Best Movies of 2016 – Best Supporting Actress

Now we are getting down to the best of the best of 2016.  For the next couple segments, I will be looking at the beat actors and actresses of 2016.  I’m going to break down each category similar to the Oscars.  So I am first going to start off with the Best Supporting Actress category.  Here are my picks for the best supporting actress performances of 2016.

5 – PAULINA GARCIA as LEONOR CALVELLIIN in LITTLE MEN 

Little Men is a little known movie that got some solid buzz at Sundance, but didn’t really get the release or the audience it deserved.  It’s a poignant character study about two boys who’s friendship is tested when their parents battle over a dress shop lease.  Garcia plays the mother of one of the boys and the owner of the shop.  Garcia gives a subtle, yet powerful performance.  She wants to run her business, but because of a higher lease price, she won’t be able too.  She loves her son and loves his friendship, and understands what this feud is doing to her son.  This isn’t a film that will get any Oscars, but Little Men is a film you should see, largely because of Garcia’s performance.

4 – NAOMIE HARRIS as PAULA in MOONLIGHT 

Harris gives one of the breakout performances of 2016 in Barry Jenkins Moonlight.  This is a performance reminiscent of Monique in Precious (2009).  Harris plays the mother of our main character, Chrion, and, in the first two acts, she is a despicable human.  She’s a drug addict who neglects her confused, bullied son.  But Harris’s true moment comes in the third act, where he is now older and clean, and has a moment of redemption and forgiveness towards her now distant son.  In an a movie loaded with emotional moments, Harris is the highlight of one of the most powerful moments in the film.

3 – KATE MCKINNON as JILLIAN HOLTZMANN in GHOSTBUSTERS

Ghostbusters was the most hated movie before anybody saw it.  Even after people saw it, it was an incredibly divisive film.  But, one thing everyone agreed on was the performance by Kate McKinnon has Holtzmann.  To say McKinnon owned this movie is an understatement.  This is the biggest role McKinnon has had on screen to this day and she crushes it.  Her facial expressions, quick one-liners, and physicality is brilliant.  She’s as smart as she is hilarious and shows how talented McKinnon really is.

2 – VIOLA DAVIS as ROSE MAXSON in FENCES

Ugh, I hated picking between these two.  These are two of, not only the best supporting actress performances of the year, but two of the best performances of the year, period.  I put Viola Davis at number two, even though it might as well be 1B.  Davis is sensational in Fences.  Acting next to Denzel Washington, most actors get overshadowed.  Not Davis.  Davis goes toe-to-toe with Washington, pushing him to be better than he’s been in years.  This is a strong, powerful performance and features one of the best scenes of the year, as Davis’s Rose has been betrayed by Washington’s Troy.  Davis is one of the best actresses of our generation and this is the performance that will guide her to Oscar gold.

1 – MICHELLE WILLIAMS as RANDI CHANDLER in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

Michelle Williams’s performance in Manchester by the Sea is absolutely incredible.  It is one that stays with you long after you see it.  She plays the ex-wife of Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), a man who returns to his old home after a family tragedy.  Lee and Randi have a tragic past and it all comes to fruition in one scene, which Williams owns.  She is raw, emotional, and more vulnerable than anyone in 2016.  She crushes your heart and her and Affleck bring out all of your feelings in this scene.  Williams proves why she is one of the best today and she gives, for my money, the best supporting actress performance of 2016.

What were your favorite best supporting actress performances of 2016?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook and YouTube by searching Kevflix.