Best Actress 1996 - The resolution!

After having watched and reviewed all five nominated performances, it's time to pick the winner!

5. Diane Keaton in Marvin's Room

In the role of Bessie, Diane Keaton suffers very nobly but neither the script nor her performance give any real depth to the character. It’s a simple and beautiful presentation of hope and fear that unfortunately never defies the sentiment of the story but rather intensifies it with a constant smile even in the most serious situations. That way, Diane Keaton serves the film well but never adds any complexity to her character.

4. Kristin Scott Thomas in The English Patient

                     

The part of Katharine may only be a love interest, but Kristin Scott Thomas never lets her be reduced to this and instead adds a lot of layers and nuances to create a fascinating woman who is not afraid to be unlikable in her adultery and for whom men would betray their allies and their best friends. In combining British arrogance and iciness with warmth and passion, Kristin Scott Thomas’s presence is felt in every second of the movie.

3. Brenda Blethyn in Secrets and Lies

Brenda Blethyn wonderfully demonstrates that Cynthia is a lonely and needy character, full of self-pity and sorrow about her life and her past and probably her future, too. The loneliness and sadness that she displays in almost every second of her life is heartbreaking in it’s simplicity and effectiveness and results in an extremely moving and perfectly executed performance.

2. Frances McDormand in Fargo

In creating Marge Gunderson, Frances McDormand gives a performance that is real, unique, hilarious, intelligent, memorable and touching. She is able to demonstrate a lot of layers and nuances behind the stereotypical exterior and with brilliant acting choices, Frances McDormand shows that Marge is the only sane character in a world full of violence and that her niceness and naivety does not prevent her from solving a gruesome murder case.

1. Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves

In the role of the religious and backward Bess, Emily Watson gives a performance that is a masterpiece in rawness, honesty and uncompromising dedication. She conveys the self-humiliation of Bess without any reservation but instead expressed every emotion with total frankness and, as a result, gave a devastating tour-de-force that is rarely seen on the screen.