A Supporting Actress Dozen (aka Nathaniel's Favourites)
Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 2:00PM by Nathaniel R
Joan Chen would have made such a magnificent Oscar nominee for "Didi"
While I realize my advocacy for actual supporting performances would do more good earlier in the year, I am who I am and my clock refuses to run on schedule. Nevertheless I shall carry the banner for genuine supporting players until the end of days. Movies just wouldn’t be the same without the undergirding of story beats, thematic reflections, and emotional contours that supporting players add to movies – often even elevating the lead performers as a result! Moreso than in ANY year in memory, there was shockingly little conversation about any actually supporting female performances this year so I'm here to rectify that by citing 12 favourites...
I want to note as a caveat that I admired/loved the work of Margaret Qualley, Ariana Grande, Zoe Saldana, and Danielle Deadwyler in the films that had them in the hunt for Best Supporting Actress nominations even if it only worked out for half of them. But most of those films were structured as duets and duets require two leads. (You'll see all of them honored in my Best Actress Dozen which is up next.)
While I fully acknowledge that this year wasn’t quite as robust as most in terms of strong supporting roles for women (more duets than usual) the dozen following performances deserved far more eyeballs and conversation. I could have expanded this to 15 with ease by throwing in the barely discussed NBR winner Elle Fanning (A Complete Unknown) who has always held the screen so well that one day she will get a juicy role that the Academy will notice, Rebecca Ferguson's eery reprise of “Lady Jessica Atreides” in Dune Part Two, and longtime TFE favourite Toni Collete (Juror No 2) who is reliably great fun to watch, no matter the role / movie. The top dozen Supporting Actresses of 2024 (according to me) are presented in alpha order before the nomination announcement at the end.
Michele Austin as “Chantele” in Hard Truths
While Marianne Jean-Baptiste was honored in various places for her unfathomably angry character would Hard Truths have worked at all without the soft cushion of Austin's almost religiously patient work as Pansy’s loyal sister. Chantele has never fully understood the depths of her sister’s discomfort with the world, but stuck by her through every tirade nonetheless.
Monica Barbaro as “Joan Baez” in A Complete Unknown
This was a marvelous case of being taken by surprise by an actor I was unfamiliar with (Top Gun Maverick wasn't exactly a showcase for any actor beyond Tom Cruise). In fact, half of the movie's four best musical sequences feature her prominently. Can't wait to see what she does next.
Leonie Benesch as “Marianne Gebhardt” in September 5
While I was less taken by September 5 than many critics and media types were -- there was something missing -- I assume that what everyone saw in it was what I kept seeing in Benesch's sidelined work; The thrill of watching very competent smart people think their way through a frenzied violent nightmare of ethical and logistic challenges. (Side note: I perk up whenever any actor from Babylon Berlin shows up anywhere. I miss ALL of them.)
Joan Chen as Chungsang Wang” in Didi
I remain convinced, however foolish it may be, that Chen would have been an Oscar nomination lock this past season if Category Fraud didn't exist and so no one had subsequently become distracted by the many leads who entered this conversation after Chen first won raves and Oscar buzz for this coming-of-age gem. She had all the ingredients that so very many famous actors have taken to nominations or wins: beautiful moving work, festival success, and the routinely successful narrative of an enduring actor that the industry has perpetually undervalued / underestimated. Alas...
Jamie Lee Curtis in "The Last Showgirl"
Jamie Lee Curtis as “Annette” in The Last Showgirl
While the internet turned on Curtis hard for her Oscar win for Everything Everywhere All At Once, I thought she was absolutely deserving. Nobody else could have pulled off that absurdly surreal cartoonish villain with more aplomb and vanity-free comic instincts. Her unique screen presence and performativity are also a perfect fit here as a loud Vegas cocktail server who is is a surviver if not a thriver. "Annette" has lost none of the extroverted fire that probably served her well in her showgirl youth. Bonus points for that disassociative reverie with "Total Eclipse of the Heart". If I ran the world Curtis would have four or five Oscar nods by now.
Dolly DeLeon in "Ghostlight"
Dolly DeLeon as “Judith Gottlieb” in Between the Temples
Dolly DeLeon as "Rita" in Ghostlight
Both of these roles are textbook examples of 'no small parts' in that it's easy to imagine either of them being forgettable in other hands. But she makes the comedy of the former (a devout Jewish convert) and the drama of the latter (a once working artist now doing community theater) absolutely sing with sideways notes and film elevating timbre. God I love her --and what range! Allow me to be angry all over again that her Oscar-win worthy work in Triangle of Sadness (2022) wasn't even nominated.
Tryne Dyrholm as “Dagmar” in The Girl with the Needle
This is the closest I'll come to an arguably lead role placed in my supporting category but in the end her absence from the film's early passages and the classic antagonist structure of the role, left me comfortable with placing it here. Nevertheless Denmark's greatest actress is on fire in this terribly unsettling role of a woman whose humanity proves entirely transactional.
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as “Nana” in Nickel Boys
While I've admitted to disliking this much venerated film, none of my issues with it are related to Ellis-Taylor, who is a marvel in her too few scenes. Conjuring up this much warmth and relational feeling while effectively having no scene partners (just the camera) is impressive.
Juliette Lewis as “Cutthroat Bill” in The Thicket
I was absolutely obsesed with Juliette Lewis from Cape Fear (1991) through Strange Days (1995). I still think it's one of the best runs ever for a young actor. So many good films and mesmerizing performances. But her subsequent screen career sadly never reached those peaks again. Hollywood hasn't quite known how to cast or harness her particular gifts since. What a thrill, then, that she's managed to give two of her best performances in short succession recently. She was awards-worthy in Yellowjackets second season (temporarily stealing Melanie Lynskey's MVP title if not her Emmy nomination) and she's riveting, weird, scary and strangely sympathetic as a sociopathic killer in this violent western. The other actors -- Peter Dinklage excepted - weren't operating at her level, but, what a treat to have her back in full power.
Lesley Manville as “Doctor Cotter” in Queer
Logging this one in the very small annals of screen performances that were toggling between great and terrible perpetually in my mind's eye while watching them. In the end she tilted over into the great column through sheer feverish commitment to this memorably camp insane jungle doctor.
Sunjita Rajwar as “Geeta Sharma” in Santosh
Anyone who actually saw UK's Best International Feature Film finalist, probably looked up this actresses name in the credits thereafter. The celebrated Indian actor is scary good as a jaded police chief who takes the malleable titular character under her wing. But this mentor is poison.
in case you missed it
pg 1 - Picture, Director, Screenplays
pg 2 - Acting
Pg 3 - Visuals
Pg 4 - Music and Sound
Pg 5-7 still to come...
Reader Comments (4)
Of supporting actresses who DIDN’T get nominated, I liked:
Aubrey Plaza in Megalopolis. In retrospect, there were a number of things I liked better in Megalopolis than things actually nominated. I heard/read that Plaza was also excellent in My Old Ass, which I missed seeing.
Saoirse Ronan in Blitz. I think the movie is about the son, but this either is a large part or she’s so wonderful you just remember every moment she’s on screen. Steve McQueen directs movies of such sparkling precision, I don’t understand why he isn’t celebrated more.
Lashana Lynch in One Love. This was a word of mouth hit, an actual crowd pleaser that made over $100 million in box office despite being released in doldrums months with no fanfare. Lynch is one of the best actresses of her generation.
Chloe Sévigny in Bonjour Tristesse.
Rebecca Ferguson in Dune: Part 2.
Helena Bonham Carter in One Life. A small but sharp edged role.
Connie Nielsen in Gladiator II. I know the consensus is - love Denzel Washington, dismissive of the rest of the movie. I feel the opposite - dismissive of Denzel Washington, love the rest of the movie, and the trio of Mescal, Pascal, and Nielsen.
I haven't seen Didi, Last Showgirl, or Hard Truths as these were pulled from my cinemas very quickly.
My picks the best supporting actress:
Mahsa Rostami- Seed of the Sacred Fig
Elle Fanning- A Complete Unknown
Margaret Qualley- The Substance
Isabella Rossellini-Conclave
Felicity Jones- The Brutalist
My own Top 5 and i'm loving your dozen are
Ariana Grande My Winner
Joan Chen who cold be the winner on another watch
Lesley Manville this woman can do anything
Michelle Austin the only thing in the film that rang true
Cailee Spaney my saddest overlooked performance
With respect to
Jamie Lee Curtis great once again but I just thought Pammie was better
Margaret Qualley supporting Demi perfectly
Renate Reinsve giving good girlfriend
Sonia Braga chilling in The First Omen
Parker Posey so good to see her in the overlooked Thelma
Jamie Lee Curtis
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
Felicity Jones
Lesley Manville
Margaret Qualley