C O N S I D E R - Favorite Actresses of 2017, 1st Qtr

With the year's first quarter over, here's a listicle of noteworthy performances we'll eventually compare to what's to come. We've already listed fav male performances and favtechnical achievements thus far - from screenings and releases as of March 31st. Herewith the 17 best female performances from the year's first quarter, divvied up into three categories. Did these women speak to you?

Disclaimer: I missed The Last Word, United Kingdom, and Wilson  which all have prominent female roles for talented actors. If you've seen them give their MVPs a shout-out in the comments. 

6 LEADING ACTRESSES

Paula Beer as "Anna" in Frantz

16 more talented women after the jump...

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Interview: Melissa Leo on Playing 'The Most Hated Woman in America'

By Jose Solís 

Few actors can command the screen like Melissa Leo. She has cemented her status as a true scene stealing chameleon in films like The Fighter, Frozen River, Mildred Pierce, and The Big Short. And while she’s mostly regarded as a character, read supporting, actor, she gets a chance to show off her leading lady chops in The Most Hated Woman in America which debuts this week on Netflix. She plays atheist activist Madalyn Murray O’Hair who led a campaign that banned Bible readings in public schools.

Leo infuses the part with heart and courage, so that she becomes a perfect embodiment of the notion that the personal should be political. Director Tommy O’Haver uses Madalyn’s kidnapping and horrific murder, to frame a film that aims to reach everyone’s humanity, regardless of their religious beliefs. Anchored by Leo’s majestic performance, it becomes one of the most important films of the year, in terms of the conversations and debates it could, and should, spark. I had the chance to speak to Leo from SXSW where the film premiered...

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Feud: Bette and Joan. "Mommie Dearest"

Previously
Ch. 1 "Pilot"
Ch. 2 "The Other Woman" 

Feud's writing team is nothing if not devoted to playing to a single theme per episode. All but a couple of scenes in chapter 3 of Feud are devoted to the notion of mothering (though Victor Buono's more generous notion of "legacy" might have been a smarter move for retroactive potency). Or at least the show spends this hour playing with our pre-conceptions of the mothering skills of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. That's evident in the way it pulls the episode title from the infamous Christina Crawford memoir that damned Joan forever in the public eye as a psychopath and child abuser. In one of the earliest scenes we even get a potent reminder of this memoir as Joan pretends she's not going to send Christina a card congratulating her on the opening of a play until she reads reviews, but then signs the card "Mommie Dearest," as soon as two of her other children are out of sight.

I know what you think of my mothering...

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Big Little Tweetweek

Basics: "We're glad the season is over so we won't hear more about your Isabelle Huppert."
Me:.. pic.twitter.com/c379TiY5zO

— Ali Benz (@Alibenzkr) March 12, 2017

The hilarious thing is she's always worked this much. Good luck to all the new completists out there at ever finishing her filmography!

After the jump Chris Hemsworth, Big Little Lies, the Gyllenhaals, film critic humor, and prayers for Barbra Streisand... 

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All the Oscar Nominated Performances, Ranked (2010-2016)

Per reader request!

ALL 140 OF OSCAR NOMINATED PERFORMANCES THIS DECADE RANKED (THUS FAR)
by Nathaniel R
Asterisks indicate Oscar winners

1. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine *
2. Cate Blanchett, Carol
3. Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
4. Marion Cotillard, Two Days One Night
5. Christopher Plummer, Beginners *
6. Isabelle Huppert, Elle
   
   
7. Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
8. Viola Davis, The Help

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