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Best Actress

Nominees:

[     Cate Blanchett (Little Fish)

[     Toni Collette (Japanese Story)

[     Felicity Huffmann (Transamerica)

[     Keira Knightley (Pride and Prejudice)

[     Meryl Streep (Prime, The Devil Wears Prada)

[     Charlize Theron (North Country)

[     Tracy Ullmann (A Dirty Shame)

A rich selection of top performances which left others like Penelope Cruz, Ziyi Zhang, Isabelle Huppert, Yael Abecassis, Julia Jentsch and Naomi Watts out to name but a few.  Ullmann’s return to the big screen was a delight, Theron showed she can dress down again, Blanchett is always great. 

Huffmann’s woman playing man playing woman is an obviously tough one to judge.  She is very good indeed and yet does it reach the level of sublime?  Not quite.

Special Mention

Meryl Streep

A goddess among actresses.  Great as a young actress, she is now returning in her middle age to produce some superb turns in comedy.  A delight.

Winner

Toni Collette

Another of Australia’s great acting talents, Toni has shone this year in Dinner with Friends and Little Miss Sunshine.  But it is her role in Japanese Story where we get the full gamut of her acting prowess from humour to tragedy.  A bare, open, honest portrayal of a woman who lives more in a few days than in the rest of her life.