Top 50 Female Performances of the Decade

Castor already did his list of top performances the decade here. I’ve decided to go for 100, splitting it into 50 performances from the males and 50 from the females. First off, I would like to remind people that 200 performances were nominated for an Oscar over the past decade, so there is bound to a couple favorites left off. Add to the fact that we usually disagree with the Oscars half the time, then we are definitely going to have a few deserving performances missing from the list. Trust me, I had to leave off a few that I absolutely loved. If I could I would put down every single Laura Linney, Meryl Streep, and Cate Blanchett performance. But thats 66 performances right there (22, 19, 25, respectively)….and….well….I’d be over my limit. And much like my movie list, I’m not including any 2009 performances. They need more time to settle, though the likes of Tilda, Gabby, Carey, and Marion would certainly be on here.

Much like Castor’s, this will remain unranked. I tried to rank them due to the fact that I didn’t add the commentary that Castor did to his, but rankings these were seemingly impossible. Ranking performances compared to films are a much trickier situation. Almost every film has it’s flaws or pieces that just don’t allow it to be better than the next movie.  But how many times have you said to yourself, “that performance was absolutely perfect!!”? I know have quite a few times, thus ranking a certain role that I loved 20 spots ahead of another was impossible, since I more than likely felt that they were both equally invigorating and played to a “T”. With that being said, here they are:

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* I limited the performances to only two per actress. I threw up an initial list of of 60-65 performances, and couldn’t fathom how to get down to 50. So I limited it two per actress. So if an actress has two performances listed, as well as a star next to her name, that’s the number of roles I removed from my initial 60-65….and yes, there are three stars next to Nicole Kidman. Her 2001-2004 might be the greatest four year span by any actress in the past 60 years. Not since Bette Davis has somebody been so consistent creating roles of avant garde. Then again, Marion Cotillard is starting to cook up a little

• Amy Adams, Junebug (2005)
• Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone (2007)
• Anamaria Marinca, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (2007)
• Annasophia Robb, The Bridge to Terebithia (2007) *hides head under desk after only the third name*
• Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married (2008)
• Audrey Tautou, Amelie (2001)
• Björk, Dancer in the Dark (2000)
• Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

• Cate Blanchett, The Aviator (2004)*
• Charlize Theron, Monster (2003)
• Daryl Hannah, Kill Bil Vol 1&2 (2003/2004)
• Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for Dream (2000)
• Ellen Degeneres, Finding Nemo (2003)
• Ellen Page, Juno (2007)
• Evan Rachel Wood, thirteen (2003)
• Evan Rachel Wood, Across the Universe (2007) (by the way, I think I found my #34 movie that’s MIA..)

• Frances McDormand, Almost Famous (2001)
• Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading (2008)
• Holly Hunter, thirteen (2003)
• Julianne Moore, Far From Heaven (2002)
• Kate Hudson, Almost Famous (2000)
• Kate Winslet, Enternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2006)
• Kristin Scott Thomas, I’ve Loved You So Long (2008)
• Laura Linney, Mystic River (2003)

• Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me (2000)***
• Maggie Cheung, In the Mood for Love (2000)
• Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
• Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River (2003)
• Maria Bello, History of Violence (2005)
• Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose (2007)
• Marion Cotillard, Pretty Things (2001)
• Melissa Leo, Frozen River (2008)

• Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
• Meryl Streep, Doubt (2008)*
• Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy (2008)
• Naomi Watts, Mulholland Dr. (2001)
• Natalie Portman, V for Vendetta (2005)
• Nicole Kidman, Moulin Rouge! (2001)
• Nicole Kidman, Birth (2004)***
• Penelope Cruz, Volver (2006)
• Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)*

• Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line (2006)
• Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
• Samantha Morton, In America (2002)
• Samantha Morton, Movern Callar (2002)
• Taraji P Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
• Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton (2007)
• Uma Thurman, Kill Bill Vol 1&2 (2003/2004)
• Vera Farmiga, Nothing But the Truth (2008)
• Virginia Madsen, Sideways (2004)