Best Female Performances in Film
These are my picks for some of the best female (leading) performances in film, given what films I have seen.
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- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsMeryl StreepKevin KlinePeter MacNicolSophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live with Nathan, a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust.There is nothing I could possibly say about Meryl Streep's performance that hasn't already been said. Magnificent.
- DirectorJohn CassavetesStarsGena RowlandsPeter FalkFred DraperAlthough wife and mother Mabel is loved by her husband Nick, her mental illness places a strain on the marriage.Gena Rowlands gives one of the most frightening and fearless performances I've ever seen.
- DirectorPatty JenkinsStarsCharlize TheronChristina RicciBruce DernBased on the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer.An absolutely towering performance by Charlize Theron.
- DirectorTodd FieldStarsTom WilkinsonSissy SpacekNick StahlA New England couple's college-aged son dates an older woman who has two small children and an unwelcome ex-husband.Sissy Spaceck is a revelation.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsKarolina GruszkaKrzysztof MajchrzakGrace ZabriskieAs an actress begins to adopt the persona of her character in a film, her world becomes nightmarish and surreal.Laura Dern is incredible. One of the most intense performances ever committed to film.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsHolly HunterHarvey KeitelSam NeillIn the mid-19th century a mute woman is sent to New Zealand along with her young daughter and prized piano for an arranged marriage to a farmer, but is soon lusted after by a farm worker.Holly Hunter is an absolute goddess. This performance rules.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsNatalie PortmanMila KunisVincent CasselNina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare.Natalie Portman's performance in "Black Swan" absolutely floored me. Perfection.
- DirectorRanda HainesStarsWilliam HurtMarlee MatlinPiper LaurieA new speech teacher at a school for the deaf falls in love with the janitor, a deaf woman speechless by choice.Marlee Matlin was so incredibly moving in this film.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonTony RobertsAlvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.Diane Keaton is perfect.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..Ellen Burstyn's performance in this film is heartbreaking every step of the way.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott GlennA young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.Jodie Foster delivers an intensely focused, magnificently understated performance.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsNaomi WattsLaura HarringJustin TherouxAfter a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.Naomi Watts deserved an Oscar for this performance.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsOlivia de HavillandMontgomery CliftRalph RichardsonA naive young woman falls for a handsome young man her emotionally abusive father suspects is only a fortune hunter.Olivia de Havilland is stunning in this role.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsGiulietta MasinaFrançois PérierFranca MarziA waifish prostitute wanders the streets of Rome looking for true love but finds only heartbreak.A truly, truly stunning performance.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsElizabeth TaylorRichard BurtonGeorge SegalA bitter, aging couple, with the help of alcohol, use their young houseguests to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other over the course of a distressing night.Elizabeth Taylor was a force of nature in this film.
- DirectorKimberly PeirceStarsHilary SwankChloë SevignyPeter SarsgaardA young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.An amazing performance.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsUma ThurmanDavid CarradineMichael MadsenThe Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd, and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.Uma Thurman delivers an intensely physical but also incredibly emotional performance in Vol. 2.
- DirectorAnthony HarveyStarsPeter O'TooleKatharine HepburnAnthony Hopkins1183 A.D.: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. When he allows his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine out for a Christmas visit, they all variously plot to force him into a decision.Katharine Hepburn. Enough said.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettLiz GilesRod CulbertsonThe early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.Cate Blanchett was robbed. That Oscar was hers.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJack NicholsonLouise FletcherMichael BerrymanIn the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.Louise Fletcher is absolutely mesmerizing and totally terrifying.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsLiza MinnelliMichael YorkHelmut GriemA female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.Liza Minelli's great, great performance as Sally Bowles.
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsAudrey HepburnAlan ArkinRichard CrennaA recently blinded woman is terrorized by a trio of thugs while they search for a heroin-stuffed doll they believe is in her apartment.A terrific, somewhat underrated performance by Audrey Hepburn.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.Sissy Spaceck gives one of the most emotionally naked performances I've ever seen.
- DirectorRobert LuketicStarsReese WitherspoonLuke WilsonSelma BlairElle Woods, a fashionable sorority queen, is dumped by her boyfriend. She decides to follow him to law school. While she is there, she figures out that there is more to her than just looks.Go ahead, laugh. But I love the film and Reese Witherspoon is absolutely winning in it.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsDustin HoffmanAnne BancroftKatharine RossA disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft).
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsJames CaanKathy BatesRichard FarnsworthAfter a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.Kathy Bates is scary good in "Misery."
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsRichard GereDiane LaneOlivier MartinezA New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.The movie's a bit silly, but Diane Lane is phenomenal. I would have given her the Oscar for the "train scene" alone.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsNicole KidmanMatt DillonJoaquin PhoenixA beautiful but naïve aspiring television personality films a documentary on teenagers with a darker ulterior motive.Nicole Kidman has been great in a number of roles ("The Hours", "The Others", "Birth") but she really shines here as a vapid, amoral news anchor.
- DirectorJason ReitmanStarsElliot PageMichael CeraJennifer GarnerFaced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes a selfless decision regarding the unborn child.Ellen Page is perfect as Juno McGuff.
- DirectorBenh ZeitlinStarsQuvenzhané WallisDwight HenryLevy EasterlyFaced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.Stunning, stunning work by Quvenzhané Wallis.
- DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyDiane KeatonEdward HerrmannA radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States.Diane Keaton delivers a tremendous, tremendous performance.
- DirectorTim RobbinsStarsSusan SarandonSean PennRobert ProskyA nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families.What a tremendous performance from Sarandon.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsAlbert FinneyDiane KeatonKaren AllenA mother of four is abandoned by her husband for a younger woman. Husband, wife and children struggle to survive the seemingly inevitable divorce.Seriously, Keaton has to be one of the most gifted actresses to ever grace the screen. A tremendously moving and blisteringly honest performance.
- DirectorOlivier DahanStarsMarion CotillardSylvie TestudPascal GreggoryBiopic of the iconic French singer Édith Piaf. Raised by her grandmother in a brothel, she was discovered while singing on a street corner at the age of 19. Despite her success, Piaf's life was filled with tragedy.Marion Cotillard is a force of nature.