Watts’ role is a lot more strenuous; it is also a lot showier. She portrays a vacationing mother whose life is uprooted during the 2004 Indian Ocean typhoon that killed almost a quarter million people. Watts’ character, Maria, suffers a savage leg injury during the attack. She is also separated from most of her family, save for one son. Selflessly ignoring her own safety, Maria saves a child who has been swept away from his parents. The three of them fight their way to a hospital, and they attempt to survive their surroundings long enough to find their loved ones. Watts is a previous winner in this category for her performance in The Ring, but she shows more emotional depth and raw emotion in The Impossible than she ever has before. The Impossible is the saddest movie of 2012. She delivers magnificent dignity to the story.

Our sixth and seventh place selections are Noomi Rapace and Michelle Williams. This echoes our 2011 category results wherein Rapace finished in eighth place while Williams finished fourth. At the time, Rapace introduced herself to the world with her take on Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, while Williams was celebrated for her work in Blue Valentine.

In 2013, Rapace was the face of Prometheus. Starring as the archaeologist who discovers a star map that may lead humanity to our creators, Rapace strikes the perfect notes of dedicated and focused. She is the classic Ridley Scott heroine, much stronger than the men around her because she possesses what they lack: force of will. Rapace is particularly brilliant during a self-surgery scene we chose as one of the best of the year.

Williams is lauded for her work in Take This Waltz. She plays Margot, a mostly happily married woman who encounters a strange but kind and handsome man named Daniel on her flight. As they journey homeward, the two people discover that they live right across the street from one another. Unable to dismiss her attraction Margot keeps finding excuses to hang out with Daniel. And we all know what happens when a married person starts hanging out with a captivating person who is not their spouse. Williams is brilliant as she displays shy, awkward attraction to the forbidden fruit across the street. A less skilled actress would seem like a shrill opportunist in this role whereas Williams is so great that she somehow makes her infidelity seem like the natural choice.

The rest of our top ten is comprised of the under 30 crowd, all of whom are romantic leads in their lauded roles. Kara Hayward of Moonrise Kingdom will not be old enough to drink for another seven years, but she still steals the show as an emotionally damaged girl who finds some happiness through romance. Emily Blunt, who becomes a part of the over 30 crowd in 48 hours, is charming in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. She portrays a project planner tasked with an impossible goal: helping salmon survive in Yemen. Along the way, she falls in love (arguably twice) and somehow rises above the ordinary clichés of the romantic comedy genre. The same is true of Keira Knightley, a woman who has the misfortune of being stuck in a bad relationship just as the world is coming to an end. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a small scale triumph of storytelling, and Knightley’s performance is the key to its success.

Narrowly missing nomination are Jennifer Lawrence again for her performance as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, Anna Kendrick as the lead in Pitch Perfect, Academy Awards nominee Emmanuelle Riva in Amour, Gina Carano in Haywire, Helen Mirren in Hitchcock, Helen Hunt in The Sessions, Leslie Mann in This Is 40, Ann Dowd in Compliance and Rosemarie De Witt in Your Sister’s Sister.

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Calvins Intro
Best Actor
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Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Best Videogame
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
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