Best Actress in a Leading Role 2016: Ranking

5. Meryl Streep in Florence Foster Jenkins

Meryl Streep delivers a very entertaining performance in Florence Foster Jenkins, enjoyably portraying her character's eccentricities while still bringing the needed poignance and emotional power to the role. She carries the movie very nicely even if I think she is occasionally upstaged by Hugh Grant's more layered performance.

Best scene: Florence' performance at Carnagie Hall.

4. Ruth Negga in Loving

Ruth Negga is absolutely amazing as Mildred, delivering a performance of heartbreaking subtlety and simplicity: with her unique, expressive face, Negga conveys perfectly Mildred's inner strength and determination while bringing a lovely amount of grace and warmth to the screen whenever she appears. Her chemistry with Joel Edgerton is also top notch.

Best scene: "We may lose the small battles, but win the big war"

3. Emma Stone in La La Land

Emma Stone gives a wonderful performance in this movie that goes far beyond what the role required: she grounds her character thanks to her spontaneous, charming screen-presence and she brings the needed energy and feeling to the musical scenes. She thrives at portraying her character's frustration but also her hopes, and she shares a lovely chemistry with Ryan Gosling.

Best scene: Audition.

2. Isabelle Huppert in Elle

Isabelle Huppert gives a brilliant performance in Elle giving an incredible amount of complexity to the character of Michèle. She gives a compelling, deep and layered portrayal of this complicated woman and when the movie goes into rather disturbing territories she manages to keep it from going off the rails. It's an amazing, endlessly fascinating portrayal.

Best scene: Michèle's confrontation with Patrick in the car.

1. Natalie Portman in Jackie

Natalie Portman is amazing in Jackie perfectly replicating Jacqueline Kennedy's mannerisms and voice but also going far beyond than an imitation. She gives a heartbreakingly intimate portrayal of a woman battling with grief and trying to preserve her husband's legacy: it's a true tour-de-force and Portman nails every single nuance in a portrayal full of surprises.

Best scene: Her breakdown during the interview.

Honorable Omissions: I already reviewed Amy Adams' un-nominated performance in Arrival, so I'll just say that hers is in my opinion the best performance of 2016. She also is very good in Nocturnal Animals and she is actually one of its few redeeming qualities. Sonia Braga delivers a terrific performance in Aquarius - every moment of her performance feels so human, real and sincere and she portrays wonderfully every facet of the character of Clara, beautifully leading up to the final scenes in which she's simply a force of nature. Hello, My Name is Doris is a problematic and unremarkable comedy but Sally Field's leading performance is nothing short of astonishing: she portrays her character's quirks endearingly and convincingly but she goes far beyond that, delivering an absolutely heartbreaking portrayal of a lonely and regretful yet optimistic woman. Similarly, Annette Bening is excellent in 20th Century Women: hers is another character that could have easily been defined by its quirks, but Bening delivers a wonderfully funny and genuinely poignant portrayal of a woman quietly reacting to the changes of time. Isabelle Huppert is terrific in Things to Come, giving a performance that is completely different from her Oscar-nominated turn: it's a very quiet, realistic performance and Huppert is poignant and moving as an intelligent, independent woman facing the end of her marriage, the death of her mother and her problems at work with courage and dignity. Elle Fanning is excellent in The Neon Demon, giving an extremely disturbing portrayal of her character's transition from wide-eyed naivety to cold-hearted narcissism while being a perfect fit to Nicolas Windin Refn's peculiar vision. I hated The Girl on the Train but I personally was very impressed by Emily Blunt's performance: I thought she gave a powerful portrayal of her character's addiction both in the explosive scenes and the quieter ones and she is the only reason to watch this otherwise pretty terrible movie. Hailee Steinfeld is both hilarious and touching in The Edge of Seventeen - she has a pitch-perfect comedic timing but she also nails every single emotional beat and carries the movie flawlessly. Kate Beckinsale delivers an extremely entertaining and charismatic performance as the manipulative but impossibly charming Lady Susan in Love & Friendship - it's not a particularly three-dimensional role but Beckinsale completely makes for it thanks to her brilliant delivery and terrific comedic timing. Marion Cotillard is absolutely terrific in Allied - the film is very flawed and Brad Pitt's leading performance is more than disappointing but she is terrific at being such a mysterious and alluring presence while bringing the needed emotional power to the last act of the movie. I didn't love The Light Between Oceans, but Alicia Vikander delivers a very strong performance bringing a great deal of emotional power to her role and bringing honesty to her character's questionable actions. 

The next year: Best Actor 2016.

My Best Actress Ballot:

1. Amy Adams, Arrival - 5/5
2. Sonia Braga, Aquarius - 5/5
3. Natalie Portman, Jackie
4. Sally Field, Hello, My Name is Doris - 5/5
5. Isabelle Huppert, Elle 
6. Emma Stone, La La Land
7. Annette Bening, 20th Century Women - 5/5
8. Ruth Negga, Loving
9. Isabelle Huppert, Things to Come - 4.5/5
10. Elle Fanning, The Neon Demon - 4.5/5

I will be abroad in the next week or so, therefore I won't be able to post much. I will still answer your comments but sadly I won't have the time to write reviews until at least 21st March.