Best Actress Ranking - Update

Here is a new update. The newly added performance is highlighted in bold. 

If five performances from the same year are included, the winning performance is higlighted in red.

1. Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind (1939)
2. Jessica Lange in Frances (1982)
3. Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950)
4. Olivia de Havilland in The Heiress (1949)
5. Maggie Smith in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)
6. Anne Bancroft in The Graduate (1967)
7. Janet Gaynor in Seventh Heaven (1927-1928)   
8. Jill Clayburgh in An Unmarried Woman (1978)
9. Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
10. Geraldine Page in The Trip to Bountiful (1985)

11. Susan Sarandon in Thelma & Louise (1991)
12. Katharine Hepburn in Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
13. Edith Evans in The Whisperers (1967)
14. Norma Shearer in Marie Antoinette (1938)
15. Greta Garbo in Ninotchka (1939)
16. Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
17. Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby (2004)
18. Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth (1998)
19. Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
20. Simone Signoret in Room at the Top (1959)

21. Bette Davis in The Little Foxes (1941)
22. Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music (1965)
23. Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame (1958)
24. Glenda Jackson in Women in Love (1970)
25. Joanne Woodward in The Three Faces of Eve (1957)
26. Elizabeth Taylor in Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
27. Barbara Stanwyck in Ball of Fire (1941)
28. Lee Remick in Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
29. Annette Bening in American Beauty (1999)
30. Emily Watson in Hilary and Jackie (1998)

31. Julie Christie in Away from Her (2007)
32. Shelley Winters in A Place in the Sun (1951)
33. Audrey Hepburn in Wait until Dark (1967)
34. Meryl Streep in The Devil wears Prada (2006)
35. Ingrid Bergman in The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945)
36. Anne Baxter in All about Eve (1950)
37. Judi Dench in Mrs. Brown (1997)
38. Helen Hayes in The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932)
39. Jane Fonda in Coming Home (1978)
40. Greer Garson in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

41. Doris Day in Pillow Talk (1959)
42. Meryl Streep in One True Thing (1998)
43. Joan Crawford in Sudden Fear (1952)
44. Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity (1953)
45. Katharine Hepburn in Guess who’s coming to dinner (1967)
46. Marsha Mason in Chapter Two (1979)
47. Jane Wyman in The Yearling (1946)
48. Martha Scott in Our Town (1940)
49. Teresa Wright in The Pride of the Yankees (1942) 
50. Jennifer Jones in Love Letters (1945)

51. Ellen Burstyn in Same Time, Next Year (1978)
52. Susan Hayward in My Foolish Heart (1949)
53. Jeanne Crain in Pinky (1949)
54. Eleanor Parker in Detective Story (1951)
55. Vanessa Redgrave in Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)
56. Diane Keaton in Marvin's Room (1996)
57. Louise Dresser in A Ship comes in (1927-1928)
58. Loretta Young in Come to the Stable (1949)  
59. Mary Pickford in Coquette (1928-29)
60. Sissy Spacek in The River (1984)

61. Shirley MacLaine in The Turning Point (1977)
62. Irene Dunne in Cimarron (1930-1931)
63. Ruth Chatterton in Madame X (1928-29)
64. Diana Wynyard in Cavalcade (1932-1933)
65. Bette Davis in The Star (1952)

Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby

Another performance that has been reviewed before. As my opinion did not really change, I refer you to my old review.

YOUR Best Actress of 2004!

Here are the results of the poll:

1. Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake (13 votes)

2. Catalina Sandino Moreno - Maria Full of Grace & Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (12 votes)

3. Annette Bening - Being Julia (6 votes)

4. Hilary Swank - Million Dollar Baby (3 votes)


Thanks for voting!

Best Actress 2004 - the resolution!

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

5. Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Just like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind itself, Kate Winslet’s performance sprinkles with creativity and originality. She meets all the challenges of this unusual script and creates a character who is a firework of emotions, sometimes impossible to bear, sometimes selfish and mean but strangely fascinating and loveable at the same time.

4. Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace

                     

Catalina’s prim charm is wonderfully suited for her part as the headstrong but also insecure Maria. She hits all the right notes and makes Maria an unforgettable character by giving a very subtle, relaxed and natural performance that dominates the movie and helps to tell this very moving and gripping story.

 3. Annette Bening in Being Julia

Annette Bening almost bursts of confidence in her performance and her eccentric, larger-than-life diva who is full of self-assurance but also very insecure is an unforgettable portrayal that is able to entertain and astonish the audience with its humor, wit and originality.

2. Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby

Hilary Swank is able to make Maggie both a dreamer and a worn-out woman at the same time. She combines her hopes and dreams, her fears and disappointments in the greatest way and gives an unforgettable performance of a strong-willed, determinant, but also insecure and uncertain character.

                

1. Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake

In the performance of Imelda Staunton, the always cheerful Vera who constantly hums sunny melodies becomes a very real and everyday character but she is also able to challenge the audience when she shows that Vera is involved in a matter that couldn’t be more controversial. By capturing all these aspects, Imelda Staunton gives one of the most heartbreaking and complex performances to ever grace the screen. 

Best Actress 2004: Hilary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby"

Hilary Swank received the second Oscar of her career for her role as Maggie Fitzgerald, a woman who aspires to become a professional boxer in Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby.

Hilary Swank is certainly not among the greatest actresses ever, but she has the ability to sink her teeth into a certain type of role: an underdog who has to fight for her dreams and gets beaten down more than once.

So it is nor surprise that she is magnificent as Maggie who seems to be too old to be a boxer but too young to give up. She is already doing some boxing and she is winning, but she wants more – she wants to get to the top and she is determined to get Frankie Dunne as her trainer. She openly tells him “If I’m too old for this, then I got nothing” – and this is right. She knows that she is ‘white trash’ and life will never change for her unless she actively tries to change it herself. And boxing is the only thing in her life that makes her feel good.

The first appearances of Maggie make her seem like a rather strange character. Frankie is unwilling to train her, openly rejects her over and over again but she keeps training in his gym, trying to make him change his mind. She calls him “boss” even though he doesn’t want it and she refuses to be trained by anyone else but him. It is never told why Maggie is so interested in having Frankie in her life – because she doesn’t only want a trainer, but also a friend, maybe even a father. It’s not clear why she chose Frankie for this but what does becomes clear is why this woman is so desperate to be loved and accepted – her own family looks down on her for her profession and never show Maggie anything but disinterest. Hilary Swank wonderfully shows how hurt Maggie is when her family rejects her – this strong woman who can beat anyone in the ring grew emotionally lonely. Hilary successfully shows a woman who is desperate to be loved and who tries to reject but also accept her own roots.

Hilary Swank could easily be accused of trying to get the audience’s sympathy by constantly smiling and showing no complaints even when her character is at its lowest. But she wonderfully shows how Maggie’s past in an unloving family turned her into a rather needy character who is looking for acceptance and affection. She throws herself at Frankie’s feet, hoping not only to find a trainer but also a friend. She tries to please everyone but at the same time she also wants her own way as she tells Frankie when she shouts “Don’t you say that if it ain’t true!”

Hilary Swank is able to show both the weakness and the strength of Maggie’s character without jumping back and forth between these two extremes but rather merges them most effectively. From the first moment she appears out of the dark to her last shot, she creates a strong-willed, determinant, but also insecure and uncertain character. Maggie knows what she is worth and what she can achieve but she not sure what life will give her.

Hilary Swank also has a wonderful chemistry with Clint Eastwood. Both lonely in their own way, both comfortable around each other. It’s a relationship that never becomes romantic but they both develop a loving, relaxed and open connection.

The performance by Hilary Swank contrasts of two parts, as far apart from each other as possible. In the first half, she does a lot of physical work while the second part of her performance is completely done by her face. Hilary is able to make both parts of her performance as effective as possible and shows how Maggie never loses her spirits even when her willpower weakens.

The highlight of Hilary’s performance is her final plea to Frankie which is an unforgettable moment. Hilary Swank shows so much with her eyes and delivers every line perfectly. Maggie may have lost her independence but she still wants to decide her life for herself. A wonderful portrayal of a fighter who is ready to stop fighting – and who is not afraid to ask for help.

Hilary is able to make Maggie both a dreamer and a worn-out character at the same time. She combines her hopes and dreams, her fears and disappointments in the greatest way and gets

Best Actress 2004

The next year will be 2004 and the nominees were

Annette Bening in Being Julia

Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace

Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake

Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby

Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind