Oscar 2017: Best Performances – Best Supporting Actress

Continuing Oscar week, I am now going to break down each acting category and list the best performances from each nominated actor.  I will first break down the Best Supporting Actress category, which is loaded with established veterans and a breakout star of 2016.  Here are my picks for the best performances from the 2017 Best Supporting Actress nominees.

VIOLA DAVIS (Nominated for Fences)

BEST PERFORMANCE – DOUBT  (John Patrick Shanley, 2008)

Viola Davis is an American treasure.  She is easily one of the best actresses working today, appearing in a number of different movies of all different genres and crushing it every time.  Her performance in Doubt was the first time I ever saw Davis in a performance and it is also a special one because she did only one scene.  In just a single scene, Davis stole the entire movie with a powerful, stirring performance as the mother of an abused boy.  Stealing an entire movie in one scene is tough, but doing it when the movie stars Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams is a whole new level of greatness that Davis has yet to stop hitting.

NAOMIE HARRIS (Nominated for Moonlight)

BEST PERFORMANCE – MOONLIGHT (Barry Jenkins, 2016)

Harris is the newcomer to the group, though she’s been appearing movies for over a decade now.  Known mostly for smaller supporting turns, Harris finally got her due as an actress as our main character’s crack-addicted mother in Moonlight.  Harris, who seems like a lovely person in real life, turns into a monster, a despicable human being and a terrible mother.  It is similar to that of Monique’s Oscar winning performance in Precious (2009), except this one has more depth.  Harris’s performance hits an emotional high point in the third act in a scene of forgiveness and redemption.  Hopefully this is a performance that will make Harris a star.

NICOLE KIDMAN (Nominated for Lion)

BEST PERFORMANCE – MOULIN ROUGE! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)

Kidman has never been better than in Baz Luhrmann’s electrifying musical, Moulin Rouge!.  In a brave and wild tour-de-force, Kidman belts her heart out and, much like her character Satine, is the main attraction.  She gives the seductive Satine a perfect mixture of sexiness and heart, making us fall in love with her and her relationship with the penniless writer she loves.  Moulin Rouge! is far from conventional and isn’t for everybody, but there is no denying that Kidman gives a legendary performance that everyone can appreciate.

OCTAVIA SPENCER (Nominated for Hidden Figures)

BEST PERFORMANCE – THE HELP (Tate Taylor, 2011)

The Help was a sleeper hit in 2011 that ended up with a stellar box office and being nominated for a number of Oscars, including Best Picture.  A lot of the film’s success is due to it’s great cast of Oscar nominees Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, and the Best Supporting Actress winner of that year, Octavia Spencer.  As one of the rebellious housemaids, Spencer is a tough, sassy, no-nonsense kind of gal full of heart and pride.  She has some of the best lines in the movie and is responsible for the most memorable scene involving a “chocolate” pie.  This is a performance that placed a long-time character actress into the Hollywood elite.

MICHELLE WILLIAMS (Nominated for Manchester by the Sea)

BEST PERFORMANCE – BLUE VALENTINE (Derek Cianfrance, 2010)

Another year, another brilliant Michelle Williams performance that should win an Oscar, but doesn’t (this category is Viola Davis’s and she will get a spectacular speech).  Williams, who now has four Oscar nominations without a win, has had a spectacular 2010’s, with three of those four nominations this decade.  Her first nomination this decade is her best and is the best of her career.  This is a raw, intimate, affecting performance as she plays one half of a couple who’s relationship is disintegrating.  Blue Valentine isn’t the easiest movie to watch, but it is worth a look and Williams is a big reason why.

What are your favorite performances from the Best Supporting Actress nominees?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.