With less than three months of the year to go - eep! -- it's time to do another tally of favorite performances -- this is how we keep track so we're not like Oscar voters who only vote on the last couple months of the year. Here are the 17 best female turns this past quarter according to your host, Nathaniel. Which movies were considered? Movies released between July and right now (October 6th) as well as unreleased movies (marked by an asterisk*) which were screened in that time frame but have no firm release date in the future. Previous 3rd quarter lists: Filmmaking and Male Acting
Disclaimer: Key actress-focused films I missed this past quarter were Home Again, Ingrid Goes West, and Lady Macbeth. If you've seen them give their MVPs a shout-out.
6 LEADING ACTRESSES
Dame Judi Dench as "Queen Victoria" in Victoria & Abdul
I love the idea of character sequels decades later rather than continuing story sequels (that's what TV is for!). The movie is no great shakes but it's quite fun to see her return to this signature character.
Regina Hall as "Ryan Pierce" in Girls Trip
A wonderfully nimble performance. She's got to provide the straight man to the comic bananas but to make that funny, too, while dexterously handling the script's somewhat heavy handed character arc.
Agnieszka Mandat-Grabka as "Janina Duszejko" in Spoor*
Terrifically committed to this stubborn can't-help-herself radical.
Brooklynn Prince as "Moonee" in The Florida Project
Up there with Jacob Tremblay and Quvenzhane Wallis in the flooringly charismatic but not actorly child acting arena. You can feel the direction occassionally but she's still a wow.
Emma Stone as "Billie Jean King" in Battle of the Sexes
Always such a gift when an actress can immediately follow up her Oscar win with an even better performance.
Charlize Theron as "Lorraine Broughton" in Atomic Blonde
Brought it as Broughton, showing everyone else how stylish engimatic movie star acting and DIY stunts within action stardom should be done.
Previously: 1st Qtr and 2nd Qtr Lists Combined
- Paula Beer as "Anna" in Frantz
- Jessica Chastain as "Antonina Zabisnkie" in The Zookeeper's Wife
- Trini Dyrhold as "Anna" in The Commune
- Gal Gadot as "Diana" in Wonder Woman
- Anne Hathaway as "Gloria" in Colossal
- Nicole Kidman as "Miss Martha" in The Beguiled
- Noa Koler as "Michal" in The Wedding Plan
- Zuzana Krónerová as "Hana" in Ice Mother*
- Amy Ryan as "Tracy" in Abundant Acreage Available*
- Kristen Stewart as "Maureen Cartwright" in Personal Shopper
- Anya Taylor-Joy as "Cassie" in Split
- Debra Winger as "Mary" in The Lovers
10 ACTRESSES IN SUPPORTING ROLES
Lola Dueñas as "Luciana Piñares de Luenga" in Zama*
Intensely watchable as a teasing unfaithful politicians wife with too much time on her hands and dubious relationships with her servants.
Tiffany Haddish as "Dina" in Girls Trip
Jada Pinkett-Smith as "Lisa" in Girls Trip
Bless. They were soooo fun. Nice to see Jada stretch. Tiffany has, of course, arrived.
Sylvia Hoeks as "Luv" in Blade Runner 2049
"Off" in ways that makes the space between what is human and inhuman particularly riveting.
Gemma Jones as "Diedre" in God's Own Country*
The grandmother knows what's up.
Tatiana Maslany as "Erin Hurley" in Stronger
Miranda Richardson as "Patty Bauman" in Stronger
We might consider Tatiana's role a co-lead (still thinking on it) but both women's characters are subservient to the protagonist's struggle to begin living again after losing his legs. Maslany is wonderfully empathic and incisive about Erin's confused motivations. Miranda is memorably soused and tactless but where they both truly shine is in their largely unspoken discomfort with each other as the other woman in their man's lives.
Michelle Pfeiffer as "woman" in mother!
Her best work since White Oleander (2002) and a reminder that movies are a lesser thing when she's not in them. And I'm not just talking about the two act structure of this particular movie.
Sarah Silverman as "Gladys Heldman" in Battle of the Sexes
Spin-off movie now!
Réka Tenki as "Klára" in On Body and Soul*
This role is an oddity (a corporate psychologist with a sex symbol's way of presenting herself) but she's so damn watchable and memorably put out by the "game" she thinks the leads are playing.
previously in 1st and 2nd qtr
- Nadia Alexander as "Melissa" in Blame*
- Elena Anaya as "Doctor Poison" in Wonder Woman
- Betty Buckley as "Doctor Fletcher" in Split
- Kirsten Dunst as "Edwina" in The Beguiled
- Betty Gabriel as "Georgina" in Get Out
- Jessica Grabowsky as "Kaija" in Tom of Finland*
- Holliday Grainger as "Louise" in My Cousin Rachel
- Shira Haas as "Urszula" in The Zookeeper's Wife
- Amy Hill as "Aunt Charlie" in Catfight
- Holly Hunter as "Beth" in The Big Sick
- Catherine Keener as "Missy Armitrage" in Get Out
- Sienna Miller as "Nina Fawcett" in The Lost City of Z
- Helene Reingaard Neumann as "Emma" in The Commune
- Harriett Walter as "Margaret Webster" in The Sense of an Ending
- Melora Walters as "Lucy" inThe Lovers
1 ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR CAMEO ROLE
Robin Bartlett as "Erma" in The Glass Castle
The always dependable Bartlett is a nightmare mother to Woody Harrelson. You can see where she put the damage on.
Previously: 1st Qtr and 2nd Qtr Lists Combined
- Erika Alexander as "Detective Latoya" in Get Out
- Vella Lovell as "Khadija" in The Big Sick
- Kaori Momoi as "Hairi" in Ghost in the Shell
- Elizabeth Rodriguez as "Gabriela" in Logan
- Robin Wright as "Antiope" in Wonder Woman
- Odessa Young as "Maggie" in Sweet Virginia*
- Unknown as the arranged date in Menashe
What would your list of favorites recently look like?