision staying quiet and calm.

It’s a big change in comparison to other actresses who think you need to scream and cry to play a grieving mother. She keeps everything inside her, she is struggling with her emotions, she doesn’t know how to deal with them. Nicole Kidman is one of the most versatile actresses and a favorite of mine, she’s unrivaled in her ability to play cold, distant and emotionally scarred characters. Her performance is down to earth, very haunted and heartbreaking. Her chemistry with Aaron Eckhart (Howie, her husband) is stunning. Their relationship seems so true and real, each contributes significantly to the complexity of the situation. They are grieving differently, Becca wants to remove Danny’s things and sell their house whereas Howie is angry at Becca’s elimination of anything that reminds them Danny. From the same event, they grow separately, this situation is very well played by both actors. We can say the same things about her relationship with her mother (played by Dianne Wiest) and the one with the boy who has accidently killed her son (played by Miles Teller).  In fact, her performance in this film is nothing short of spectacular. 

"Kidman grabs the central focus of the story as the more distraught of the two. The performance is riveting because she essentially plays the entire film at two levels, the surface everyday life and then what is turning over and over again in her mind."

                                                                                               - The Hollywood Reporter

No one has put a better performance on film as a grieving mother than Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole". The film is a real showcase for her, it allows her to show all her range of emotions. Nicole Kidman puts her soul in this film and gives an emotionally challenging performance. 

★★★★★

2010 

AND THE NOMINEES FOR THE BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE 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 

What do you think  ?  Your Prediction  ?  Your Ranking  ?