Ex Machina is our staff’s choice as her best Supporting Actress performance. Vikander portrays Ava, a robot whose creator believes she’s capable of passing the Turing Test. Ava’s “owner,” Nathan, invites a programmer named Caleb to perform the test. Ava’s hypnotic combination of robotic behavior and adolescent curiosity toward humanity seduces Caleb. In the end, he learns that robots are just like humans in that it’s everybody for himself, herself, and itself in life (or the sexbot equivalent).

Vikander is stunning in her plausible portrayal of artificial intelligence capable of passing itself off as a real woman. Ava the robot is unforgettable and every bit as merciless as her creator. In a year where she dominated as an actress, Ex Machina stands as her most unique performance.

Since the opening moments of the trailer, we’ve known that The Hateful Eight doubled as a pure Jennifer Jason Leigh delivery system. Her mimicking of her eventual hanging is as hilarious as anything on film over the past 12 months. Jason Leigh has anchored movies going all the way back to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but many people had forgotten her dominant run of awards season roles during the early 90s. Quentin Tarantino had not, however, and his writing of her character, Daisy, borders on a love letter to her entire career. Jason Leigh’s portrayal more than justifies her status as QT’s most recent muse. It’s yet another reminder that she’s one of the world’s greatest living actors.

Rachel McAdams and Rooney Mara comprise the rest of our top five this year. McAdam’s work in Spotlight is an abject lesson in the value of doing research. Rather than portray Boston Globe reporter Sacha Pfeiffer randomly, McAdams texted her literally hundreds of times, developing a relationship so impacting that she took Pfeiffer as her date to the Golden Globes. For her work in Carol, Rooney Mara didn’t have that luxury. Her character, Therese Belivet, is the fictional shopgirl who somehow finds herself the sticking point in a failed marriage between the titular Carol and her terrible, terrible husband, Harge. BOP has loved Rooney Mara since the opening scene of The Social Network, and while Carol isn’t her showiest role to date, we suspect it’ll stand the test of time as her most impactful.

Our sixth and seventh selections are Phyllis Smith for Inside Out and Joan Allen for Room. Smith is simply a treasure as Sadness, the melancholy emotion that winds up driving a pre-teen girl named Riley into the depths of despair. Voice acting is particularly challenging by nature, but Smith is magnificent as she humanizes the importance of dejection in the maturation process. Allen’s role isn’t as showy as some of the other selections here, but she’s critical to the second half of Room. As the mother who learns that her kidnapped daughter is alive, Allen brings resolute support to her family during an unimaginably difficult period.

Our final selections in Best Supporting Actress are Tessa Thompson, Julie Walters, and Rose Byrne. Our staff adored Thompson’s memorable portrayal of Bianca, the musician who provides Donnie Creed with balance in his life. As for Julie Walters, she’ll always be Molly Weasley to us, but we also loved her as strict boardinghouse landlady Madge Kehoe in Brooklyn. And Rose Byrne brilliantly uses her perception as naturally uptight to maximum effect as the villainess who admires her opponent more than she should in Spy.

The Best Supporting Actress category was incredibly competitive this year. Vaunted actresses who narrowly missed nomination include Helen Mirren for Trumbo, Elizabeth Banks for Love & Mercy, Marion Cotillard for Macbeth, Jane Fonda for Youth, Jessica Chastain for The Martian, and Margot Robbie for Focus.

Calvins Intro
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Album
Best Cast
Best Character
Best Director
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture

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