1. ISABELLE HUPPERT
Finally she's getting the honors she deserves for her exceptional career and for being one of the most celebrated actresses in the whole world. Isabelle Huppert's 2016 brought her the recognition as one of the best actresses alive thanks to her Oscary acting turn in Elle (a true bravura performance!) and her brilliant and complex performance in Things to Come. With last year's Valley of Love (for which she received another César Award nomination) being released this year in USA and the rest of the world in general, it worked as a kind of "bonus points". Right now, she's swiping some big awards from Oscar favorites Natalie Portman (Jackie) and Emma Stone (La La Land) and, in spite of being passed by the actors guild when SAG Award nominees were announced, truth is she stills in the running for that Academy Award for Best Actress - and with or without nomination or win, no one can deny this French actress is a true acting goddess!
2. AMY ADAMS
With Denis Villeneuve's Arrival and Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals critical acclaim and Oscar buzz and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice box-office success (in spite of being a critical flop) elevate Amy Adams to one of the top spots in Hollywood these days. Considered one of America's sweethearts and a AMPAS' darling, we don't need to explain a lot in order to understand why Adams is in the 2nd spot. With two Oscar contenders for the Best Picture category and a money-making movie, she's on top! If Batman v Superman wasn't so bad, maybe she would be our #1.
3. GRETA GERWIG
Greta Gerwig can be considered the queen of the indie kingdom. In fact, Gerwig excels herself this year with a trio of great independent productions that can be considered "hits", starting by Maggie's Plan, which she stars by delivering an impressive and relaxed leading performance - it's Gerwig charisma like you've never seen since Frances Ha. Then she had an illuminating acting turn in Pablo Larraín's Oscar player Jackie, starring the most light and "sunny" moments (I didn't realise it was Greta Gerwig who was portraying Nancy Tuckerman until almost half of the movie) the heavy drama conduced by Natalie Portman's commanding performance. And, finally, she also delivered a stellar dramatic performance in Mike Mill's acclaimed indie 20th Century Women, in which she has a juicy role, sharing the big screen with Annette Bening, Elle Fanning and Billy Crudup. Looking back, you realize no one had such an impressive body of work like Greta Gerwig with 3 of the most well-reviewed movies of the year! A true actress who stars in true cinema.
4. RUTH NEGGA
A breakout year that feels like a career high point already with a stellar gracious performance in Jeff Nichol's Loving, competing against established names and some of the most respected actresses in Hollywood for an Oscar nomination in the Best Actress category (a performance that have already earned her a Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award noms). Bonus points for the Scottish independent drama Iona (I had the opportunity to catch this one and I recommend you to see it), where she's terrific too, and to her beauty and gracious style - if she manages to continue under the radar, she can become a well-respected name in Hollywood and launch a promising career. She's not properly young (34 years old), but she's a striking beauty and she has a commanding screen presence. A unique cinematic discovery. And, once again: her performance in Loving is simply amazing!
5. SCARLETT JOHANSSON
Captain America: Civil War got lots of praise from critics and became a huge box-office success (highest grossing movie of the year so far - $1.153 billion worldwide) and the same can be said about Disney's live-action/CGI film adaptation The Jungle Book (in which Johansson has an amazing and chilly scene with such an hypnotic voice work). Plus, she was featured in the all-star cast of Coen brothers' comedy Hail, Caesar! and has another voice role in Illumination's Sing (that's doing really nice at the box-office currently). Johansson is one of the actresses of the year because of the huge commercial success and critical praise of the movies she stars (all of them are considered serious contenders for getting nominated in a big couple of Oscar categories) and her constantly solid acting performances - establishing her as one of the biggest and most successful movie stars these days (and the most successful female star)! The perfect balance between commercial success & critical praise.
Honorable mention for breakthrough year: Anya Taylor-Joy and Royalty Hightower (tied), for their performances in the acclaimed independent productions The Witch (starred by Anya Taylor-Joy, who's completely hypnotic in it) and The Fits (starred by Hightower, delivering an impressive bravura performance, specially for a child actress starring her first feature).
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