Best Actress in a Supporting Role 2001: Ranking

5. Kate Winslet in Iris

Kate Winslet oversimplifies her character giving a rather one-note, superficial portrayal. She partly makes up for the inadequacies of her performance thanks to her chemistry with Hugh Bonneville and a few effective moments later on in the movie.

Best scene: Iris opens up about her past lovers.

4. Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful Mind

Jennifer Connelly gives an extremely uneven performance that is quite underwhelming in the beginning, absolutely outstanding in the central act and inconsistent yet occasionally effective in the last third. Overall I think the good of her performance outshine the bad, even if her work is too flawed to be considered truly great.

Best scene: Alice tells John about his illness.

3. Maggie Smith in Gosford Park

Maggie Smith delivers a delightfully entertaining and scene-stealing performance in this ensemble piece and she does a wonderful job at portraying her character's snobbish traits. The lack of depth of her character detract from her performance but within those limitations Smith is still very good.

Best scene: Lady Trentham's reaction when the butler spills coffee on Denton's trousers.

2. Marisa Tomei in In the bedroom

Marisa Tomei delivers an excellent turn in this movie, effectively establishing her character's life and background early on and then slaying in her more emotional moments later. She gives a powerful depiction of her character's grief and she is extremely memorable even her performance lacks a worthy closure. 

Best scene: Natalie meets Matt at the store.

1. Helen Mirren in Gosford Park

Helen Mirren gives a subtle, layered and terrific performance in this movie, quietly hinting at her character's hidden feelings and slowly building up to her final scenes that couldn't be more devastating. It's a much difficult role than it seems at first glance, and Mirren steps up to the plate delivering a brilliant turn. 

Best scene: The breakdown.

Honorable Omissions: Gwyneth Paltrow is unforgettable as Margo Tenenbaum in Wes Anderson's stunning The Royal Tenenbaums and her stylized performance fits perfectly Anderson's unique vision. Thanks to her excellent deadpan delivery and her brilliant comedic timing, Paltrow's performance is absolutely hilarious but at the same time she does a brilliant job at subtly conveying her character's depression and vulnerability, bringing an aching tenderness to her scenes with Luke Wilson. On top of that, she is an alluring, magnetic presence and, whenever she's on-screen, you just can't take your eyes off her. Uma Thurman only appears in the third act of the underrated Tape, but when she does she is a hurricane, perfectly holding her own against Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard with her excellent portrayal of an intelligent woman unwilling to give in to the cruel games and twisted manipulations of Hawke's character. I absolutely hated Vanilla Sky but Cameron Diaz' short powerhouse of a performance is remarkable, making her character sexy, deranged, haunting and heartbreaking all at once: her scene in the car with Tom Cruise is by far the movie's highlight and maybe the most effective piece of acting Diaz has ever done. Bandits is for the most part a rather forgettable movie but Cate Blanchett is wonderful in the role: she is endearingly ditzy and she is an hilarious force of nature, but she also delivers in the few more emotional moments. It's an engaging, lovely performance that proves that Blanchett can be just as good in comedy as she is in drama. Gosford Park feature some extremely strong supporting performances: Kristin Scott Thomas effectively conveys the loneliness behind her character's glamourous façade, Kelly MacDonald beautifully portrays her character's subtle arc while being a very endearing presence, Claudie Blakley is very moving as the fragile, plain-looking but sweet Mabel and Emily Watson is terrific as the sassy, hardened yet deep-down kind maid Elsie. Frances O'Connor is touching and effective in A.I. - Artificial Intelligence, bringing to life her character's conflicted emotions while never making the viewer doubt of her motherly love, also thanks to her poignant chemistry with Haley Joel Osment. Scarlett Johansson gives a very memorable turn in Ghost World, sharing an entertaining chemistry with her co-star Thora Birch and then portraying convincingly her character's transition as Rebecca grows more and more distant from Enid.

The next year: 1968. 

My Best Supporting Actress Ballot:

1. Gwyneth Paltrow, The Royal Tenenbaums - 5/5
2. Helen Mirren, Gosford Park
3. Uma Thurman, Tape - 4.5/5
4. Cameron Diaz, Vanilla Sky - 4.5/5
5. Emily Watson, Gosford Park - 4.5/5
6. Cate Blanchett, Bandits - 4.5/5
7. Marisa Tomei, In the bedroom
8. Frances O'Connor, A.I. - Artificial Intelligence - 4/5
9. Scarlett Johansson, Ghost World - 4/5
10. Kelly McDonald, Gosford Park - 4/5