By Andrew Payne

One of the best developments to hit film over as the 21st century opened, was the increasing number of women working behind the camera.  Especially as actors and directors.

This shift allowed for the creation of some of the finer female characters we’ve encountered in film. Logic suggests that the more input a female has at the development of characters, the more richly drawn those women characters will be. And we saw that bear true time and time again this decade.

Because of that, the Academy Awards became increasingly competitive. Particularly in the supporting actress race as more fine roles meant a richer pool for voters to choose from. So those who rose to the top of these races surely did fine work.

Of course, some actresses did better work than others. Below is a ranking of the ten Best Supporting Actress Oscar Winners of the 2000s as chosen by the writers at AwardsPicks.com, as well as my own ranking of the best:

10. Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago (2002) – 8.22
My ranking: 7th

Just about everything about Chicago’s Oscar pedigree is puzzling. It won Best Picture. It managed a staggering 13 nominations (one of the highest totals ever) and earned four acting nominations. Despite the fact that none of the performances were particularly Oscar-worthy.

Jones’ performance falls in jibe with that trend. While it isn’t particularly bad, there’s simply nothing to it. It’s essentially a stock character from a 1940s film brought back to life for this new musical without anything new brought to the table. Sure she sings, but singing isn’t acting and certainly no reason to win an Oscar.

9. Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls (2006)- 8.13
My ranking: 10th

Speaking of singing isn’t acting, we come to the case of Jennifer Hudson who didn’t do much other than sing in this film. Somehow, someway, voters saw that as enough to merit Hudson’s earning an Oscar. Though I suspect this has much more to do with the buzz surrounding Hudson’s story. Which really boiled down to, “How nice is it that someone Simon Cowell was mean to is now in a movie.”

Buzz like that won her an Oscar.

I imagine that when the history of Oscar is written, this will go down as one of the worst performances ever to win the award. Hudson is certainly the worst actress ever to win the award already.

8. Renee Zellweger in Cold Mountain (2003)- 7.68
My ranking: 9th

This, like Hudson’s win, is another Oscar won purely based on buzz and not at all based on merit. Because if it were based on merit, that would be a complete joke.

When this film came out, Zelwegger was red hot having starred in several great films like Jerry Maguire and Nurse Betty and doing fine work in each. Because of that, critics seemed to dub it her time to win an Oscar and, as they often do, voters followed suit – bestowing upon her this award for no discernable reason.

The problem with this performance is how little Zelwegger shows us of her character. We’re treated to monologue after monologue about how much of a badass she is, how much she plays by her own rules, but we never actually see this. We’re only told this, as Zellweger doesn’t reveal anything of her character’s interior. This is a purely presentational performance that relies largely on dialogue for any sort of revelation.

7. Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful Mind (2001)- 6.23
My Ranking: 8

Much like Zellweger, Connelly gives a performance here that never lets us in. Yes, we see the torment in her exterior as her husband descends into madness, but we never see what’s brewing underneath. It’s a performance taking place completely on the interior, when her inner anguish is what we really want to see.

The result is a solid, workmanlike performance through which Connelly pulls out the normal acting tricks without having to give too much away. It almost seemed as if she was scared to dive fully into the role.

6. Marcia Gay Harden in Pollock (2000)- 5.47
My Pick: 4

This decade, actresses were able to rely less on the “tormented wife” role for compelling characters, but that doesn’t mean that stock part vanished completely. In Pollock Harden showed she was the best of the bunch at playing this type of role as she was able to present both a vulnerable and strong character dealing with an impossible man.

This is probably due to the fact that in Lee Krasner, Harden was given a real life role that she could inhabit fully. While Krasner remained devoted to something of a maniac in Jackson Pollock, she never gave herself over to be victimized by his nature.

In Harden’s performance we saw the extent of that anguish, and the turmoil that consumed Krasner as she worked in vain to bring out the best in her genius husband. We saw flashes of that brilliance in the film, and brilliance in spades from this actress.

5. Penolope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)- 4.92
My Ranking: 1

One of the hardest things for an actor to do is play crazy. Play crazy and make it convincing that is. Sure, it’s extremely easy to play crazy poorly. Slap on a bad scream, muss up your hair and you’re set, but to play crazy in a way that seems grounded in reality. That takes real genius, and it’s precisely what Cruz did here.

With her Elena, Cruz walked that treacherous tightrope between going too far over the edge and staying firmly planted in reality. Hers was out of her mind surely, but the type we feel like we’d see in reality, even a type that we think may exist within ourselves.

And it is through that last statement that Cruz reveals her true genius. In this role she expertly presented the aftermath of a risk gone wrong – the very focus of the film’s theme of taking risks and why we don’t. There wasn’t a performance on this list that paid more attention to the theme of the work than Cruz’s. And that’s why she takes my number one slot, even if others didn’t agree.

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4. Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton (2007)- 4.18
My Pick: 3

In a film rich with characters trying to atone, Swinton plays against the grain as a conniving executive whose ambitions are untempered in spite of herself.

Yes, we see through Swinton’s performance that her character knows what she’s doing is wrong, even if she never displays that outwardly, other than, of course, the brilliant opening scene in which a sweat-soaked Swinton does everything she can to quell her demons for one last press conference.

But it’s not so much in those outward moments that we see the true genius of Swinton’s performance, it’s in those scenes where we see her displaying the feeblest moments of power that we see the full depth of this performance. There isn’t a moment when her character is lacking for confidence, even when she’s trying to display it with the utmost authority.

3. Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener (2005)- 4.02
My Pick: 5

Weisz was given a very difficult task in this film. Because we see her character entirely in flashback, the movie never allows her to seem real. Also, because we know her character is dead that beginning of the film, it’s hard for us to want to commit to her – but Weisz seduces us easily with a passionate performance through which she displays an unwavering will for good.

Again, this was not a simple thing to do. When we see a character entirely in flashback, it’s like we’re seeing a part of the movie that’s fiction within the fiction of that movie. To make us believe a character and care about her so deeply is a tough task, and one that Weisz pulled off well in this film.

2. Mo’Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (2009)- 3.16
My Pick: 2

A monumental performance and a superb study in restraint.  Mo’Nique portrays a monster in this film with extreme control and poise, not once giving way to the easy trappings of rage and outward violence that so many use as a weapon in these type of roles.

Instead, Mo’Nique just eats away at herself while abusing her daughter. We see the temper boiling within, a slow burn that never ignites, as that would do away with the horror. What Mo’Nique does is give us a character capable of exploding but never doing so, making her all the more terrifying in the process.

When we learn the reason for her demonic behavior is when we learn the reasons for the choices the actress made. Her character is on a path of self-destruction, not seeking to do harm to others, only to herself and hurting those around her in the process. And that closing monologue, delivered with remarkable precision, is the capstone to this tumultuous bit of brilliance.

1. Cate Blanchett in The Aviator – 2.99
My Pick: 6

Say it with me everyone: “An impression isn’t acting; It’s mimicry.”  One more time, all together: “An impression isn’t acting; It’s mimicry.”

In other words, I wasn’t quite as high on this performance as the rest of us here at AwardsPicks.com.

While Blanchett certainly does what she can with an underwritten role, bringing touches of humanity to her performance, there’s just not a whole lot there beyond the impression. Again, this is really the fault of the script – they don’t give Blanchett a lot to do – so it’s hard to blame the actress, but it’s certainly not worthwhile to praise her for something she didn’t do.

Seems like they needed another female behind the scenes on this film.

(NOTE: Voters for this category included Paul Popiel, Steve Neumann, Savanna New, Andrew Payne, Kit Bowen, Nate Freiberg, Michaela Zanello, Colin Campbell, Steve Gustafson, Adam Spunberg, and Jeremy Martin)

Oscar Decades Series

Completed:

2000s Best Picture
2000s Best Actor
2000s Best Actress
1990s Best Picture
1990s Best Actor
1990s Best Actress
1980s Best Picture
2000s Best Supporting Actor
2000s Best Supporting Actress

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1990s Best Supporting Actor