Popmatters’ 100 Essential Female Performances

The list here.

Second, I wanted to avoid the usual clichés, the performances that people expect to be on a list of “most important” female film performances—but several of those requisite turns actually are so good that they absolutely warrant a blip on every film lover’s radar. This list, then, can also function as a gentle reminder that there are some films and performances that should not be ignored (hint! hint!), no matter how well-known or popular.

So, while the overwhelming critical consensus might dictate that the buxom figure of Bette Davis’ Margot Channing be affixed to the mast of the “Best Actress” ship for her untouchable work in All About Eve, she is included here, instead, for a claws-out tour-de-force that merits more attention: Regina Giddens in The Little Foxes. My intention in a case such as that one is not to be a contrarian, but to highlight some of the excellent work that too often slips through the cracks; work that is equally important in understanding the role of women in film history. So while Vivien Leigh makes the list for her iconic Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (and what list of unforgettable female characters can exist without Leigh’s inclusion?), it isn’t out of obligation, its because she deserves to be there for a performance that is so well-put together, it holds up nearly seventy years later.

I love reading lists in which the writer(s) take some time to explain the merit of the inclusion. This list is generally a pleasurable read, so don’t just skim through for recognizable name. There are some sketchy inclusions (Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler, really?), some interesting but head-scratching picks (to me? Margaret Hamilton as the Witch in the Wizard of Oz?), and some unforgivable omissions (Gong Li’s absence is seriously jarring). But what lists wouldn’t have some of those? So forget the complaints, here are a few notable things I love about this particular list:

• No ranking! I like the categories they are organized under, and each actor got  her own due attention. How very laterally thoughtful of them.
• It’s a great reminder that there are so many great female performances that often get swept under the rug in favour of some male acting chops. Really, can you get a much better dramedy performance than Giulietta Masina in Nights of Cabiria?
• They cheated with Wit! It’s technically a television miniseries, innit? Emma Thompson was breathtaking in it though. I don’t know why I love that they cheated with this particular performance? Sneaky, they are.
• Much love for the inclusion of Oksana Akinshina in the little seen Lilya 4-Ever. It’s this kind of small-but-not-forgotten attribute that makes this list a pleasure to go through. And of course, the tribute itself.
• A whole section dedicated to the great Liv Ullman, one of the notable faces intricately tied to Bergman cinema. And there’s also this little gem quoted in the piece: “What I learned from Ingmar is really is if you have a lily, as an actor, you don’t try to make that actor into a rose. You water the lily so it comes to its full bloom.” *heart*

Maybe we can generate a list of our own some time in the near future, when we get our act together. Heh.