Best Actress "Character" ~ 50 Years 100 Greats
Friday, September 20, 2013 at 12:01PM I was cleaning up a few folders on my desktop recently when I noticed this old poll and the accompanying visuals. It was too delicious not to revive. See back in 2011 when The Film Experience got its beautiful redesign as a site, I polled y'all about the most memorable best actress "characters" of the past 50 years (1961-2010) and in chronological order these were the women you voted for...
How many have you seen? I'm still pised that Sally Kirkland's "Anna" and Kathleen Turner's "Peggy Sue" didn't place... but I felt like posting it again right now since 3 Best Actress nominees from 1980, a year we're currently revisiting, placed (Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin, Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary People, and Sissy Spacek in Coal Miner's Daughter)
If we updated who do you think would make the list from 2011-2012? Who just sticks in your memory. Let's take a vote on it. You can only choose 2!
We don't know the 2013 nominees just yet but I'm guessing Cate Blanchett's very blue "Jasmine" wouldn't have any trouble placing in any such future lists. Which is 90% of why she's still the frontrunner for the win in her category.
Reader Comments (35)
Picking only two is sooo hard!!! Mara, Davis, Chastain and Riva are all jumbled around in my heart.
no T, no shade but i completely forgot that Jennifer Lawrence's character in Silver Linings Playbook even had a name. :/
I voted for Tiffany, because you may not agree with the win (best actress in comedies always get sone backlash), but you can't not to love Tiffany.
No contest: Chastain and Riva
It says a lot that Viola Davis is the clear choice for me, and I'm not even that great a fan. Lots of blank slate roles the last two years; I can't believe anyone would pick Chastain for that reason.
I chose to interprete"memorable" as "iconic" - like you could do a silhouette portrait of them and a lot of people could identify who it was - and I crossed Michelle's Marilyn off because it's Marilyn who's the icon there, so ultimately my winners were Hushpuppy and Lisbeth, probably because they both have big weird hair.
wouldn't say ony of them are 'memorable' to enter a top some-low-number...
That mega poll was memorable. Can't thank you enough.
How I would love to vote for Theron in Young Adult and Cotillard in Rust and Bone!
and this poll is turning into "who should have won the oscar"... I mean, I can see some parts there being 'memorable', but aibileen? we can agree davis elevated that part, but the part was nothing much... I don't think people years from now will say: "remember aibileen? that was THE character! there are not many parts like that :(".
Say what you want about Quvenzhané Wallis not being old enough to really be acting (a silly argument if you ask me), but that character is no doubt the most iconic creation of this decade so far.
Well, if we're choosing ONLY the characters themselves, I don't see how anyone could NOT vote for Lisbeth and Hushpuppy. As characters, they are the most interesting, involved and invested. Performances is another thing all together.
But seriously, I wanted to vote for Albert Nobbs so badly! Glenn Close deserves to win SOMETHING ;-)
Hayden, it's the paradox of the blank slate factor that makes this character so memorable. Despite being a cypher regarding personality, backstory and political mindset, Maya enters the iconography of film heroines through the riveting ferocity of her obsession, but mostly by virtue of her portrayer's sheer will and skill.
YES! brazil has chosen to submit "o som ao redor" / "neighbouring sounds" for next year's oscars. WONDERFUL movie. everyone should watch that!
have you seen it, nathaniel?
I had a tough time choosing since, as much as I love some of the performances (like Riva and Davis), I don't think most of these characters are much better or more memorable than others. Hushpuppy really can't not win this... I voted for her and Maya.
Easy!
Rooney Mara and Emmanuelle Riva
Hushpuppy and Maya for sure, but if given the chance, I would vote for Hushpuppy and Jasmine.
I voted for Maria Belon. Back in 2004, the Tsunami really had an effect on the way I saw my world, and I was just as affected by Naomi Watts' characterization when I saw the film. As well as the courage of Maria when I read interviews with her.
I've only just realized that you could vote for two, but I wouldn't vote for any of the other options to be honest.
If I could, I would cast a vote for Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia, and Keira Knightley in Anna Karenina. I think that those were the best performances of their respective years.
Rob Miles
PS. I also realize that it's about the characters, not just the performances, and Justine in Melancholia and Anna Karenina are characters who stay with me, and I feel for.
Although I didn't vote for Albert either, I'm surprised no one is voting for Albert Nobbs... There are images of that character that I will never get out of my head, no matter how hard I try.
For me, it's all about Abileen and Hushpuppy. There's no doubting the skill and craft of just about all of these performances, but very few of these "characters" would immediately spring to my mind with some very direct references to the films that surround them. The supporting actress characters in these corresponding years are a more interesting bunch. Mary and Minny in the White House frying chicken. A road trip with Megan and Celia. Sex talk with Cheryl and Fantine. Oh how the mind reels...
Just voted for Marilyn Monroe as well from the choices. I find her a complex character, with many different facets.
This is my last post this evening I promise
Rob Miles
@Mike in Canada:
I totally agree. I didn't pick Glenn Close either. But for a movie that's not very good, Albert Nobbs is way more indelibly strange than its given credit for being. That's probably the best thing I can say about it.
That's tough. I went with Hush Puppy and Lisbeth, two tough cookies.
Best actress of the bunch, though, is Viola Davis as Abileen Clark. Even in this tough field.
I went with Hushpuppy and Albert Nobbs since I have the clearest memory of them. Marilyn was close.
And none of them compare to Mavis Gray in Young Adult.
No disrespect to the actresses listed but I had a hard time coming up with two. Viola Davis' Aibileen was a definite but after that I didn't find any of the others that remarkable. I ended up selecting Naomi Watts since she did a fine job of playing Maria's anguish but if I'd had my druthers I would have voted for the unnominated Rachel Weisz's deeply troubled Hester in The Deep Blue Sea.
Marilyn Monroe was a memorable woman but as written in My Week with Marilyn they missed her essence.
I'd rather forget Meryl's fussy, overstudied Thatcher and remember other better work that she's done.
Others did good work but their characters didn't sway me.
I haven't seen Riva and Close.
My heart is with Michelle Williams as Marilyn. She did an amazing job for such a strong character.
Wallis' character was incredibly sweet, but i don't recall her that much.
Chastain and Riva
I'd also say Mara because I certainly like that turn more than Noomy Rapace but I keep on thinking the movie itself is not as popular as it should've been.
I do like Hushpuppy a lot too but I always look at that movie in the context of a live-action Miyazaki movie, which is fine, but sense of wonder and atmosphere over characters for me in that case.
Marilyn Monroe is a very interesting character except Simon Curtis and Michelle Williams failed to make it so.
Hushpuppy and Anne. I thought for a second about Tiffany (though I remember her not in a good way), but since I didn't even remember that she was called Tiffany, I went with the others. I'd already forgotten about Marilyn Monroe and Lisbeth Salander (even though I liked Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).
Riva / Mara
Hushpuppy and Aibileen
Philip -- well, they're the winners thus far, yep. A nice coup for actresses of color! now if only some Asian Americans would get some plum roles for a change. They have to be the most underrepresented ethnic minority in the movies AND on television.
I voted for Meryl as Thatcher and I'm not ashamed for it. She obviously won't win this round, but that's okay. I'm actually REALLY surprised she has won the last rounds quite often. I mean, even OOA??? Sad for the leftout of Lindy Chamberlain, one of her best roles ever, but well...
Everytime I saw The Help I just couldn't bring myself to believe that Viola Davis was leading or the best character. She's very likeable, but I still prefer Emma Watson (as the lead) and Octavia Spencer over her. The movie itself is really good.
Meryl had to carry a huge part of her movie alone. The film overall is quite newtral on a very controversal person. That was very risky! Plus she still was an American playing a british icon. Look how "Diana" turned out... Not that people really had high hopes about it, but I've never seen a biopic SLAMMED like this. I somehow feel bad for Naomi.
My second vote goes to Hushpuppy.
I don't know... She was just so natural and simply adorable. And the character's name can't be forgotten.
Argh! Did I really wrote Emma WATSON? *lol*
I mean Emma Stone of course! Oh my....
I only counted 98. I feel...cheated.