Favourite Actress?

Handsome Bob

I'd be interested to hear opinions on who people feel are the best actresses going right now?

For me it'd be Charlize Theron and Amy Adams. Both women have great range and played characters at opposite extremes.

Just watching her in Young Adult, it's hard to believe that this ditzy and shallow yet stunning blonde is the same woman who played an overweight, beaten down, lesbian serial killer in Monster. It's easy to forget just how good she is.

Adams, while never going through any major physical changes for roles, has also shown a great range. From the peppy performance in The Muppets to the hard and gutsy bar woman in The Fighter to the meek nun in Doubt, she is consistently good in vastly different roles.

Others that I would big up without not seeing much of their work would be Marion Cotillard, Anne Hathaway and Noomi Rapace. I think Hathaway is similar to Adams in a lot of ways, she just hasn't got the meatier roles that Adams has had to date. Rapace's performance in TGWTDT is one of the most shocking (in a good way) performances I have ever seen and will definitely be a movie memory I won't forget. The one thing that would go against Rapace though is that she plays similar characters apparently (her own admission). While with Cotillard, she's just a special talent that can jump from one emotion to another in an instant, and do it convincingly. Effortless would be the best word I could use to describe Cotillard.

So what do the rest of ye reckon?

OldeCinemaSoz

Ms Streep always provides the goods.

:cool:

Tipsy McSwagger

Kate Winslet or Julianne Moore, they are always brilliant even if the film is not the greatest.

Links234

Noomi Rapace!

Skerries

Cate Blanchett for me, when an actor can pull of a good Irish accent and give such a range of acting shes the one for me

Aidric

I couldn't pick just one. The three actresses who have enduring appeal for me are Michelle Williams, Kristin Scott Thomas & Laura Linney.

krudler

Blanchett or Winslet for me too, Blanchett was phenomenal in The Aviator, and Winslet is constantly dependable, she could have done the romantic/period drama forever but takes challenging roles.

Two amazing female performances are Faye Dunaway in Network and Laura Linney in John Adams

Links234

Also, Rachel Weisz is great, and Angelina Jolie anyone? she was fantastic in changeling

saintsaltynuts

Jodie Foster.

mike65

Theresa Russell - always a bold actor/tress but alas the biz doesn't know how to use her talents or she keeps making the wrong choices.

Sad Professor

I barely knew who she was this time last year, but Jessica Chastain has quickly become a favourite of mine. She had several films out last year and showed tremendous versatility in all of them. She played a hapless bimbo in The Help, an angelic mother in The Tree of Life, a loyal housewife in Take Shelter, a Mossad agent in The Debt, and there's still a few other films I have to check out. And this year she's in John Hillcoat's upcoming Lawless and Kathryn Bigelow's Bin Laden film. She's the new Cate Blanchett, I guess. Elegant and with the range to do those really serious roles.

Technocentral

Marion Cotillard, her transformation into Edith Piaf for "La Vie En Rose" was probably the best performance by any actor or actress I ever seen.

Da Shins Kelly

Ellen Burstyn, although I haven't seen her in much recently, gave the best performance I've ever seen by a woman in Requiem For A Dream.

I like Kate Winslet, but sometimes I'm very aware that I'm watching Kate Winslet. It's sometimes hard to separate the character from the actress with her, for me.

Marion Cotillard is great too.

JP Liz V1

Skerries wrote: »

Cate Blanchett for me, when an actor can pull of a good Irish accent and give such a range of acting shes the one for me

Blanchett and Streep for me

Jessica Chastain has really started to shine also and is wisely picking great roles and as Sad Professor said above on her way to being the new Cate Blanchett

Some young actresses who are always impressive imo are Evan Rachel Wood, Mia Wasikowska and Elisabeth Olsen

Rabidlamb

OldeCinemaSoz wrote: »

Ms Streep always provides the goods.

:cool:

Came in looking for Meryl Streep, leaves happy.

OldeCinemaSoz

Deleted User wrote: »

Two amazing female performances are Faye Dunaway in Network and Laura Linney in John Adams

Classic.

:cool: