Top 20 Female Performances of 2018

Last year was such a great year for female performances that I was forced to cheat in creating this list, and lump a few of them together. This was not intended to slight the performers grouped together, but rather, make room for equally deserving ones. Enjoy!

20. Yalitza Aparicio in Roma

as Cleo

Aparicio’s beachside confession is reason enough to include her performance on this list. What a remarkable debut performance this was.

19. Thomasin McKenzie in Leave No Trace

as Tom

Thomasin McKenzie was the heart and soul of Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace. Granik has a knack for casting young actresses in star-making turns (Winter’s Bone helped make Jennifer Lawrence, Jennifer Lawrence), and here’s to hoping this is the start of what Thomasin McKenzie has to offer.

18. Raffey Cassidy in Vox Lux

as Young Celeste & Albertine

Raffey Cassidy, so good as the daughter in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, delivered two great performances in Vox Lux. In the first half of the film, she appeared as a young Natalie Portman, who becomes incredibly famous after surviving a tragedy. Later, she played Portman’s neglected daughter. I’m a sucker for dual roles, and Cassidy’s nuance helped distinguish her characters in Vox Lux so convincingly.   

17. Léa Drucker in Custody

as Miriam

Watching a person fight for their life on film can be emotionally brutal to sit through, if the performer can pull it off. Drucker’s final scene in Custody was one of 2018’s most difficult movie scenes to endure, but damn if Drucker refused to give up.

16. Andrea Riseborough in Nancy

as Nancy

Riseborough had a great year, with notable work in The Death of Stalin, Waco, and Mandy, but her finest turn was as a damaged, compulsive liar in Nancy. Imagine if you became convinced that you were kidnapped as a child, and raised by your kidnappers. What kind of hell did you endure as a child to make you believe this? Those are the depths Riseborough goes to in Nancy, and the result is startling.

15. Julia Roberts in Ben is Back

as Holly

I believed every single moment of Ben is Back, including and especially Julia Roberts’ heartbreaking turn as a mother who is trying to understand her drug-addicted son’s behavior. This is some of the most powerful work Roberts has ever done, period.

14. Toni Collette in Hereditary

as Annie

Few actors are capable of freaking the hell out as convincingly as Toni Collette does in Hereditary. Her character’s complete transformation to a maniacal monster made for one of 2018’s most terrifying cinema conclusions.

13. Joanna Kulig in Cold War

as Zula

Cold War works best when Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot are on screen together, but Kulig remained transfixing throughout the film regardless. Zula’s constant, lovesick troubles (captured in a tight 85 minutes) made for one of the best character arcs of the year.

12. Dakota Johnson in Suspiria

as Susie

Dakota Johnson was all-in for Suspiria. Her commitment to Susie – the dancing, the innocence, the third-act mayhem – helped make the film a modern, mindfuck masterpiece.

11. Claire Foy in Unsane | First Man

as Sawyer Valentini | Janet Armstrong

These performances share nothing uncommon, except for the fact that they were played by the same remarkable performer. Foy’s measured approach to Janet Armstrong was a complete departure from her unhinged work as Sawyer. I suppose it’s time that I get around to watching The Crown.

10. Nicole Kidman in Destroyer

as Erin Bell

Kidman was in full-on Monster mode in Destroyer, taking cues from Charlize Theron’s Oscar-winning work. Both physically and emotionally, Kidman was unrecognizable in Destroyer. It’s the type of dark character absorption I love to see from her, and certainly hope she dives into more.

9. Regina King in If Beale Street Could Talk

as Sharon

It seems that Regina King is poised to win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her work in If Beale Street Could Talk, and you certainly won’t hear any complaints from me. For the devastating Puerto Rico sequence alone, King deserves any and all accolades that are headed her way.

8. Natalie Portman in Vox Lux

as Celeste

Natalie Portman didn’t exist in Vox Lux. She was Celeste. I’ve never seen Portman go so deep into such a self-absorbed character. Celeste embodied everything that is wrong about modern celebrity, while consistently reminding us of the traumatic circumstances that allowed her to achieve her fame. I really wish Vox Lux had reached a broader audience; there is a lot people missed out on here.

7. The Women in Widows

Please forgive my obvious cheat here, because, clearly, any and all of the women in Widows could be singled out on this list as one of the year’s best performances. Viola Davis is the clear powerhouse here (where in the ever-loving hell was her Oscar nomination?), but Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, and Cynthia Erivo (not to mention Carrie Coon, Molly Kunz, Jacki Weaver, and Adepero Oduye) collectively made Widows a great, unconventional heist thriller.

6. Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Kindergarten Teacher

as Lisa

Lisa’s quiet, brewing obsession was so difficult to watch in The Kindergarten Teacher. In her eyes, Lisa was trying to empower a child’s natural talent, but in reality, she was coercing a child into becoming the type of artist Lisa never could be. The final scene of this film, which largely takes place in a motel bathroom, was some of the finest work Maggie Gyllenhaal has done yet.

5. KiKi Layne in If Beale Street Could Talk

as Tish

Tish is really two characters – the young, innocence, love-drunk Tish; and the mature, determined, saddened Tish. Throughout the film, KiKi Layne navigates both stages of Tish’s life with complete confidence and poise, and never once hints at the fact that Layne had never acted before. An incredible debut from a performer we’re going to see a lot more of.

4. Olivia Colman, Rachael Weisz, and Emma Stone in The Favourite

as Queen Anne, Lady Sarah, and Abigail

Again, please excuse the cheat here, because these three could easily have their own spots on this list. The Favourite featured one of the best ensemble casts of the year thanks largely to the respective, hilariously menacing talents of Colman, Weisz, and Stone. I could watch these three characters pick each other a part for hours on end. What devious fun they all had.

3. Lady Gaga in A Star is Born

as Ally

I believed every second of Lady Gaga’s turn as Ally. Her fearlessness, her confidence, her selflessly devoted love – this is a performance that deserves to stand up to Judy Garland’s work in the same material. And the literal performances in the film, namely “Shallow,” will be remembered as one of the all-time great musical performances in cinema.

2. Carey Mulligan in Wildlife

as Jeanette

Many have suspected that one of reasons Wildlife didn’t do better is because Carey Mulligan’s performance is such an honest portrayal of a complex woman. Mulligan herself said she was berated a post-screening Q&A’s for her portrayal as Jeanette. This is a crude shame. What Mulligan did as Jeanette is capture a person in complete emotional peril, clumsily navigating through life as best she can, as we all do. This film, and Mulligan’s astounding work in it, deserved a brighter light.

1. Tilda Swinton in Suspiria

as Madame Blanc & Dr. Josef Klemperer & Helena Markos

When I watch Tilda Swinton act, rarely am I watching Tilda Swinton. Instead, I’m watching whomever she is playing, because her character immersion is unparalleled. In Suspiria, Swinton splits most of her screentime evenly playing two roles, the cold Madame Blanc, and the kind Dr. Josef Klemperer. These characters could not be more different, in their journey, conflict, and physical look (the fact that Suspiria didn’t get a Best Makeup Oscar nomination is laughable).

Because I don’t research films before seeing them, I had no idea that the gentle Dr. Josef Klemperer was actually played by Swinton. It wasn’t until after my screening that I realized what Swinton had pulled off.

Then, nearly a week later, I realized Swinton played another part in the movie, as the disfigured Helena Markos, who shows up late in the film, alongside Madame Blanc and Dr. Josef Klemperer. It’s no secret that Tilda Swinton is one of our finest living performers, but the fact that she could pull off this triple feat, made for three great performances by one genius performer. 

Best of 2018 Lists

Top 15 Films of 2018

Top 20 Male Performances of 2018
Top 5 “Rotten” Films of 2018