Film Feature: The Best Lead Performances of 2013

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The Best Actresses of 2013

Five Runner-ups (in alphabetical order): Amy Adams (“American Hustle”), Berenice Bejo (“The Past”), Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Enough Said”), and Olivia Wilde (“Drinking Buddies”)

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Too many people have written off this performance under the misguided belief that “Gravity” is purely a technical exercise. Yes, it’s an amazing film in terms of eye-popping visuals and breathtaking special effects…none of which would matter without Bullock’s work at its center. We get CGI-heavy, sci-fi extravaganzas every other month but none of them have the grounded character work that Bullock is doing in this film. If she hadn’t just won an Oscar for her lesser performance in “The Blind Side,” she’d be a lock to take one home here. And she still might. She takes a character who could have just been another visual effect and makes her real, thereby bringing us into this rollercoaster of a film. We’re not watching, we’re riding, and that’s because of Bullock.

Photo credit: Sony Picture Classics

One of the most underrated performances of the year is one that I saw almost 12 months ago at Sundance. I’m SURE that Julie Delpy gets called “Celine” in public as she has become this character for so many people that perhaps they forget how much acting she’s doing when she plays her. That’s the only explanation for why this incredible work hasn’t been cited as much as some of the scenery-chewing Oscar bait this time of year. It’s TOO real. Delpy perfectly captures a woman who has been down this road with her daydreaming husband before. Through her co-writing and performance she finds what is so often missing from our romantic cinema — the consequences of love, good and bad.

Photo credit: Cinedigm

Grace is one of the most fascinating characters of 2013 and she instantly puts Brie Larson on any worthwhile list of interesting young actresses. Again, it’s about what this talent doesn’t do as much as what she does. She doesn’t turn this character into a series of melodramatic tics as so many others would have done. She doesn’t overplay the emotion, letting it simmer just under the surface. It’s the way she scratches too hard on her wrist, the way she reaches out to a young man in trouble, and the way she seems to respond too openly to a young woman who reminds her of herself. “Short Term 12” doesn’t work if we don’t believe Grace is real and that doesn’t happen without the attention to detail of Ms. Larson.

Photo credit: Shane Carruth

Fearless. That’s the word to describe Amy Seimetz’s captivating work in Shane Carruth’s divisive Sundance hit. Think about where Carruth asks his star to go. Not only does Seimetz have to portray the character that keeps us engaged in the very unusual story but she has to do so with almost none of the tools given a typical performer. There’s no dialogue in the last half-hour of this movie and yet we never take our eyes of Seimetz. She conveys emotion and narrative in original ways, serving as the human connection to a film that defies description. It’s the most underrated performance of 2013.

Photo credit: IFC

Has there been a more emotionally and physically exposed debut performance than this one? In nearly every scene of a three-hour movie, this young future star holds absolutely nothing back, not only in the explicit sex scenes that earned the movie an NC-17 rating but, more importantly, in the emotional beats of the arc of an entire relationship. The “favorite moments” are too many to list but I think of the way Adele portrays that first glance of love, the nerves she shows with her friends when she realizes the girl she likes has to come to see her, their first conversation, the awkwardness of hosting a party with people with whom she has seemingly little in common, and, of course, the now-legendary fight. I have some small issues with the mid-section but “Blue is the Warmest Color” captures the beginning and end of a relationship in ways more truthful than we’ve seen in a VERY long time and that truth comes from the performances. In an incredible year, there was none better than Adele’s.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com