……………………………………………………….

Best Actress Performances of 2020

2020 wasn’t the greatest year for movies due to the pandemic, but there were still just enough worthy acting performances to make this list. The women that I chose for the most part went under the radar and only a couple got Oscar recognition. I also included some memorable supporting performances that are worthy of mentioning.

5. Alison Brie – Horse Girl

Horse Girl is this very strange movie that is about a woman who may or may not be crazy, which impacts her dating and her everyday life. The ambiguity here is interesting, but the main reason why the movie mostly worked despite its strangeness lies in the central performance that is one of the most underrated of the year. Alison Brie should get more serious roles after her emotionally complex, powerhouse turn in this very complicated role.

4. Haley Bennett – Swallow

Swallow is yet another weird movie about a young housewife in a seemingly perfect marriage who develops pica, the irresistible urge to ingest inedible objects and material. Discomfort, pain, longing, disappointment and eventual growing into a braver person – all of it was portrayed stupendously by Haley Bennett in the terrific main role. She stole the show here and I can’t wait to see more from her in the future as she’s truly a great new talent.

3. Clare Dunne – Herself

Herself is about a woman who tries to build a new home for herself and her kids to escape from her abusive partner. There are clearly two themes running in my list – rising talents and underrated movies. Both are the case here too. The movie is an underappreciated gem, the protagonist is a strong, inspiring woman and Clare Dunne is incredible throughout. She comes from theater, but hopefully she will get more movie roles after her very emotional turn here.

2. Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman

What Vanessa Kirby did here is impressive. Pieces of a Woman is a strong drama overall, but she forcefully elevated the material, especially her somewhat lesser written character. The level of commitment on her part in that harrowing birth sequence that opens the movie is alone worth the biggest praise, but she excelled through and through with every single emotion sold in every scene. She also deserves much more work after her amazing turn here.

1. Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

What Carey Mulligan did in this excellent movie is nothing short of spectacular. She has always been a great actress, but this will undoubtedly be the signature role of her career. The main reason why she is worthy of praise lies in the casting alone as she wasn’t a perfect fit for this role on paper, but she proved us all wrong when we got to see just how incredible she was here. Cassie is a deeply damaged soul who is so firmly fixed on this one issue and she is so vengeful, but otherwise a sweet girl. Mulligan sold both of those facets of her personality while particularly shining in the thriller scenes where she was simply badass with her line delivery being particularly amusing. I am crossing my fingers that she gets an Oscar for this.

Honorable Mentions:

Radha Blank – The 40-Year-Old Version – One of the best newcomers of the year has to be Radha Blank who not only directed this dramedy, but also starred in it. Her protagonist is a lot of fun and she sold the dramatic and comedic scenes altogether.

Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent MovieFilm – I hated Borat 2. I hated it with a burning passion. And one of the big reasons for that is the introduction of the unnecessary daughter character. Still though, Bakalova is incredible and she deserves more opportunities after this exceedingly charming performance.

Helena Zengel – News of the World – Helena Zengel gave one of the best child performances in quite a while in this new western where she stole the show from the great Tom Hanks himself. The character is interesting and the performance is unexpectedly convincing.