Bae Du Na
 | | Alex Crawford reports from the Festival |
She is a Korean schoolgirl on an exchange programme to a Japanese school. She is approached to join an all-girl band in time for the school's annual concert as the singer. She ends up accepting and being given the job of learning the Japanese lyrics of several songs by the legendary punk band, Blue Hearts. Her performance is warm, winning and utterly charming. She gives the film, Linda, Linda, Linda, a relentless energy and a polished efficiency that belies her lack of years. Pierce Brosnan He is nothing short of revelatory in The Matador, revealing a talent for comedy, hidden depths as an actor and a willingness to completely send his own image up in order to find a character's heart, soul and flaws. His performance is the equivalent of a slap round the face, only a lot funnier. The film itself is a brilliant crime movie, but without Brosnan at its centre, it would be much the worse. Terrence Howard He plays Djay in Hustle and Flow. Craig Brewer's film is an excellent debut, but without Howard's incendiary turn it might not ever have been released. He is so good that Variety compared him to a young Marlon Brando. His year was already excellent on the basis of his terrific supporting performance in Crash, but it is Hustle and Flow that might catapult him into superstardom, and a prime seat at the Oscar ceremony to boot, as he is a dark horse for a nomination at least. If there's any justice, he'll be there in February with a speech in his pocket. Lee Young-Ae
 | | Sympathy for Lady Vengeance |
She totally dominates Lady Vengeance. The film is an operatic odyssey of revenge that gives us a kidnapper and killer as a heroine, proceeds to show us that she might not be everything that we thought she was and then allows us to witness her intricate plot of vengeance first hand. Her performance is so good that even supporting players like Choi Min-Sik and Bae Du Na fade into the background. Damien Lewis He has long had the reputation of a star waiting to catch his moment. Keane may be the film that confirms his status as a brilliant actor, regardless of his stardom. He is mesmerising as William Keane, a man grief-stricken and driven to insanity by the abduction of his daughter. As the film progresses he holds our attention, affection and sympathy even as we begin to become fearful of just how low he may sink. It's the sort of work that should open up many more opportunities for him. A simply brilliant performance. Emma Lung
 | | Stranded - A short Australian film |
She is brilliant in Stranded, a low budget, fifty-two minute long Australian drama. She plays the eldest daughter of a family torn apart by the tragic death of her mother. This isn't a maudlin, sentimental film, though, it's as sparky and feisty as its lead actress. Lung's performance is so accomplished that she steals the film from the showier role had by Emily Browning (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events), and the experienced Robert Morgan. She's incredibly likable and she carries the entire film on her very slender shoulders. Gwyneth Paltrow
 | | Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins |
She is a much underrated and under-appreciated actress. Her performance in Proof is both typically, yet unimaginably, sensational. She plays the grieving daughter of a mathematical genius who worries that she has inherited her father's illness as well as his talent. She also has to contend with a sister she doesn't know and a potential love affair beginning with one of her father's students. It is to her immense credits that Paltrow controls a film with actors as talented as Jake Gyllenhaal, Hope Davis and Anthony Hopkins. It is her performance that will make you cry, and smile, as she manages her several plot strands with unassuming and stylish ease. David Strathairn His is a name that should be better known. He played Pierce Patchett, the pimp in L.A. Confidential, Carmela Soprano's lover in Season Five of The Sopranos and the lead character in John Sayles' Limbo. Good Night, And Good Luck should change all of that. He plays the legendary Edward R Murrow, the newsreader who sparred with Senator Joseph R McCarthy when nobody else would dare. His performance is assured, measured and quite, quite brilliant. He's a certainty to receive an Oscar nomination, and could walk away with the Golden Statuette itself. Beat Takeshi He is a pop-culture phenomenon: actor, TV presenter, director. However, mostly his performances have all been of a kind, playing a vicious Yakuza gangster of some sort. Here, in Blood and Bones, he flexes his acting muscles, giving a sensational performance as the patriarch of a dysfunctional, immigrant Korean family in 20th Century Japan. The film spans 60 years, and so does Beat's wonderful performance. He's simply never even been nearly this good before, and as the vicious, raping father and husband to a family of victims he burns through the screen with a rarely seen intensity. Reese Witherspoon
 | | Joaquin and Reese in Walk the Line |
She is the early favourite to win the Oscar for Best Actress. She plays June Carter in Walk the Line, the love of Johnny Cash's life, and the focal point of his story and the film dedicated to it. She sings Carter's songs herself, and provides the relentless drive that enabled Cash to overcome his demons and enjoy renewed success right up until the end of their lives. Her performance is possessed of a tenderness and an energy that simply beggars belief. If, and it's still a big if, she is Oscar Winner Reese Witherspoon at this time next year, then she will have, absolutely, deserved her award. |
