Top Ten List - Best Actress 2008

Honorable Mention - Johanna Day in August: Osage County - Not a film performance, but a riveting, intensely controlled (and some time delightfully out of control) stage performance. If August was a movie (which apparently it's going to be) and Day was in it (which hopefully she will be), she would be at the top of this list, for sure. She's in charge now, for sure.

10. Angelina Jolie in Changeling - We all know I'm not the biggest Angelina fan. Still, you can't deny talent and her performance, although often one note, is still extremely powerful at times. That one specific scene (you know, the one in all the previews, "I want MY son back") is even more intense once you see the context of it - she's yelling this at a 10 year old boy.

09. Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Cate has never looked more beautiful. And I am in the corner with people who think Cate can do no wrong. It's true here, as she makes a very flawed, very narcisstic and stubborn character so loveable. Benjamin Button falls in love with her and so do we.

08. Keira Knightley in The Duchess - Although the movie itself is highly flawed, the performances are nearly flawless. Ralph Fiennes just missed my Best Supporting Actor list for his skeevy Duke (and for his hilarious turn in the wonderful In Bruges), but Kiera makes the list for her witty, charming role as the lonely Duchess - forced to choose between love and her family.

07. Summer Bishil in Towelhead - An extremely interesting and well done performance for someone so young! She's truly impressive as a young actress dealing with very, very heavy subject matter. She pulls it off with grace, innocence and beauty.

06. Rebecca Hall in Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Cruz may be getting all the buzz (and she is more than deserving) but Hall is spectacularly funny as well. She plays a cynical spitfire, about to marry a man she doesn't necessarily love while discovering her sexuality with a sexy artist.

05. Naomi Watts in Funny Games - Throughout the entire second half of the film, Watts is in a constant state of duress. Crying, screaming, desperately clinging to some kind of hope while nearly giving up on everything. Her performance is intensely moving.

04. Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road - Winslet's April is a dreamer, for sure. She dreams of a better life with her husband but she's surely not a happy character. There's all those intense screaming matches with DiCaprio. Then there's sexy love scenes. And, of course, my very favorite scene. DiCaprio has just confessed that he's cheated on her. She is very unemotional about the whole thing. He's screaming at her, asking her why, to which she responds, very quietly, very calmly with a slight smile, "Fuck who'd you like, dear." Perfect line reading.

03. Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married - Maybe the most revelatory performance of the year. I never liked Anne Hathaway, sure. I also never necessarily thought she was a good actress. But her performance as Kym here is so alive and so unlike anything she's ever done. It's impressive and welcomed.

02. Meryl Streep in Doubt - Doubt may be about the wonderful script and the great source material. Sure, there's Hoffman and Adams and Davis, but make no mistake - this is all about Meryl. As it should be. Her stubborn, hard headed, wickedly funny take on the nun is perfection.

01. Michelle Williams in Wendy and Lucy - Wendy and Lucy is a movie where not much happens. It's a movie without a lot of dialogue. It's a movie where, for much of the movie, Williams' Wendy is walking around a small unknown town searching for her dog. With very little to work with, Williams has given her best performance to date. Her quietly effective work will break your heart. There's been little as moving this year as the final ten minutes in this movie - and that's thanks to Michelle!