It's interesting the overlap between my Best Actress winners and my Best Picture winners. Four of my last five Best Actress winners come from my choice for the #1 film of the year. The only outlier is Amy Adams in Arrival, which was a Top 3 film for me last year. I'd say all of these performances helped make the film my top of the year.
Adèle Exarchopoulos leaves everything on the celluloid including all of the mucus in her nose. Her performance is a complete canvas for the film to use. Her performance is so raw and complex, it's an all-time great performance. Saoirse Ronan can say so much with just her face and it's simply remarkable what she does in Brooklyn. Jessica Chastain's performance in Zero Dark Thirty represents America at every turn in a post-9/11 world. When Maya can finally sit at the end after completing the job, Chastain delivers one of the best final scenes of the decade. Under that tough, cold, no-nonsense outside is the soul of Zero Dark Thirty. Arrival didn't work for me on first watch. Amy Adams did of course, but it wasn't until a re-watch where the film really clicked for me and Adams performance rose above the rest. A brilliantly subtle turn that improves on each watch. Finally there is Anne Dorval in Xavier Dolan's Mommy. Dorval is able to match the chaotic energy of the film beat for beat, we see how exhausted she is, but see the love she has for her son.
Last Five Best Actress Winners:
2016: Amy Adams as Louise Banks in Arrival
2015: Saoirse Ronan as Eilis in Brooklyn
2014: Anne Dorval as Diane in Mommy
2013: Adèle Exarchopoulos as Adèle in Blue is the Warmest Color
2012: Jessica Chastain as Maya in Zero Dark Thirty
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