This is another of those lists making the blog rounds, so of course I had to do one as well. The topic: Your 20 Favorite Film Actresses. This was actually pretty hard and I'm not sure this is the definitive list, but it's the best I could do in 20 minutes (which is all the time I allowed myself to obsess). Not all of these actresses are the best of the best, but they've managed to win me over. I realized that for an actress to be a favorite of mine, I have to like her, not just her acting. Some of these are greats, others just had one amazing role I've never forgotten. So here they are, in alphabetical order, as well as my favorite part they've plaved.
Amy Adams: Junebug
Loved her in this, and if you haven't seen it you must!
Juliette Binoche: Dan in Real Life or The English Patient
Has a very warm quality, always seems intelligent and thoughtful in her characters and I love the way her voice sounds.
Cate Blanchett: (I can't pick)
She's seriously fantastic in everything. I love Notes on a Scandal best as a film (in which Blanchett plays a weak teacher having an affair with a student) but just take a look at her strength and versatility in Elizabeth, Bandits, The Gift, The Aviator and I'm Not There. Amazing actress.
Toni Collette: Muriel's Wedding
Has a goofy smile and makes me cry at the end of The Sixth Sense.
Claire Danes: Shopgirl
So she's here because of "My So-Called Life" which, I know, is a TV show. Danes has all the potential in the world but hasn't seemed to find a film career that matches the flickers of talent we saw then. That said, love her in Little Women and Stage Beauty and she was very good in 2005's Shopgirl.
Maggie Gyllenhaal: Secretary (though I love her in Stranger Than Fiction too)
One of my absolute faves, Maggie is stunningly vulnerable in Secretary, but contrast that with her strength and ferocity in Stranger Than Fiction and Sherrybaby to get some idea of her range. I also dig the way she looks, all gawky angles and chipmunk cheeks. So cute.
Anne Hathaway: Ella Enchanted
She's just innately likable. I'm looking forward to seeing Rachel Getting Married, which looks to be her breakout role as an actress to be taken seriously.
Bryce Dallas Howard: The Village
Haven't really seen her in anything else, but her portrayal of Ivy in The Village blows me away. That girl is freakin' incredible.
Keira Knightley: Pride and Prejudice
Just now beginning to stretch herself, I love that she looks resplendent in period garb and has that great clipped British accent, and P & P and Atonement are two of my favorite films. She's radiant in both.
Juliette Lewis: What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
She played Becky, one of my favorite characters of all time, and wins a spot here just for that. Even though she fronts a band now and is mostly cast in forgettable sidekick roles, she has proven her abilities in Cape Fear, Natural Born Killers, and Kalifornia.
Mary Stuart Masterson: Some Kind of Wonderful
Not conventionally the most attractive, there's something in her awkward body shape and tomboy speech that I really love. Watts is probably her most well-known character, but she's also really good in Benny & Joon, and Fried Green Tomatoes.
Rachel McAdams: The Notebook
Another actress with all the potential in the world, we're all just waiting for her to take it somewhere amazing. Love her passionate portrayal in The Notebook, as well as her ability to be both bitchy (Mean Girls, The Family Stone) and extremely likable (Wedding Crashers).
Natalie Portman: Beautiful Girls
Apparently I'm not the only one in love with her character in Beautiful Girls. Definitely one of her greatest performances. Portman has the ability to garner our sympathy, but sometimes chooses roles where she's somewhat off-putting and distant and I like that she plays against her innate charm with a coolness.
Susan Sarandon: Bull Durham
Annie Savoy is just a great character and Sarandon imbues her with a sultry, smart sexiness. I love her in Moonlight Mile and Anywhere But Here (also good for Portman) and I can only pray to look that good when I'm almost 60.
Elizabeth Taylor: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Maggie the Cat is a shallow bitch, but Taylor makes me love her. Very strong-willed characters.
Kristin Scott Thomas: The English Patient
At first I thought I only liked her in this film, but then remembered how she made me root for her in The Horse Whisperer despite being a career-obsessed control freak, and that she was the elusive and tart-tongued Fiona in Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Emma Thompson: Wit
Thompson is great in everything, my favorite actually being her high-spirited Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, but she's fantastic in Wit, a widely unappreciated film. Often plays drama, but is a first rate comedian, and try not to cry in her big scene in Love, Actually.
Uma Thurman: Kill Bill
She's cool as a cucumber in Pulp Fiction, stunning in Gattaca, fierce and combustable in Kill Bill, and a sweet doofus in The Truth About Cats and Dogs. Really is an underrated actress.
Dianne Wiest: Hannah and Her Sisters
Her characters in Hannah and Parenthood are among my favorites, plus she has a cheery, stable quality to her in films like Dan in Real Life, The Horse Whisperer and Edward Scissorhands.
Kate Winslet: Titanic
It's funny that she's last because she is most definitely #1 in my book. Never turns in a shaby performance, she's just radiant. Her best acting is probably in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but Titanic is where I fell in love, and her parts in Sense and Sensibility, Heavenly Creatures, Hamlet, Hideous Kinky, Enigma, and Quills are all amazing.
Just Missed the List: Meryl Streep, Jodi Foster, Winona Rider, Reese Witherspoon, Joan Allen and Emily Blunt.
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