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| Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Tilda Swinton, Carmina Martínez, Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Rosamund Pike and Nicole Kidman are among 2018's top stars. |
2018 might not have been a so-so year for movies, but it’s
hard to find a year with a stronger list of acting credits. The films of 2018 excelled in large part by the quality of the performances that fuelled them. I could easily have limited the
list of the top lead performances of 2018 to Best Actress contenders and still omitted worthy names if I capped
it at 10. Not even Meryl Streep made the lists this year, the acting was so
good!
I’ll admit that I shuffled these lists too many times to try to account for great work and powerful ensemble casts, and in some cases a performer might be doing double duty for a co-star who was equally great. The list of honourable mentions is off the hook, so let’s get right down to business!
I’ll admit that I shuffled these lists too many times to try to account for great work and powerful ensemble casts, and in some cases a performer might be doing double duty for a co-star who was equally great. The list of honourable mentions is off the hook, so let’s get right down to business!
The Top 10 Supporting Performances of 2018
10. Remy Girard in The Fall of the American Empire
Rémy Girard and Denys Arcand are one of the best
actor-director teams in this country. They are in top form once again in this thematic continuation of The
Barbarian Invasions, which arguably remains the best work of their careers.
But Girard’s performance as Sylvain ‘The Brain’ Bigras gives his work as Rémy a
run for its money. Girard totally gets the pace and humour of Arcand’s film. He
relishes the opportunity of making a streetwise and booksmart biker gang
accountant, mixing prosaic philosophy with slang and mannerisms learned from
the slammer. His performance makes the film click.
9. Richard E. Grant in Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Is there a better example of the perfect fit between actor
and role than Richard E. Grant landing the part of Jack Hock? He has played
characters like Hock before, but never this well and never with this much
depth. Beyond being flat-out brilliant as a feat of comedic timing, his
fabulous sidekick to Melissa McCarthy’s letter forging cat lady Lee
Israel is sketchiness personified and a tragic downfall of his own joie de
vivre. Even on repeat viewings, it amazes me how he conveys Jack’s homelessness
long before the script puts it into words.
8. Natalie
Portman in Vox Lux
Portman’s performance as Celeste, a pop star who made a deal
with the devil to ensure her place in the spotlight, is definitely of the
love-it-or-leave-it variety. I personally love how fearlessly she pushes the
character and creates a hot mess of a self-absorbed celebrity who constantly
captivates no matter how obnoxious she may be. The grand finale of Celeste’s
concert is a triumph, not simply for Portman’s overly synthesized vocals and
dance moves, but for the unabashed pride, confidence, and vanity that radiates
from the star on stage. BDE in a nutshell.
7. Regina King in If Beale Street Could Talk
While reading the book for If Beale Street Could Talk, I could just imagine Regina King
bringing her character Sharon to life with such rich heartfelt emotion that it
would land her an Oscar. Seeing the film, and seeing the film again, she
surpassed expectations even if Barry Jenkins abbreviated the great sequence in
Puerto Rico that conveyed her character’s warmth, compassion, and devotion to
son-in-law Fonny (Stephan James) like he is her own child. There is just such
pure love and strength in King’s Sharon. Like Nicole Kidman in Boy Erased, Regina King’s performance in
Beale Street is a tribute to mothers
everywhere.
6. Nicole Kidman in Boy Erased
Nicole Kidman is on both lists this year (see below for Destroyer) and she couldn’t have created
two more dissimilar performances as mothers going to extremes to relearn what it means
to love. In Boy Erased, she plays
Nancy, the conservative Christian mother who agrees to send her gay son to
“conversion therapy.” The mother’s love radiates strongly as Kidman portrays a
woman struggling to reconcile her faith with her devotion to her son. Despite being the heart of the film, Kidman’s empathetic
performance never overtakes her co-star Lucas Hedges and ensures Boy Erased is first and foremost Jared's story. Bonus points for the wig!
5. Tilda Swinton in Suspiria
Playing not one, not two, but three characters in Suspiria, Tilda Swinton again proves
herself a risk-taking chameleon. Her stern and enigmatic ballet teacher/Witch
Supreme Madame Blanc is a devilishly delightful take on an enigmatic shapeshifter,
while her turn as the jovial and elderly psychiatrist Dr. Klemperer contains
more psychological layers than the coats of latex used to transform Swinton
into an old man. The casting coup ingeniously creates parallels and contrasts
between supernatural evil and everyday horror as Swinton finds shared
likenesses to each vastly different personas. (We won’t name her third
character to avoid spoilers!)
4. Bryan Brown in Sweet Country
An old salty villain fuelled by anger, colonial conquest,
and whisky, Brown’s Sergeant Fletcher is a nasty man—yet not the most unlikable
character is the visionary western Sweet Country. As the leader of a posse on the hunt for an
Aboriginal man who killed a white fella in self-defense, Fletcher is a hardened
racist driven by his desire to preserve the frontier in the face of change.
However, Brown plays Fletcher like the salty old cuss that he is, a lawman with
an indefatigable streak of honour who submits to the rights of the trial and
sees the violent ways of the west as a well that’s quickly running dry. It’s a
performance of great ferocity and humility.
3. Sam Elliot in A Star is Born
Sam Elliot has only a few scenes in A Star is Born, yet they all deliver a punch to the heart that hits
harder than Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s captivating love songs. His deep and
gravelly voice has as much force as Lady Gaga’s and he isn’t afraid to use it
to show emotion. However, Elliot’s Bobby is a man of few words, that strong and
silent type, and in a film so highly attune to expressing emotions through
music and language, his hushed expressions inject the drama with raw power. That scene where he cries while pulling out of the driveway alone merits an
Oscar nomination.
2. Rachel Weisz in The Favourite
I might be drinking the PR Kool-Aid since Weisz’s turn in The Favourite might only be a
“supporting” role by, like, two minutes. None of the trio of performances by
Weisz and her co-stars Emma Stone and Olivia Colman would be complete without
the other, though, and her distinction as a “supporting” player only speaks to
the quality of her work. Her take on Lady Sarah Churchill is one of under the radar
brilliance as the Queen’s favourite schemes slyly and subtly, making
Machiavellian moves without being detected. Lady Sarah uses her charm and
distinguishing characteristic to stand above Stone’s vulgar Abigail for the
Queen’s affection—but Weisz’s shrewd take on the character also turns a beloved
English figure inside out like the airing of a nation’s dirty laundry.
And the best supporting performance of 2018 is…
1. Carmiña Martínez in Birds of Passage
Birds of Passage reinvents
the cartel drama by interpreting its bloody violence and power struggles
through an Indigenous lens. Central to the film’s success is the sensationally
good Carmiña
Martínez as Úrsula,
the matriarch of a Wayuu clan fallen on good fortune and cruel fate as the
temptations of the drug trade overwhelm her family. She is a figure of towering
strength as Úrsula
holds onto her authority with her life as the tribe faces its downfall at the
hands of greedy men. Navigating the roles of The Godfather and the wise old
grandmother, Martínez portrays Úrsula as a woman at a crossroads and as
an elder fighting for the continuation of her people in the face
of their imminent demise. She is intimidating and heartbreaking, often with
the same direct gaze that commands every frame in which she appears.
The Top 10 Lead Performances of 2018:
10. Christian Bale in Vice
I’m generally not a fan of Christian Bale, but his bold
interpretation of Dick Cheney is one of the most audacious feats this year. He
pulls off the tricky feat of creating a man who resembles a monster, yet
doesn’t feel like a cartoon caricature. He makes audiences understand Cheney’s
ambitions and motivations, yet plays the role so wickedly that one can “get”
Cheney without empathy. He is the best villain of the year and Bale’s darkly
funny powerhouse of a performance is the only tribute that Cheney deserves.
9. Sheila McCarthy in Cardinals
A masterclass in subtlety and restraint, Sheila McCarthy
created one of the most puzzling characters of the year with her poker-faced
turn as Valerie, a woman who returns home after spending years in prison for
killing her neighbour. Cardinals
reveals little about what happened on that fateful night and everything plays
out on McCarthy’s face as Valerie confronts her new life with resigned acceptance. Her
behaviour upon leaving prison insists that the vehicular homicide was a one-off,
and McCarthy constantly invites us to make sense of Valerie as she tries to convince
others, and herself, that her actions do not make her a bad person.
8. Timothée Chalamet in Beautiful Boy
Timmy doesn’t “support” his co-star Steve Carell in Beautiful Boy—he completely steals the
film from him. Simply seeing his dramatic range outmatch Carell makes the film
so compelling with its tale of a young man fighting to feel alive. Playing Nick
Sheff, a young man struggling with drug addiction and sharing the story of his
recovery with the world, Chalamet delivers on the promise of his breakout year
in 2017 that culminated with an Oscar nomination for Call Me By Your Name. There is something in this performance that reminds
me of a young Marlon Brando when Chalamet invests such natural power in his
character—and, like Brando’s hot mess in A
Streetcar Named Desire, Timmée’s turn in Beautiful Boy asserts the actor as a born talent.
7. Kathryn Hahn in Private
Life
Hahn is both heartbreaking and hilarious in this bittersweet
dramedy from Tamara Jenkins. She’s consistently been stealing films in
relatively minor supporting roles and, like Olivia Colman in The Favourite or Julianne Nicholson in
last year’s Who We Are Now, Hahn’s
beautifully layered turn shows what greatness occurs when the right character
actor lands the right meaty role. Playing Rachel, a middle-aged writer
desperate to have a child, Hahn alternates between comedic and tragic beats as
hormones and heartaches put the mother-to-(may)be through an endless cycle of
ups and downs. It’s as wild a rollercoaster ride for us as it is for her.
6. Ethan Hawke in First Reformed
Is Ethan Hawke enjoying his McConnaissance? That doesn't seem fair since despite his recent hot streak, he never really had a lag to come back from. After giving
some of his best work in relatively under-seen Canadian films like Born to Be Blue and Maudie after his 12-year journey with Boyhood and decades-long adventure in the Before Trilogy, he delivered the performance of his career in Paul
Schrader’s First Reformed. Playing a
priest grappling with his desire (or lack thereof) to save humanity when the
world is in peril, he pushed himself to dark corners few actors are willing to
explore.
5. Olivia Colman in The Favourite
Hail to the Queen! It is such a treat to see Olivia Colman
devour a role worthy of her talents. Her performance as the mercurial Queen
Anne is a masterful coup of tragicomedy. The histrionic royal turns on a dime
as her mood swings just as easily as her favour does for co-stars Emma Stone
and Rachel Weisz, and while the two actresses are equally fine points to the
dramatic triangle, Colman is firmly on top using the energy that each of her
co-stars creates to gain the upper hand in each scene. Please, please, please
give her more roles like this one!
4. Rosamund Pike in A Private War
Pike’s turn as late journalist Marie Colvin is truly an
immersive inhabitation of a character. Her commitment to the reporter’s
mannerisms, speech, and, most significantly, spirit echoes in every word and
gesture. Stripped of one of an actor’s greatest asset—her eye—Pike
uses every aspect of Colvin to convey her fight and her determination from her
frazzled hair to oft-wavering hands that shake with an alcoholic’s tremors as
she wrestles with the stress of her career. One feels the fatigue in Colvin’s
eyes, the weight on her shoulders, and the fire in her belly as Pike heroically
honours a woman who gave everything in pursuit of the truth.
2 and 3. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in A Star is Born
Watching A Star is
Born might be the most emotionally gruelling and rewarding experience of
2018. Bradley Cooper delivers his best work yet as the down and out
alcoholic/fading country star Jackson Maine, while Lady Gaga makes an
astonishingly good feature film debut as up-and-comer Ally. Cooper’s Jackson is
a rugged man’s man, yet the star has never been this raw or vulnerable on
screen while delivering some impressive vocals that hold their own with the
hottest pop star on the planet. Lady Gaga, on the other hand, uses her stage
presence to ensure that the songs of A
Star is Born are true dramatic performances as Ally takes the leap towards
stardom and captivates audiences with the palpable heartfelt emotion with which
she creates each song. This film might be the fourth rendition of A Star is Born, but the screen chemistry
between Cooper and Gaga makes the latest take the most bittersweet one and
easily the best.
And the best performance of 2018 is…
1. Nicole Kidman in Destroyer
There is a late moment in Destroyer where Nicole Kidman
unleashes a piercing guttural wail from the belly of her character Detective
Erin Bell. It is a devastating sound that brings chills and evokes the
sensation of Bell’s soul escaping her body. As the film cuts between past and
present, Kidman shows us two sides to a hot mess of a cop with a death wish out
to avenge her partner’s killer. I love how Kidman conveys her hardened
character’s absence of humanity as she trots around the streets of Los Angeles
like a coyote hunting for prey. Compare these scenes to the warmth and naïveté
with which she carries herself in flashbacks as rookie cop eager to make the
world a better place, and Kidman powerfully conveys how hate consumes and
overpowers us. This transformative performance is unlike anything Kidman
has done before and I am consistently amazed by this actress who keeps
challenging herself and taking risks in an industry that isn’t kind to
actresses as they age. Erin Bell is Kidman’s best risk yet and she makes Destroyer the best dramatic coup of
2018.
Honourable mentions:
Zain Al Rafeea in Capernaum, Juliette Binoche in Let the Sunshine In, Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns, Glenn
Close in The Wife, Toni Collette in Hereditary, Willem Dafoe in At Eternity’s Gate, Daveed Diggs in Blindspotting, Ryan Gosling in First Man, Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Brigitte Poupart
in Les Salopes or the Wanton Pleasure of Skin, Joaquin Phoenix in You Were
Never Really Here, Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan in Mary Queen of Scots, Julia Roberts in Ben is Back, Emma Stone in The Favourite, and the casts of If Beale
Street Could Talk and Widows.
Also in 2018 in review:
Up next: The Best
Films of 2018
