20 Years of Streep: 2016 ("Florence Foster Jenkins")

At last, Oscar nomination #20!

These past five months, revisiting 100 (!!!) Oscar-nominated performances, have been such blast for me and I hope you've enjoyed this project too. Thank you to the many fellow Oscar/Streep aficionados who joined me on this journey and commented, both here and on Twitter, along the way.

While I ultimately awarded Streep the win on just two occasions - for The Bridges of Madison County and Adaptation - I still of course wholeheartedly adore this living legend and would be completely cool with her having half a dozen or more trophies under her belt. She is truly one of the all-time greats, able to work wonders with even the most middling of projects (of which, frankly, there have been more than a few).

Streep's reputation as the greatest actress of her generation really isn't hyperbole, even when other fabulous performers of the past half century - Close, Lange and Weaver, among others - are considered. And it's been such a treat reflecting on their recognized work too.

That said, I do of course have one final entry to complete 20 Years of Streep.

In 2015, more than a decade since their collaboration on The Manchurian Candidate, Streep and filmmaker Jonathan Demme reunited on what would prove the director's final motion picture. Ricki and the Flash, written by another Oscar-winner (Diablo Cody), cast Streep as a wannabe-rock star who abandoned her family to chase her dreams. She later returns home, hoping to reconcile, to a chilly reception.

While Ricki and the Flash has its passionate proponents, the film was greeted that August to a lukewarm critical reception and modest box office - Streep's lowest-grossing live action feature in nearly a decade. Even more unnoticed was a brief supporting role that fall in the not-so-successful Oscar contender Suffragette. There was, no surprise, no Streep on Oscar nominations morning.

The following year, however, Streep signed on for a project with a filmmaker known for delivering Best Lead Actress Oscar nominations.

Over the course of his career, Stephen Frears directed Glenn Close (Dangerous Liaisons), Anjelica Huston (The Grifters), Helen Mirren (The Queen) and Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson Presents... and Philomena) to awards season glory. With a record like that, odds were strong he could do the same for Streep, on the hunt for an unprecedented 20th Oscar nomination.

The 2016 Oscar nominees in Best Lead Actress were...

Isabelle Huppert, Elle

Huppert portrays Michèle Leblanc, a strong-willed and successful video game company executive who is raped by a masked man in her home. Wary of reporting the incident to law enforcement, she instead keeps a meticulous eye on the men in her life, determined to uncover the assailant's identity herself and draw him into a game of revenge. This performance, which won her honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Society of Film Critics and New York Film Critics Circle, plus a Golden Globe, marked Huppert's first Oscar nomination.

Ruth Negga, Loving

Negga portrays Mildred Loving, wife of bricklayer Richard (the brilliant Joel Edgerton). The interracial couple are harassed and arrested by local authorities for violating Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws. They ultimately move to Washington D.C. but, yearning to someday move back to their friends and family in the Commonwealth, team with the American Civil Liberties Union on a lawsuit against Virginia that will result in a landmark civil rights decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. This performance marked Negga's first Oscar nomination.

Natalie Portman, Jackie

Portman portrays First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy who, not long after the assassination of her husband, invites journalist Theodore White (Billy Crudup) to the family compound to discuss the legacy of the 35th U.S. president's. Kennedy reflects on the glory days of the presidency, the horrors of that fall day in Dallas, Texas and the whirlwind of arrangements that followed. This performance marked Portman's third Oscar nomination.

Emma Stone, La La Land

Stone portrays Mia, an aspiring actress who makes her living as a barista on a Hollywood studio lot. She meets jazz pianist Sebastian (Oscar-nominee Ryan Gosling), who makes his ends meet playing uninspiring Christmas jingles at a restaurant. Over time, the two become romantically involved but their relationship is sorely tested by their careers, in the city notorious for building dreamers up, only to tear them down. This performance, which won her a BAFTA Award, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award, marked Stone's second Oscar nomination and first win.

Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Streep portrays Florence Foster Jenkins, an ambitious socialite who frequents and invests in the New York arts scene in the 1940s and, despite having negligible musical talent, manages to buy an opera concert for herself at Carnegie Hall. This performance marked Streep's 20th Oscar nomination.

Overlooked: Amy Adams, Arrival; Annette Bening, 20th Century Women; Emily Blunt, The Girl on the Train; Sally Field, Hello, My Name Is Doris; Rebecca Hall, Christine; Taraji P. Henson, Hidden Figures; Susan Sarandon, The Meddler; Mary Elizabeth Winstead, 10 Cloverfield Lane

Won: Emma Stone, La La Land

Should've won: Natalie Portman, Jackie

Good heavens, it legit feels like just yesterday that Oscar junkies were debating Huppert's odds of somehow, someway scoring the upset over Stone in this. I never quite bought into that, not with the former's lack of a SAG nomination, but it sure was a blast watching the Huppert supporters try to convince me otherwise.

Last year was chock-full of fabulous leading lady turns and I don't think the Academy's fivesome, even if there's not a rotten apple among the bunch, is quite representative of that strength. If only enough voters had seen Hall's heartbreaking work or remembered the fantastic early-year performances from Field and Sarandon. Likewise, it's a shame Henson, the best part of Hidden Figures, couldn't ride her film's momentum to a surprise nomination. And Bening? When on earth is she at last scoring that Oscar win?!

Gotta love that in the final entry of 20 Years of Streep, I am ranking the Great One last in this final chapter. Not that Streep is bad in Florence Foster Jenkins (has she ever been?) but, if not for her incredible speech at last year's Golden Globes, I'm awfully skeptical she would have garnered a nomination for such a light piece of cinematic fluff.

Streep, no doubt, had a ball taking on this role and her comic chops are very much on display when her Jenkins graces the stage and leaves her audience aghast at the vocal trainwreck before them. The film around her, however, is thinly drawn, never much exploring the exciting hustle and bustle of New York at that time. It all seems better-suited to a stage production.

Ultimately, Streep emerges the sole reason to check the picture out, even though it doesn't break a ton of new ground on Jenkins' life. Moviegoers who were won over by Frears' comparably slight Mrs. Henderson Presents... will probably be quite fond of this.

Negligibly more exciting than Streep is this category's winner, Stone.

Upon first hearing about La La Land, I was pretty ecstatic. After all, Damien Chazelle's Whiplash was my favorite film of 2014 and I'm quite fond of both Stone and Gosling (and, when done right, movie musicals). Oddly enough, I think the picture works far better as a love story than it does a musical.

While the proceedings look fabulous and its stars have heaps of chemistry, I can't say the film leaves me humming a whole lot upon its conclusion. Chazelle sure knows how to shoot a musical but the songs are largely forgettable and the choreography more haphazard than anything. I'm glad Moonlight scored the Best Picture upset.

As for Stone, like Streep, the joy she clearly felt in making this movie is palpable. She makes for an electric duo with Gosling and her rendition of "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" marks one of the few moments in the film that operates as a successful musical. That said, it's hardly an amazing piece of acting. Stone has no shortage of charisma but this isn't a sharp vehicle like Easy A that knows how to perfectly utilize that personality.

One of the all-time worst Best Lead Actress winners? No way. Still, she's much more toward the bottom than the top and shouldn't have even been nominated.

Gracing a much stronger film than Streep and Stone is Negga, whose Loving was one of my very favorite films of 2016. The film is so convincing, it often has more the look and feel of a documentary than a scripted feature film. Kudos to writer/director Jeff Nichols and his entire cast for delivering such a beautiful, understated picture.

As for Negga specifically, this is perhaps among the most quiet, unaffected performances to ever garner an Oscar nomination - there's really no obvious 'Oscar scene' to speak of. It's lovely work but it's often subdued to the point where Negga is prone to fading into the background a bit. I think Edgerton, who time and time again proves himself one of today's finest actors, gives the more impassioned and resonant performance of the two. Some of the more lively supporting players too also steal scenes away from Negga.

Still, much as I would've rather seen another contender land a surprise nod, I was pleased on Oscar nominations morning to see Loving at least surface somewhere.

Leaps and bounds superior to Streep, Stone and Negga are the remaining two nominees, both richly deserving of their recognition here.

While I'm not quite as enamored with Huppert as some on social media, I do think it's quite fantastic she managed to garner an Oscar nomination for, of all things, a Paul Verhoeven film. Her work in Elle is truly fearless, an audacious, vivid portrayal that serves as the anchor of the entire picture - without her killing it, the film wouldn't work. Verhoeven's efforts here are striking but never before has he directed a film so dependent on a single performance.

Prior to Elle, I admittedly wasn't all that familiar with the Huppert filmography. I've seen Heaven's Gate on several occasions but, much as I admire so much about it, that's hardly a prime actors showcase. Beyond that, I believe the sleepy Madame Bovary is the only other Huppert picture I've caught over the years. Elle has for sure inspired me to check out more of her work in the future, even if I can't quite support her for the win here (though it sure would've been phenomenal if she somehow did pull that upset).

Impressive as Huppert is, Portman still wins this in a cake walk for me.

I still cannot comprehend how Jackie, my favorite film of 2016, was so egregiously shortchanged during the last awards season. Pablo Larrian's Kubrick-like direction is some of the most visually striking, haunting filmmaking I've seen in ages, the Noah Oppenheim screenplay is downright brilliant and the entire cast, even if it is largely a one-woman show, rings true.

Madeline Fontaine's costumes? Exquisite. Stephane Fontaine's cinematography? Breathtaking. Jean Rabasse's production design? Sublime. Mica Levi's music? Dazzling, almost overwhelming in its beauty.

Of course, however, Portman is the heart and soul of the picture. She runs a roller coaster of emotions, from the glory days of the Kennedy presidency, when the White House was filled with joy and grand entertainment, to the horrors of that autumn day in Dallas, Texas and the whirlwind of events that followed. Portman has wonderful, intimate scenes opposite John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard and Greta Gerwig but is often at her most riveting when she has the screen all to herself. This is one of the very best Oscar-nominated performances from recent years.

At last, all 100 Oscar-nominated performances ranked!

1. Jessica Lange, Frances
2. Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple
3. Meryl Streep, The Bridges of Madison County
4. Meryl Streep, Sophie's Choice
5. Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment
6. Meryl Streep, Silkwood
7. Jane Alexander, Testament
8. Sally Kirkland, Anna
9. Maureen Stapleton, Interiors
10. Natalie Portman, Jackie
11. Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons
12. Mariel Hemingway, Manhattan
13. Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction
14. Sigourney Weaver, Gorillas in the Mist
15. Cher, Moonstruck
16. Marsha Mason, Only When I Laugh
17. Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas
18. Debra Winger, Terms of Endearment
19. Kathy Bates, Misery
20. Anjelica Huston, The Grifters
21. Julianne Moore, The End of the Affair
22. Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station
23. Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking
24. Emily Watson, Hilary and Jackie
25. Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry
26. Sharon Stone, Casino
27. Melissa Leo, Frozen River
28. Viola Davis, The Help
29. Diane Keaton, Reds
30. Meryl Streep, Kramer vs. Kramer
31. Meryl Streep, The Deer Hunter
32. Julie Andrews, Victor/Victoria
33. Meryl Streep, A Cry in the Dark
34. Melanie Griffith, Working Girl
35. Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
36. Meryl Streep, Postcards from the Edge
37. Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams
38. Helen Mirren, The Queen
39. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
40. Sissy Spacek, Missing
41. Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth
42. Joanne Woodward, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
43. Isabelle Huppert, Elle
44. Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
45. Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
46. Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
47. Geraldine Page, The Trip to Bountiful
48. Judi Dench, Philomena
49. Jane Alexander, Kramer vs. Kramer
50. Meryl Streep, Adaptation
51. Penelope Cruz, Volver
52. Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
53. Meryl Streep, Doubt
54. Sandra Bullock, Gravity
55. Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
56. Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
57. Meryl Streep, One True Thing
58. Jodie Foster, The Accused
59. Susan Sarandon, Atlantic City
60. Helen Mirren, The Last Station
61. Annette Bening, American Beauty
62. Janet McTeer, Tumbleweeds
63. Meryl Streep, Out of Africa
64. Holly Hunter, Broadcast News
65. Julie Walters, Educating Rita
66. Candice Bergen, Starting Over
67. Maggie Smith, California Suite
68. Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
69. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
70. Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
71. Julianne Moore, The Hours
72. Katharine Hepburn, On Golden Pond
73. Ruth Negga, Loving
74. Laura Dern, Wild
75. Kathy Bates, About Schmidt
76. Emma Stone, La La Land
77. Angelina Jolie, Changeling
78. Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
79. Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
80. Kate Winslet, Little Children
81. Meryl Streep, Ironweed
82. Anne Bancroft, Agnes of God
83. Debra Winger, An Officer and a Gentleman
84. Meryl Streep, Music of the Heart
85. Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility
86. Meryl Streep, The French Lieutenant's Woman
87. Dyan Cannon, Heaven Can Wait
88. Carey Mulligan, An Education
89. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
90. Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
91. Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
92. Kate Winslet, The Reader
93. Penelope Milford, Coming Home
94. Queen Latifah, Chicago
95. Barbara Barrie, Breaking Away
96. Emma Stone, Birdman
97. Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman
98. Amy Adams, American Hustle
99. Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
100. Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love

20 Years of Streep: 2014 ("Into the Woods")

After scoring Oscar nomination #18 with August: Osage County in 2013, Meryl Streep lined up a trio of promising projects for the following year. That 19th nod would, no doubt, be lurking around the corner.

First, there was The Giver, the long-awaited film adaptation of Lois Lowry's best-selling dystopian young adult novel. The project paired Streep with, for the first time, two Hollywood heavyweights - Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges and Australian director Philip Noyce, who, on occasion, will crank out a real gem of a motion picture (see Dead Calm and The Quiet American, among others). A late summer release, The Giver mustered decent box office receipts but was resoundingly trashed by critics.

Garnering warm reviews but a chilly box office reception was Streep's second 2014 release, The Homesman, directed by Hope Springs co-star Tommy Lee Jones. Streep's modest supporting role in the western went largely unnoticed, with most acclaim directed to leading lady Hilary Swank and Jones' rich filmmaking and performance.

Streep's third and final 2014 picture would at last triumph on both critical and financial fronts.

While Rob Marshall's film adaptation of the beloved Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods may not have garnered the same glowing reception as the original 1987 Broadway production (or Marshall's Oscar-winning Chicago), the film at the very least marked an improvement over the director's Nine, which was laughed off the screen five years prior. A healthy box office success, Into the Woods would prove Streep's second highest-grossing picture to date, behind only (sigh) Mamma Mia!

The 2014 Oscar nominees in Best Supporting Actress were...

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Arquette portrays Olivia Evans, single mom of Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and Samantha (Lorelai Linklater). In 2003, Olivia moves the family out to Houston, Texas, so she can obtain a degree and find a fulfilling job. The decade to follow proves an eventful one, as Olivia weds her professor (Marco Perella), an affluent man ready and willing to provide for the Evans but battling inner demons that threaten the wreck their marriage and the childhoods of Mason and Samantha. This performance, which won her honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Society of Film Critics and New York Film Critics Circle, plus a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and BAFTA Award, marked Arquette's first (and to date, final) Oscar nomination and win.

Laura Dern, Wild

Dern portrays Bobbi Grey, the late mother of Cheryl Strayed (Oscar-nominee Reese Witherspoon). During Cheryl's remarkable hike across the Pacific Crest Trail, she is overcome with memories of her mom, a bright, loving woman whose sudden death from cancer nearly shattered her daughter's spirit. This performance marked Dern's second (and to date, final) Oscar nomination.

Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game

Knightley portrays Joan Clarke, a brilliant cryptanalyst who assists mathematician Alan Turning (Oscar-nominee Benedict Cumberbatch) in breaking Nazi Germany's secret communications. When Joan plans to leave the project, on the wishes of her parents, Alan proposes marriage, which she accepts, even knowing of his homosexuality. The performance marked Knightley's second (and to date, final) Oscar nomination.

Emma Stone, Birdman

Stone portrays Sam Thomson, estranged daughter of and assistant to Riggan (Oscar-nominee Michael Keaton), a washed-up actor preparing for the opening night of his new Broadway play. A recovering addict, Sam does not hold back in blaming her father for a rough upbringing, even as he frantically stresses over his latest project. This performance marked Stone's first Oscar nomination.

Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Streep portrays the Witch, once gorgeous but now the most ghastly of sights. Desperate to restore her beauty, she sends the Baker (James Cordon) and his wife (Emily Blunt) on a journey to find the ingredients that will bring it back. This performance marked Streep's 19th Oscar nomination.

Overlooked: Lindsay Duncan, Birdman; Rene Russo, Nightcrawler; Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer

Won and should've won: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Yeesh!

The 2014 Oscar ceremony was not without its pleasures, namely the exhilarating Whiplash managing to score three prizes, but this Best Supporting Actress race was and is awfully tough to get excited about. What's perhaps most remarkable about the line-up is it sports, in my opinion at least, the weakest of all 20 Oscar-nominated Streep turns - and even her worst nomination still places a respectable third for me!

The most anemic honoree here - and nearly the least compelling performance to grace the 20 Streep categories - is Knightley, sleepwalking her way through the otherwise-compelling The Imitation Game. It's a vapid turn by a limited actress to begin with but, to be fair, I'm not sure even the greatest of performers could've made much of Clarke, as she's written here (which is to say very thinly). This is the epitome of a coattail nomination, even more egregious than a Milford in Coming Home or Latifah in Chicago.

Also riding her picture's awards momentum to an inexplicable nomination is Stone, not great but at least there's some blood flowing through the veins, unlike in Knightley's case. I don't get the hooplah for Birdman at all and frankly, if I had to recognize any supporting female from the film, it'd be Duncan, who graces the film's one terrific scene as a scathing film critic who has it out with Keaton's Riggan. Stone does get one bonafide Oscar scene, a shouting match with Keaton, but the writing is so on the nose and both actors, terrific as they've been in many other films, overplay it.

A little less eyebrow-raising a nomination (though still not a deserved one) is Streep's.

Like Birdman, Into the Woods is not a picture I'm terribly enamored with. Less headache-inducing than Nine but not as satisfying as Chicago, Marshall's Into the Woods is exceedingly workmanlike, overstuffed with CGI and, on occasion, performed with some enthusiasm. The Stephen Sondheim score has for sure seen better days. I actually think, among the cast, Cordon and Blunt are the MVPs here, both very charming. Streep, no doubt, had heaps of fun taking on the Witch but it's not a terribly inspired performance and she's constantly upstaged by the scenery. Likewise, she sings well but Marshall's staging of the musical numbers is haphazard and unflattering to all of the actors.

So, I suppose I was wrong, The French Lieutenant's Woman - you aren't, despite still being a complete drag, the absolute bottom of the barrel in the Streep Oscar echelon.

At last of praise in this category (and virtually interchangeable) are the remaining two nominees, Dern and Arquette.

Dern, vis a vis, Arquette is the superior actress for sure and I'm nearly tempted give her the win here as some sort of career victory. Alas, while Dern's presence is a critical one in Wild, it doesn't have the feel of a full performance. Instead of complete scenes, we're mostly treated to mere glimpses of Bobbi. When she does grace the screen, Dern is in vivid, arresting form - we feel her warmth and the love Cheryl so painstakingly misses. But while this utilization of the actress proves an effective one for the film itself, cutting back and forth between the past and present, it also somewhat undercuts Dern's efforts. Bobbi's presence is deeply felt throughout Wild but Dern never gets that extended scene that could have put her in contention for the win.

Arquette, while the more rangebound performer, is all over Boyhood, practically a co-lead for much of the proceedings. Like Dern in her picture, Arquette gives Olivia a wonderful authentic, lived-in feel. It's an unaffected performance that's right at home in such a documentary-like film. While Arquette somewhat fades into the background toward the picture's home stretch, she's a paramount presence in the film's first half, especially during Olivia's hazardous marriage to her professor.

One of the all-time great Supporting Actress Oscar winners? Hardly. In a less barren year, I would ideally throw all five of these performances overboard. Alas, given the circumstances, the Academy got this one right.

The performances ranked (thus far)...

1. Jessica Lange, Frances
2. Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple
3. Meryl Streep, The Bridges of Madison County
4. Meryl Streep, Sophie's Choice
5. Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment
6. Meryl Streep, Silkwood
7. Jane Alexander, Testament
8. Sally Kirkland, Anna
9. Maureen Stapleton, Interiors
10. Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons
11. Mariel Hemingway, Manhattan
12. Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction
13. Sigourney Weaver, Gorillas in the Mist
14. Cher, Moonstruck
15. Marsha Mason, Only When I Laugh
16. Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas
17. Debra Winger, Terms of Endearment
18. Kathy Bates, Misery
19. Anjelica Huston, The Grifters
20. Julianne Moore, The End of the Affair
21. Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station
22. Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking
23. Emily Watson, Hilary and Jackie
24. Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry
25. Sharon Stone, Casino
26. Melissa Leo, Frozen River
27. Viola Davis, The Help
28. Diane Keaton, Reds
29. Meryl Streep, Kramer vs. Kramer
30. Meryl Streep, The Deer Hunter
31. Julie Andrews, Victor/Victoria
32. Meryl Streep, A Cry in the Dark
33. Melanie Griffith, Working Girl
34. Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
35. Meryl Streep, Postcards from the Edge
36. Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams
37. Helen Mirren, The Queen
38. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
39. Sissy Spacek, Missing
40. Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth
41. Joanne Woodward, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
42. Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
43. Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
44. Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
45. Geraldine Page, The Trip to Bountiful
46. Judi Dench, Philomena
47. Jane Alexander, Kramer vs. Kramer
48. Meryl Streep, Adaptation
49. Penelope Cruz, Volver
50. Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
51. Meryl Streep, Doubt
52. Sandra Bullock, Gravity
53. Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
54. Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
55. Meryl Streep, One True Thing
56. Jodie Foster, The Accused
57. Susan Sarandon, Atlantic City
58. Helen Mirren, The Last Station
59. Annette Bening, American Beauty
60. Janet McTeer, Tumbleweeds
61. Meryl Streep, Out of Africa
62. Holly Hunter, Broadcast News
63. Julie Walters, Educating Rita
64. Candice Bergen, Starting Over
65. Maggie Smith, California Suite
66. Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
67. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
68. Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
69. Julianne Moore, The Hours
70. Katharine Hepburn, On Golden Pond
71. Laura Dern, Wild
72. Kathy Bates, About Schmidt
73. Angelina Jolie, Changeling
74. Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
75. Kate Winslet, Little Children
76. Meryl Streep, Ironweed
77. Anne Bancroft, Agnes of God
78. Debra Winger, An Officer and a Gentleman
79. Meryl Streep, Music of the Heart
80. Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility
81. Meryl Streep, The French Lieutenant's Woman
82. Dyan Cannon, Heaven Can Wait
83. Carey Mulligan, An Education
84. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
85. Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
86. Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
87. Kate Winslet, The Reader
88. Penelope Milford, Coming Home
89. Queen Latifah, Chicago
90. Barbara Barrie, Breaking Away
91. Emma Stone, Birdman
92. Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman
93. Amy Adams, American Hustle
94. Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
95. Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love

20 Years of Streep: 2013 ("August: Osage County")

In 2006, Meryl Streep and director David Frankel scored box office gold - the greatest financial success of Streep's career at that point - with The Devil Wears Prada. Given her affection for working alongside filmmakers on several occasions (see Nichols, Schepisi and Benton, among others) it was a sure thing the paths of Streep and Frankel would cross again.

That reunion went down six years later with Hope Springs, a genial, breezy dramedy that at last paired Streep with Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones. While hardly an iconic smash on the level of Devil, the picture, which found both stars in fine form (particularly Jones, in one of his best recent performances), was warmly received by critics and audiences alike. No Oscar nominations, however, would come to fruition.

That 18th Oscar nod would instead land for Streep in 2013, with the release of August: Osage County, TV producer John Wells' screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Tracy Letts play. Despite Letts penning the script and an all-star cast, the film opened to tepid reviews and comparably modest box office grosses. Not that a middling reception has prevented Streep from drawing Oscar love before...

The 2013 Oscar nominees in Best Lead Actress were...

Amy Adams, American Hustle

Adams portrays Sydney Prosser, glamorous grifter and partner to fellow con artist Irving (Oscar-nominee Christian Bale). Caught by hotheaded FBI agent DiMaso (Oscar-nominee Bradley Cooper), the two are forced to work undercover in a sting operation to bring down a corrupt New Jersey mayor (Jeremy Renner). This performance, which won her a Golden Globe, marked Adams' fifth (and to date, final) Oscar nomination.

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Blanchett portrays Jasmine Francis, a New York socialite who, having suffered a nervous breakdown following the dissolution of her marriage to the disgraced Hal (Alec Baldwin), moves in with her unpretentious sister Ginger (Oscar-nominee Sally Hawkins) in San Francisco. In emotional shambles and without much in the way of job skills, Jasmine still finds time to demean those around her. This performance, which won her honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Society of Film Critics and New York Film Critics Circle, plus a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and BAFTA Award, marked Blanchett's sixth Oscar nomination and second win.

Sandra Bullock, Gravity

Bullock portrays Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on her first shuttle mission. Working alongside veteran astronaut Matt (George Clooney) on a routine spacewalk, their effort is interrupted when debris from a Russian satellite catastrophically strikes the shuttle, leaving the rest of the crew dead. The sole survivors, surrounded by silent blackness, must find a way to reach safety before the debris field returns. This performance marked Bullock's second (and to date, final) Oscar nomination.

Judi Dench, Philomena

Dench portrays Philomena Lee, an Irish woman who for 50 years has waged an agonizing search for her son, put up for adoption by nuns to an American couple. She meets disgraced former journalist Martin (Steve Coogan, who also co-wrote the screenplay), who takes an interest in Philomena's extraordinary story and arranges for a profile piece that might just lead her to some answers. This performance marked Dench's seventh (and to date, final) Oscar nomination.

Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Streep portrays Violet Weston, impossible matriarch of Osage County, Oklahoma's Weston family. More a hot mess than ever following the death of husband Beverly (Sam Shepard), Violet, who is battling oral cancer and addicted to narcotics, is joined by the rest the Weston clan, including her three daughters (Oscar-nominee Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis), for the funeral. Tensions run high as Violet targets everyone with a dose of her "truth-telling." This performance marked Streep's 18th Oscar nomination.

Overlooked: Julie Delpy, Before Midnight; Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Won and should've won: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Venturing into this particular Oscar night, I recall thinking to myself, despite nearly all pundits banking on Blanchett to triumph, that Adams could emerge victorious in Best Lead Actress, in an Adrien Brody sort of way. That is, she was the only contender of the five without a golden statue and to boot, on nomination #5, was beginning to be seen as somewhat due for a win. Plus, for what it's worth, she did win the Golden Globe.

Well, thank heavens that never came to fruition. Much as I like Adams in general, and probably could have supported her for victory the year prior (in Best Supporting Actress for The Master), she's slumming it big time for me this year, in one of my all-time least favorite Best Picture nominees.

Adams is hardly the worst part of American Hustle (that would be Jennifer Lawrence, in a constipated, Razzie-caliber performance), in fact she's perhaps among the most tolerable things it has going for it. She looks spectacular but ultimately, she's all dressed up with nowhere to go, in an empty, sanctimonious picture that thinks it can hide its worthlessness by blasting wall-to-wall '70s rock. It's a film that elicits responses like "love that song" or "adore those costumes...brings back so much nostalgia" and manages to win over many viewers, even though there's not a clever or genuine thing really happening on the screen. This picture makes me so mad! And Adams, while not Gwyneth Paltrow-bad, succumbs to David O. Russell's flat direction and screenplay. UGH.

Moving on, this category gets so, so much better.

I had the immense pleasure of catching August: Osage County during its Broadway run, with the incomparable Estelle Parsons completely killing it as Violet Weston. The stage production might well be among the finest plays I've ever seen in person, so I can't help but be a little underwhelmed with John Wells' merely workmanlike film adaptation. There's no shortage of marvelous acting here, especially from Roberts and Nicholson, but a feeling of staginess for sure lingers over the proceedings and the director brings little filmmaking flair of note to the table.

Streep's turn, while nowhere near as fierce or convincing (or downright terrifying) as Parsons', is still a lot of fun. Donning a big black wig and chowing down on scenery, this is the closest thing to Mommie Dearest the actress has ever done. The performance lacks the nuance some of the supporting players bring to their roles but still, Streep has a ball with the Letts dialogue and even if we never fully buy her as Violet, it's still a blast watching her duel with Roberts.

Oh Academy, if you'd only waited just a bit, you could have awarded Bullock for a decent performance.

Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity might be an epic, CGI-packed sci-fi spectacular but there's no overshadowing its leading lady. While the film looks sensational and Cuaron's Oscar-winning direction is so tense it's suffocating, Gravity would not work at all without a commanding performance at its center and Bullock pulls it off perfectly. Her desperation is plenty palpable, as we ride a riotous roller coaster of emotions with the character. This has to be Bullock's finest work to date (though - keep this on the down-low - I have a super-soft spot for The Net) and, in a little weaker a year, I could see supporting her for victory.

As I mentioned a few years prior, I believe Dench's Oscar should have arrived not for Shakespeare in Love (an Oscar instead deserved by Kathy Bates or Lynn Redgrave) but for Mrs. Brown in 1997. While this Dame has had quite the filmography over the past two decades, no performance has topped the tour-de-force work she does in that John Madden picture.

That said, she is such a delight in Philomena and I would have been wholeheartedly fine with her triumphing here. The film is really something special, decidedly a step-up from the amusing fluff that was Dench and director Stephen Frears' collaboration on Mrs. Henderson Presents... (which also netted the actress an Oscar nod). Despite the sorrowful subject matter, Dench has a number of side-splittingly funny moments in the picture (I die when she flirts with watching Big Momma's House). For the most part, however, it is indeed an aggravating and tragic story and Dench sells it beautifully. It's one of her most sensitive and subtle turns to date and she and Coogan (an actor who, frankly, I'm not typically so fond of) make for a marvelous team.

Alas, I think the Academy got this one right.

Among Blanchett's Oscar nominations, I believe she has deserved to prevail on two occasions - for this and, even though it's blatant category fraud, Notes on a Scandal. I do get a kick out of her Kate Hepburn in The Aviator but that totally should have been Virginia Madsen's victory.

Blanchett's Jasmine is one of the all-time great hot messes to grace the silver screen (and among the most compellingly written Woody Allen characters). Another actress could have surely overplayed it but Blanchett strikes precisely the right notes, managing to draw empathy from viewers, even as she alienates most of the other figures on-screen.

I don't think Blue Jasmine itself is quite among the top tier (alongside Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters and Crimes and Misdemeanors) in Allen cinema but at least reaches the same heights as fine films like Husbands and Wives, Alice and Stardust Memories. Its leading lady, however, is surely up there with the most stirring turns to lead an Allen picture, a testament to the filmmaker's ability to still occasionally capture a virtuoso performance, even as his filmography becomes more and more scattershot.

The performances ranked (thus far)...

1. Jessica Lange, Frances
2. Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple
3. Meryl Streep, The Bridges of Madison County
4. Meryl Streep, Sophie's Choice
5. Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment
6. Meryl Streep, Silkwood
7. Jane Alexander, Testament
8. Sally Kirkland, Anna
9. Maureen Stapleton, Interiors
10. Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons
11. Mariel Hemingway, Manhattan
12. Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction
13. Sigourney Weaver, Gorillas in the Mist
14. Cher, Moonstruck
15. Marsha Mason, Only When I Laugh
16. Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas
17. Debra Winger, Terms of Endearment
18. Kathy Bates, Misery
19. Anjelica Huston, The Grifters
20. Julianne Moore, The End of the Affair
21. Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station
22. Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking
23. Emily Watson, Hilary and Jackie
24. Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry
25. Sharon Stone, Casino
26. Melissa Leo, Frozen River
27. Viola Davis, The Help
28. Diane Keaton, Reds
29. Meryl Streep, Kramer vs. Kramer
30. Meryl Streep, The Deer Hunter
31. Julie Andrews, Victor/Victoria
32. Meryl Streep, A Cry in the Dark
33. Melanie Griffith, Working Girl
34. Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
35. Meryl Streep, Postcards from the Edge
36. Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams
37. Helen Mirren, The Queen
38. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
39. Sissy Spacek, Missing
40. Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth
41. Joanne Woodward, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
42. Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
43. Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
44. Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
45. Geraldine Page, The Trip to Bountiful
46. Judi Dench, Philomena
47. Jane Alexander, Kramer vs. Kramer
48. Meryl Streep, Adaptation
49. Penelope Cruz, Volver
50. Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
51. Meryl Streep, Doubt
52. Sandra Bullock, Gravity
53. Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
54. Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
55. Meryl Streep, One True Thing
56. Jodie Foster, The Accused
57. Susan Sarandon, Atlantic City
58. Helen Mirren, The Last Station
59. Annette Bening, American Beauty
60. Janet McTeer, Tumbleweeds
61. Meryl Streep, Out of Africa
62. Holly Hunter, Broadcast News
63. Julie Walters, Educating Rita
64. Candice Bergen, Starting Over
65. Maggie Smith, California Suite
66. Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
67. Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
68. Julianne Moore, The Hours
69. Katharine Hepburn, On Golden Pond
70. Kathy Bates, About Schmidt
71. Angelina Jolie, Changeling
72. Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
73. Kate Winslet, Little Children
74. Meryl Streep, Ironweed
75. Anne Bancroft, Agnes of God
76. Debra Winger, An Officer and a Gentleman
77. Meryl Streep, Music of the Heart
78. Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility
79. Meryl Streep, The French Lieutenant's Woman
80. Dyan Cannon, Heaven Can Wait
81. Carey Mulligan, An Education
82. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
83. Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
84. Kate Winslet, The Reader
85. Penelope Milford, Coming Home
86. Queen Latifah, Chicago
87. Barbara Barrie, Breaking Away
88. Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman
89. Amy Adams, American Hustle
90. Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love

20 Years of Streep: 2011 ("The Iron Lady")

In 1979, while Meryl Streep was kicking ass with an exemplary trio of motion pictures (Kramer vs. Kramer, Manhattan and The Seduction of Joe Tynan), a glass ceiling was shattered across the pond with the election of Margaret Thatcher to the position of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The first woman to hold this office, Thatcher, leader of the country's Conservative Party, would go on to serve three terms as Prime Minister. Her polarizing tenure was marked by the deregulation of the nation's financial sector; reduction in the power and influence of unions; and victory in the Falklands War, waged in 1982 (the year of Sophie's Choice!) between the United Kingdom and Argentina. With Thatcherism fatigue setting in by the decade's end, Thatcher resigned from her post in 1990.

Over the span of the Thatcher administration, Streep racked up seven of her Oscar nominations, including two wins. Odds are, not in her wildest dreams could she have imagined what role would land the actress her 17th career Oscar nod and that elusive third victory...

The 2011 Oscar nominees in Best Lead Actress were...

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs

Close portrays Albert Nobbs, a timid butler in 19th century Ireland who hides a remarkable secret - he is in fact a she. Albert has long maintained a low profile but the entrance of Hubert (Oscar-nominee Janet McTeer), also a woman masquerading as a man, inspires her to open up. Hubert lives with a partner who is supportive of her lifestyle and Albert believes, with devastating consequences, that co-worker Helen (Mia Wasikowska) may be able to provide the same comfort. This performance marked Close's sixth (and to date, final) Oscar nomination.

Viola Davis, The Help

Davis portrays Aibileen Clark, a hardworking, worn-out African-American housekeeper in 1960s Mississippi. Aibileen is approached by society girl and aspiring author Skeeter (Emma Stone), who wishes to profile the black women who have dedicated their lives to serving white southern families. At first reluctant to participate, Aibileen, who for years has put up with her employers' shit, eventually relents and also inspires other maids to share their stories. This performance, which won her a Screen Actors Guild Award, marked Davis' second Oscar nomination.

Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Mara portrays Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant but scarred computer hacker, the survivor of extreme emotional and sexual abuse. Salander aides disgraced journalist Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) in investigating the disappearance of business magnate Vanger (Christopher Plummer)'s niece, lost for four decades. Salander and Blomkvist grow close as they uncover a series of corruption, abuse and murder that leaves the duo stunned. This performance marked Mara's first Oscar nomination.

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Streep portrays Margaret Thatcher who, battling dementia in her final years, reflects on her storied life, from a middle-class upbringing, working in her father's grocery store, through her lengthy and controversial tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. This performance, which won her honors from the New York Film Critics Circle, a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe, marked Streep's 17th Oscar nomination and third victory.

Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Williams portrays Marilyn Monroe who, over the summer of 1956, films The Prince and the Showgirl opposite Sir Laurence Olivier (Oscar-nominee Kenneth Branagh) in England. Exhausted by work, Monroe, though married at this time to playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott), takes up production assistant Colin (Eddie Redmayne)'s offer to spend a relaxing week in the quaint British countryside. This performance, which won her a Golden Globe, marked Williams' third Oscar nomination.

Overlooked: Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin; Charlize Theron, Young Adult; Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids

Won: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Should've won: Viola Davis, The Help

Look, I get it. After a dozen consecutive losses, there was a plenty palpable sense of Streep being way due for Oscar #3. If only the Academy could've gotten the job done two years prior, or the year before that, instead of awarding her on one of her worst nominations. For my money, giving Streep an Oscar for The Iron Lady is not much worse than providing her the win for Music of the Heart.

Not that Streep's impersonation of Lady Thatcher isn't a spot-on one - per usual, she nails the dialect and looks the part to boot - but, unusual for her, she never really convinces in the role. The entire time, it feels like Streep is playing mere dress-up and it hardly helps that the rest of the picture, directed by Mamma Mia!'s Phyllida Lloyd, is a flat-out catastrophe.

The Iron Lady is so tedious and haphazardly structured, it nearly brings down Streep's performance with it. On occasion, she is able to transcend the proceedings but is never quite strong enough to lift the film into something truly compelling. Besides Lloyd, credit screenwriter Abi Morgan for somehow crafting a screenplay on Margaret Thatcher that is never the least bit engrossing or enlightening. If you're interested in learning about Thatcher's life and career, and not just aiming to watch every single nominated Streep performance, check out BBC's four-part documentary series instead.

No offense to Streep but beyond her winning performance, this is actually a pretty fantastic category.

Like Streep, Williams graces a picture that is quite a bit inferior to her performance. Unlike The Iron Lady, however, My Week with Marilyn is at least a watchable piece of cinema.

There's really only one problem with Marilyn but it's a big one and, if not for the rest of the talent gracing the screen, could've been a fatal flaw. Redmayne, marvelous as he is in his Oscar-winning The Theory of Everything turn, is stunningly boring here - and just as much, if not more of a lead than Williams. Thankfully, he's surrounded by a game and entertaining cast, including Branagh, Julia Ormond and Judi Dench, all having a blast portraying a host of acting legends. The film looks fabulous too.

As for Williams, she makes for a completely credible Monroe and, in a way, acting opposite the nothingness that is Redmayne makes her performance all the more stand out. It's a sensitive portrayal that beautifully captures the star's yearnings and vulnerabilities and Williams has a screen presence just bright enough to compete with Monroe's. This isn't exactly a Frances-level Oscar vehicle but Williams is still a pleasure to spend an hour and a half with, even if her leading man has the allure of an extra on The Walking Dead.

Headlining the only great picture among the five nominees is the chameleon-like Mara, dead-on believable in David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Like Marilyn, this is a film that just wouldn't have worked without a successful casting of its leading lady. Mara proves a perfect fit for Salander - it's gritty, absorbing and ultimately heartbreaking performance, nicely matched by Craig, in one of his more underrated turns. I think the picture itself is at least half an hour too long and the real MVP is Jeff Cronenweth's cinematography but still, it's fabulous, gripping work by Mara that never strikes a false note. (Also, for what it's worth, I do think Mara should've prevailed for Carol.)

Albert Nobbs is fascinating to me. I know many are not so keen on the film, nor Close's performance for that matter. There are stretches in the picture that are downright lethargic and there is something aloof-feeling about it all but Close's work still grabs me in a significant way (and McTeer is stunning too). It's an assured, lived-in portrayal of one awfully tricky character that, even if the film itself is plagued with problems, very much lingers with me.

Close's Albert Nobbs has the resemblance of a mannequin, lifeless, devoid of emotion, and her temperament is stilted and awkward. I can see why this performance doesn't grab everyone, and in fact leaves many feeling entirely disconnected, but I for one see immense nuance in the work Close is doing here.

Through the most subtle of expressions, Close paints a truly tortured and tragic figure, desperate to at last let her guard down and find emotional fulfillment to go along with professional success. This is in ingenious performance, by one of the most brilliant actresses to ever grace the silver screen, that sure could have used a better film.

Much as I love Close, I'm still mad Davis didn't prevail here.

The Help is hardly a perfect film - it's for sure among the safest, most sanitized portrayals of the 1960s civil rights movement captured in a motion picture. Of the five films here, I would rank it just above The Iron Lady, which is a terrible piece of cinema. That said, director Tate Taylor luckily has one hell of an acting ensemble to lean on, and boy do they deliver the goods, even if their filmmaker is a hack. Beyond Davis, you have Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney and Sissy Spacek, among others, turning in fabulous work.

That said, Davis is the heart and soul of The Help. It's a heartrending, unforgettable leading turn from an actress who's proven she can steal entire films with just ten minutes of screen time. On paper, the "you is smart, you is kind, you is important" line reads as more banal than anything but Davis manages to deliver it (multiple times) in a way that is downright devastating.

Davis is marvelous in all of her endeavors, even briefly managing to make Suicide Squad tolerable, but I'm not sure she'll ever be in finer form than she is here. It's among the best performances of the past decade.

The performances ranked (thus far)...

1. Jessica Lange, Frances
2. Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple
3. Meryl Streep, The Bridges of Madison County
4. Meryl Streep, Sophie's Choice
5. Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment
6. Meryl Streep, Silkwood
7. Jane Alexander, Testament
8. Sally Kirkland, Anna
9. Maureen Stapleton, Interiors
10. Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons
11. Mariel Hemingway, Manhattan
12. Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction
13. Sigourney Weaver, Gorillas in the Mist
14. Cher, Moonstruck
15. Marsha Mason, Only When I Laugh
16. Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas
17. Debra Winger, Terms of Endearment
18. Kathy Bates, Misery
19. Anjelica Huston, The Grifters
20. Julianne Moore, The End of the Affair
21. Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station
22. Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking
23. Emily Watson, Hilary and Jackie
24. Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry
25. Sharon Stone, Casino
26. Melissa Leo, Frozen River
27. Viola Davis, The Help
28. Diane Keaton, Reds
29. Meryl Streep, Kramer vs. Kramer
30. Meryl Streep, The Deer Hunter
31. Julie Andrews, Victor/Victoria
32. Meryl Streep, A Cry in the Dark
33. Melanie Griffith, Working Girl
34. Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
35. Meryl Streep, Postcards from the Edge
36. Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams
37. Helen Mirren, The Queen
38. Sissy Spacek, Missing
39. Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth
40. Joanne Woodward, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
41. Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
42. Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
43. Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
44. Geraldine Page, The Trip to Bountiful
45. Jane Alexander, Kramer vs. Kramer
46. Meryl Streep, Adaptation
47. Penelope Cruz, Volver
48. Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
49. Meryl Streep, Doubt
50. Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
51. Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
52. Meryl Streep, One True Thing
53. Jodie Foster, The Accused
54. Susan Sarandon, Atlantic City
55. Helen Mirren, The Last Station
56. Annette Bening, American Beauty
57. Janet McTeer, Tumbleweeds
58. Meryl Streep, Out of Africa
59. Holly Hunter, Broadcast News
60. Julie Walters, Educating Rita
61. Candice Bergen, Starting Over
62. Maggie Smith, California Suite
63. Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
64. Julianne Moore, The Hours
65. Katharine Hepburn, On Golden Pond
66. Kathy Bates, About Schmidt
67. Angelina Jolie, Changeling
68. Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
69. Kate Winslet, Little Children
70. Meryl Streep, Ironweed
71. Anne Bancroft, Agnes of God
72. Debra Winger, An Officer and a Gentleman
73. Meryl Streep, Music of the Heart
74. Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility
75. Meryl Streep, The French Lieutenant's Woman
76. Dyan Cannon, Heaven Can Wait
77. Carey Mulligan, An Education
78. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
79. Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
80. Kate Winslet, The Reader
81. Penelope Milford, Coming Home
82. Queen Latifah, Chicago
83. Barbara Barrie, Breaking Away
84. Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman
85. Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love

20 Years of Streep: 2009 ("Julie & Julia")

In 1977, the year Meryl Streep made her feature film debut in Julia, Nora Ephron was working full-time as a columnist for Esquire, penning memorable pieces on the likes of controversial Boston University President John Silber and the series finale of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

By the time, six years later, Ephron made her own big screen debut as screenwriter of the Streep-headlined Silkwood, Streep had two Oscar victories under her belt. The success of Silkwood in 1983 set expectations supremely high for their collaboration on 1986's Heartburn, based on the acclaimed Ephron semi-autobiographical novel - anticipation that would make that picture's ultimate lukewarm response all the more disappointing.

Not that Heartburn proved catastrophic for Ephron or Streep, of course. Ephron's grand success on the screenplay of romcom mega hit When Harry Met Sally...(Oscar nomination #2) in 1989 largely eclipsed the underwhelming reception to her other efforts (Cookie, My Blue Heaven and directorial debut This Is My Life) at the turn of the decade and 1993's Sleepless in Seattle (Oscar nod #3) proved even more a smash than the Billy Crystal-Meg Ryan film.

From there, Ephron's track record was hit-or-miss. She directed a couple of box office hits (1996's Michael and 1998's You've Got Mail) but neither attained the critical acclaim of When Harry Met Sally... More pronounced were the flops - 1994's Mixed Nuts, 2000's Lucky Numbers and 2005's Bewitched. Her 2006 book I Feel Bad About My Neck, a #1 New York Times best-seller, served as a reminder of Ephron's brilliance and it was inevitable, despite the recent tanking of Bewitched, that she'd have scant problem landing another project.

That project, sadly her final one before her death in 2012, would reunite her with none other than the actress who graced Ephron's first feature film.

The 2009 Oscar nominees in Best Lead Actress were...

Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

Bullock portrays Leigh Anne Tuohy, a headstrong interior designer who, to the bewilderment of some in her white, southern, Christian conservative community, takes in Michael Oher (Quentin Aaron) a homeless African-American teen who has been in and out of foster care. When Michael expresses an interest in football, Leigh Anne is determined to ensure his abilities are put to use. This performance, which won her a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award, marked Bullock's first Oscar nomination and win.

Helen Mirren, The Last Station

Mirren portrays Sofya Andreyevna, wife of beloved Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (Oscar-nominee Christopher Plummer). While still very much in love, Sofya and Leo spar over who will control the Tolstoy works after his death - she would like the copyrights bestowed upon her, while he prefers they be placed into the public domain. This performance marked Mirren's fourth (and to date, final) Oscar nomination.

Carey Mulligan, An Education

Mulligan portrays Jenny Mellor, a bright and beautiful teenager, prepping for admission into Oxford University. Jenny crosses paths with David (Peter Sarsgaard), a wealthy playboy, twice her age, who pursues Jenny romantically and even wins over her parents (Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour). Complications arise when Jenny discovers David makes his living as a con artist but she continues to indulge in this new lavish lifestyle, until another revelation proves too much to swallow. This performance, which won Mulligan honors from the National Board of Review and a BAFTA Award, marked Mulligan's first (and to date, final) Oscar nomination.

Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Sidibe portrays Claireece "Precious" Jones, an overweight, illiterate teenager, incessantly subjected to physical and verbal abuse by loose cannon mother Mary (Oscar-winner Mo'Nique). Impregnated by her father for the second time, Precious at last sees light on the horizon when she is offered the chance to transfer to an alternative school. There, she encounters the kind Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), who is determined to provide Precious the chance to start anew. This performance marked Sidibe's first (and to date, final) Oscar nomination.

Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Streep portrays Julia Child, the beloved chef who, in the early years of her culinary career, attends Le Cordon Blue to learn French cooking and co-writes Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a book tailored to American housewives. This performance, which won her honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and a Golden Globe, marked Streep's 16th Oscar nomination.

Overlooked: Penelope Cruz, Broken Embraces; Alison Lohman, Drag Me to Hell; Catalina Saavedra, The Maid; Meryl Streep, It's Complicated

Won: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

Should've won: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

2009, year of the underwhelming Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker barn burner, proved an even more modest affair in Best Lead Actress than the year prior. This is also one of those occasions in which the Academy got the performer right but not the performance.

Cruz, for instance, can't lift the dreck that is Nine (for which she garnered an Oscar nod in supporting) but would have been a richly deserving honoree here for Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces. Likewise, I find Streep so much more loose and fun in It's Complicated than Julie & Julia, the latter of which is only half a watchable film, and even the decent half (Streep's) isn't all that super. And imagine if the Academy had the shrewdness to recognize Saavedra! I can dream.

Alas, on Oscar nominations morning, with the flabbergasting Best Picture nod for The Blind Side, the cake was baked for the big night.

As is the case with Kate Winslet and The Reader, here is an actress (Bullock) I have great affection for and, with the right role and film, would be delighted to see with an Oscar. The Blind Side's Leigh Anne Tuohy is decidedly not that role. The film may not be gag-inducing like The Reader but is precisely the sort of bland, cookie cutter cinema that has been so prevalent among sports films in recent years. If only The Blind Side had the ambition and patience of say, the Friday Night Lights television series, this could have been a real winner. 

Ultimately, though, it's pretty lackluster stuff and not even my favorite actress (Kathy Bates) can juice anything out of the proceedings. Bullock's performance may not be a bad one but it's very much a going-through-the-motions turn, in search of a better director/screenplay. If only the Academy waited a few years, she could have been recognized for a far more watchable effort.

I suspect I may be the recipient of a fair amount of shit for my thoughts on Mulligan, in a performance I know many feel great affection for but I for one find negligibly more compelling than Bullock's.

I'm a sucker for a good coming-of-age story but An Education, despite a look that aces 1960s London and a fabulous supporting turn by Molina (who surely deserved an Oscar nod), leaves me rather cold. Though it's not a total misfire of a performance, blame's got to go to Mulligan, an actress I, more often than not, find exceedingly stiff, the one exception being Never Let Me Go. She nicely captures the vulnerability and dizzying feeling of a young woman swept off her feet by a much older man but there's a curious aloofness to her acting that I can't get over. It was far more pronounced in, for instance, The Great Gatsby, but even here, she doesn't much resonate.

Much more satisfying, albeit not exactly in a Jessica Lange in Frances way, are the remaining three nominees. I consider this trio more or less interchangeable - in fact, Mirren, who I now rank third in the line-up, was my personal favorite back in the day.

With the exception of its two nominated performances, The Last Station is a very modest endeavor, from a filmmaker (Michael Hoffman) with a proven penchant for satisfactory cinema. I suspect Tolstoy's story would be much better told on the stage than the silver screen - the scenery-chewing here by Mirren and Plummer, while plenty entertaining, would surely be a better fit in a different medium. Still, their larger-than-life turns are pretty much the only reason to sit through the picture and it's a lot of fun watching these thespians ham it up. In hindsight, though, I have a tough time thinking of Mirren's turn as an Oscar-winning one. In a more anemic year, maybe.

Likewise, Streep is a blast to watch in Julie & Julia and, alongside the delightful Stanley Tucci, the sole reason to check out her film. Not that the Ephron film is on the level of Bewitched but the Amy Adams half of the picture is stunningly inferior to the Streep half, so much so you leave dumbfounded that Ephron didn't scrap all of the tedious Adams stuff and just go all-in on Streep.

Streep's turn lacks the depth of her best work (the writing, I'm afraid, is sitcom-level) and isn't even among her strongest comic performances but it's still a pleasure spending time with one of our finest actresses, doing a dead-on Julia Child impression. Her chemistry with Tucci (and Jane Lynch, in a small but splendid role as Child's sister) is splendid and it's hard not to be won over by her charms, even if the material is light as a feather. Streep is able to make her film worthwhile in a way that Bullock and Winslet aren't.

Right now, however, I'm partial to Sidibe, another actress who shines in a problematic picture.

I'm not terribly fond of Precious, or Mo'Nique's impassioned but overwhelmingly histrionic performance. Like all Lee Daniels cinema, it's a film in dire need of a shot of subtlety. All too often, the proceedings veer on the bombastic, which is unfortunate because there are two truly great turns in it - Sidibe and the radiant Patton, who'd I much rather have seen garner that Supporting Actress nomination.

Sidibe, somehow in her screen debut, is devastating in the title role, portraying a damaged young woman who has entirely shut herself down from her surroundings. You can feel the pain that for years as suffocated Precious and you feel that same stirring sense of hope when she's able to last begin escaping this horrific life. If only Precious were a stronger, less on-the-nose film, Sidibe's performance perhaps could have shined even brighter.

The performances ranked (thus far)...

1. Jessica Lange, Frances
2. Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple
3. Meryl Streep, The Bridges of Madison County
4. Meryl Streep, Sophie's Choice
5. Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment
6. Meryl Streep, Silkwood
7. Jane Alexander, Testament
8. Sally Kirkland, Anna
9. Maureen Stapleton, Interiors
10. Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons
11. Mariel Hemingway, Manhattan
12. Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction
13. Sigourney Weaver, Gorillas in the Mist
14. Cher, Moonstruck
15. Marsha Mason, Only When I Laugh
16. Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas
17. Debra Winger, Terms of Endearment
18. Kathy Bates, Misery
19. Anjelica Huston, The Grifters
20. Julianne Moore, The End of the Affair
21. Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station
22. Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking
23. Emily Watson, Hilary and Jackie
24. Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry
25. Sharon Stone, Casino
26. Melissa Leo, Frozen River
27. Diane Keaton, Reds
28. Meryl Streep, Kramer vs. Kramer
29. Meryl Streep, The Deer Hunter
30. Julie Andrews, Victor/Victoria
31. Meryl Streep, A Cry in the Dark
32. Melanie Griffith, Working Girl
33. Meryl Streep, Postcards from the Edge
34. Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams
35. Helen Mirren, The Queen
36. Sissy Spacek, Missing
37. Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth
38. Joanne Woodward, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
39. Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
40. Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
41. Geraldine Page, The Trip to Bountiful
42. Jane Alexander, Kramer vs. Kramer
43. Meryl Streep, Adaptation
44. Penelope Cruz, Volver
45. Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
46. Meryl Streep, Doubt
47. Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
48. Meryl Streep, One True Thing
49. Jodie Foster, The Accused
50. Susan Sarandon, Atlantic City
51. Helen Mirren, The Last Station
52. Annette Bening, American Beauty
53. Janet McTeer, Tumbleweeds
54. Meryl Streep, Out of Africa
55. Holly Hunter, Broadcast News
56. Julie Walters, Educating Rita
57. Candice Bergen, Starting Over
58. Maggie Smith, California Suite
59. Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
60. Julianne Moore, The Hours
61. Katharine Hepburn, On Golden Pond
62. Kathy Bates, About Schmidt
63. Angelina Jolie, Changeling
64. Kate Winslet, Little Children
65. Meryl Streep, Ironweed
66. Anne Bancroft, Agnes of God
67. Debra Winger, An Officer and a Gentleman
68. Meryl Streep, Music of the Heart
69. Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility
70. Meryl Streep, The French Lieutenant's Woman
71. Dyan Cannon, Heaven Can Wait
72. Carey Mulligan, An Education
73. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
74. Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
75. Kate Winslet, The Reader
76. Penelope Milford, Coming Home
77. Queen Latifah, Chicago
78. Barbara Barrie, Breaking Away
79. Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman
80. Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love