The 11th annual FiLM BiTCH Awards celebrating the films of 2010.
see also: Pictures, Traditional Acting, Visuals, Aurals, Fun Extras, Best Scenes
Best Actress in Limited or Cameo Role
'There are no small parts' |
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| Robin Bartlett "Bridget Kearns" SHUTTER ISLAND |
Macy Gray "Rose" FOR COLORED GIRLS |
Juliette Lewis "Roseanna Perry" CONVICTION |
Andrea Riseborough "Chrissy" NEVER LET ME GO |
Imelda Staunton "Janet" ANOTHER YEAR |
| In Shutter Island's best moments, like her interview with DiCaprio, it finds the right pulpy heightened tone, both menacing and weirdly funny. She's amibalent enough bout playing the "crazy" for the crazy that she lingers. |
 Many Girls scenes are undone by the schizo shifts between banal naturalism and inspired poetry. But Gray is a poet, transcending it all. Does it help that she's a musician? This is acting as jazz riffing. This performance sings. |
She's showboating sure, but there's absolutely no one like her and it's character truth; "Roseanna" is, after all, also putting on a show for both of her brief scenes, holding court literally and figuratively. Here's our interview. |
 The movie often strains for exactly the complex mix of denial, fear, and impotent rage about own mortality that she conjures so beautifully across a cafe counter, hoping against hope for a "deferral" and too smart to truly buy the myth. |
 The absolutely brutal untreated depression she embodies, which helps us embrace the thorny life in all the other characters that follow, is so authentic and lived in it doesn't feel a thing like acting. I worried for Staunton when she vanished. |
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Finalists: Maria Paiato in I AM LOVE and Denise Grayson in THE SOCIAL NETWORK both have roles that are difficult to define in terms of size or "category". They're in many scenes but never the focus. Still, thankless or backgrounded roles never stop fine actors from enriching the flavors and textures of their movie. Paiato does get one final killer moment as Emma, both friend and employer, slips away from her. Semi-Finalists: Winona Ryder was quite a casting coup for BLACK SWAN | Michelle Monaghan needed to be in more of SOMEWHERE | Audrey Wasilewski found the right broadness of comedy in her silly bit in RED | *It's worth noting that I did not consider Rooney Mara of The Social Network a small enough role for this category. The entire film hinges on her presence and she gets three chances to remind us of her worth. But yes, she's excellent. Can't wait to see what she does next. |
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Best Actor in a Limited or Cameo Role'there are no small parts' |
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| Billy Crudup "Stephen" EAT PRAY LOVE |
Slamin Dazi "Brahim Lattrache" A PROPHET |
Domnhall Gleeson "Rodney" NEVER LET ME GO (and "Moon" in TRUE GRIT) |
Brandon Routh "Todd Ingram" SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD |
Douglas Urbanski "Larry Summers" THE SOCIAL NETWORK |
| The movie can't really begin until Liz dumps Stephen, rebounds and moves on. But every time we catch a glimpse of him Crudup's aggrieved boy man stings. That pathetic goodbye wave just hurts. |
 "What are you? A prophet or what?" Dazi knows that Lattrache sees more beneath Malik's guilelessness than anyone else. In Diaz's hands he's as scary as any of the criminals but less predictable and smarter. |
I would never have made the connection between Bill Weasley and "Moon" in True Grit "They're trying to get at me" through to Rodney without looking up the cast list. Guess he inherited fine rangey actor genes from dad Brendan Gleeson. |  In a film with numerous great gags and colorful characters, Routh makes such a comic impression as the self-satisfied super vegan you immediately wish he'd get another Superman sized role. |
 His only scene is the kind that's tailor made for "Best Cameo" pronouncements, but he earns the prime comic showcase, nailing the establishment indifference and annoyed old man response to easily wounded young egos |
| Finalists: Joe Stevens has smug theatrical fun with his lawyer goudy in TRUE GRIT | Dakin Matthews finds he's outmatched in negotiations by a teenage girl in TRUE GRIT Semi-Finalists: Joaquín Garrido has good comic chemistry with Julianne Moore as Luis the gardener in THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT. "That's just my face" |
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Breakthrough (People To Root For)
an unholy mix of breakthroughs, feature debuts, and wishful thinking for people who should have broken out more. The Film Bitch criteria for this category always boils down to 'We weren't really familiar but these are the five people we're most anxious to see in another movie.'
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| Anthony Deptula (One Too Many Mornings) |
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone) |
Rooney Mara (The Social Network) |
Mia Wasikowska (The Kids Are All Right, Alice in Wonderland) |
Ellen Wong (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World) |
| This qualifies only in that it should have been a breakthrough. He starred in wrote, produced and digitally distributed this black and white feature about two friends at drunken crossroads. He's multi-talented. next project: Unknown. Someone please hire him. |
 She won some buzz for the barely released/seen Burning Plain but this was the coming out party. A dour one but we suspect many more celebrations will occurnext chance to see her: X-Men First Class, The Beaver, Like Crazy, House at the End of the Street |
 She had three scenes in The Social Network to drive her smart won't-suffer-fools character deep into your heart and sell the impact on Zuckerberg. She nailed all three, giving a full performance in a very short time span. next project: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo |
 Those who caught her on In Treatment knew this was coming. She led a massive hit and then worked as the emotional center of a populated Oscar-bound dramedy. Many offers deservedly came her way.next projects: Jane Eyre, Restless, Albert Nobbs, Stoker |
As Scott Pilgrim's underage girlfriend Knives Chau she displayed a relaxed self deprecating comic gift, uninhibited youthful feeling. And she also kicked ass. next project: Unknown. Someone please hire her. |
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Finalists: Flavio Parenti (I Am Love) | Miles Teller (Rabbit Hole) | Katie Jarvis (Fish Tank) | Armie Hammer (The Social Network)... regardling the latter. I know everyone is much more excited than I am and who knows, I may yet become a major fan. But at this very moment I am too unnerved by him looking so much like the dread Ben Lyons. Semi-Finalists: Katie Jarvis (Fish Tank) | Aaron Johnson (Kick Ass, Nowhere Boy) | Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture) |
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Body of Work
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| Helena Bonham-Carter Alice in Wonderland and The King's Speech |
Richard Jenkins Let Me In and Eat Pray Love |
Ewan McGregor I Love You Phillip Morris and The Ghost Writer |
Guy Pearce Animal Kingdom and The King's Speech |
Kerry Washington Mother and Child, For Colored Girls and Night Catches Us |
| Two queens, reminding us all that she's been ruling the big screen for decades. Better roles best follow said reminder! |
 He leaves a dark stain of blood and harrowing amorality on the former and a tear stain on the latter. What an actor. |
 FINALLY some good roles and strong movies again for a star we were worrying Hollywood was relegating to ghost actor. |
 He's the one sturdy moral yardstick in one film and something far less reliable in the other, though no less well executed. |
For years we've railed against mainstream Hollywood for ignoring her tremulous expressiveness. At least she's still well employed! |
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Finalists: Sally Hawkins (Made in Dagenham and Never Let Me Go), Jay Baruchel (How To Train Your Dragon and The Trotsky), Rebecca Hall (The Town and Please Give) Semi-Finalists: Nash Edgerton (Animal Kingdom and The Square), Catherine Keener (Cyrus, Please Give), Patty Clarkson (Cairo Time and Shutter Island) |
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Best Ensemble Work
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| ANIMAL KINGDOM |
ANOTHER YEAR |
THE FIGHTER |
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT |
PLEASE GIVE |
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Frecheville, Edgerton, Pearce, Weaver, Mendelsohn, Stapleton, etcetera... Michôd tightly winds his cast, who are predatory or prey (depending on the scene) but always in tight sync. |
Mike Leigh's process continues to wield deeply satisfying ensemble performances, with interpersonal relationships acted with vibrant backstory |
Russell doesn't force them into one tone but lets their idiosycrancies make noisy music together. Wildly entertaining group scenes from the bar, on porches or ringside. |
The kids are more than all right. Both Mia and Josh handle their roles with open hearted aplomb and the adults collide memorably. |
Hall, Keener, Peet, Platt, Guibert, Smith, Nicholas It always helps to have a wonderful screenplay to build from. The cast sparks comedically with melancholy providing dramatic undertow. Peet & Hall are wonderful as opposite personalitied sisters. |
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Finalists: THE SOCIAL NETWORK | WINTER'S BONE | SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD Semi-Finalists: MADE IN DAGENHAM | NEVER LET ME GO | THE WAY BACK | RABBIT HOLE |
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Best Line Delivery
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| Jacki Weaver ANIMAL KINGDOM |
Natalie Portman BLACK SWAN |
John C Reilly CYRUS |
Michael Cera SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD |
Jennifer Lawrence WINTER'S BONE |
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Sickening "concern" and a squirm inducing belittling trap, It's not just the punchline that earned it instant classic status. |
A perfectly played girlie regression and years worth of pent-up tension breaking like a dam. For the moment at least. |
"youre amazing youre an angel youre a sex angel ohmygod" His runaway train of gushing is a perfect mix of post-coital bliss, physical exhaustion, and knowing "can you believe this?" wink to the audience that he nailed Marisa Tomei. And it's damn funny, too. |
"Lesbian. Lesbians?" Maybe it's a dumb joke. But the repetition, Cera's baffled obsessiveness with the word, is laugh out loud funny. "I wasn't trying to trick you Scott" - He sure has a good comic partner in Keiran Culkin's Wallace. |
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Finalists: Anything uttered by just about anyone in THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Yes, the superbly witty screenplay is helping them along but consider how often Jesse Eisenberg in particular manages to balance on a razor wire between interpretations with that mix of condescension, nerves, and an inscrutable inner life. | Anything uttered by Emma Stone in EASY A. Semi-Finalists: "I'm the one who's fighting. Not you. Not you. And Not You" Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter. Yes, this high pitched outburst is easy to mock, as the internet has had fun doing, but it's pitch perfect for the character's guileless exasperation. | "I suppose you lot would know about that sort of thing. Being from Hailsham you'd know how that sort of thing works." Andrea Risebourough's pleading emotionally complex inquiry in Never Let Me Go (previously discussed). |
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TRADITIONAL CATEGORIES: PICTURES | ACTING | VISUALS | AURALS
EXTRA CATEGORIES: SPECIAL ACTING | REAL CHARACTERS | BEST SCENES