Best Actresses of 2010

Jennifer Lawrence's breakthrough role in Winter's Bone has opened up lots of doors for the 20 year old newcomer, including a starring role as Mystique in the next film of the X-Men franchise, X-Men: First Class. And whatever career opportunities are coming her way she deserves, as far as I'm concerned. Lawrence doesn't make one false move in this riveting drama set in the Ozarks and filled with colorful, authentic characters.

Natalie Portman's been acting in films since bursting onto the scene in Luc Besson's 2004 crime thriller, The Professional, and with each passing year she gets better and better. Aside from the ever-so-occasional misstep in choosing projects, Portman has emerged as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Her commitment to playing a ballerina in Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller Black Swan was nothing short of outstanding. Portman trained extensively for the role of a ballerina obsessed with perfection, and it's her understanding of how her character's completely consumed with dancing that makes Black Swan so unforgettable.

Michelle Williams earned a spot on my Top 10 Supporting Actresses of 2010 list for the incredible job she did in Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island. An actress who has a keen eye for picking out projects, Williams also shines in the intense and intimate study of the evolution of a troubled relationship. Told in nonlinear style, Williams and her co-star/onscreen partner Ryan Gosling deliver performances that grab at your heart while not being overly manipulative or false.

Carey Mulligan had starring roles in a major release and an independent film in 2010, and the roles couldn't have been more dramatically different. In Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Mulligan played Michael Douglas' estranged daughter and the fiancee of Shia LaBeouf. It's a role that didn't require much of Mulligan, as the character's written as the standard supporting female player in the male-dominated film. Thankfully, Mulligan fares much better in Never Let Me Go co-starring Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield.

Mulligan plays one of three friends raised in a private boarding school in which the students' sole purpose for existence takes a twist that's both thought-provoking and disturbingly sad. Mulligan and her co-stars are fantastic as the threesome, and Mulligan's performance in particular is absolutely heartbreakingly real.

Why is it comedies are never taken seriously when critics and award-distributing groups hand out their annual year-end honors? It's a shame comedies are so overwhelmingly overlooked for awards attention, especially considering the sustained popularity of funny films at the box office.

Breaking with the 'serious' actress trend, Emma Stone earns a spot on this Top 10 Actresses of 2010 list due to her incredibly hilarious performance in Easy A. Stone has near-perfect comic timing and isn't afraid of making fun of herself, if the part calls for it. But Stone's not a one-note actress. She's building up a fine resume in comedies, but she's also got the lead role in The Help in 2011 and will be playing Gwen Stacy in the reboot of the Spider-Man franchise which should allow her to display her range.

Johnny Depp got most of the attention for his fabulous performance as the demented Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's trippy Alice in Wonderland, but the beautiful Mia Wasikowska deserves to be mentioned in the same complimentary manner as Depp. Wasikowska plays Alice, bringing to life this iconic character from Lewis Carroll's classic stories in a way that does Carroll's creation proud.

In my review of Alice, this is how I summed up Wasikowska's performance: "Although it looks as though a strong breeze could knock her down, Wasikowska is a real powerhouse. As Alice, Wasikowska goes from a young girl unable to stand up for herself against her mother's wishes, a girl whose father told her it's important to think of six impossible things before breakfast, to an Alice totally in control. Alice in Wonderland wouldn't work if we didn't feel everything Alice is going through, and Wasikowska - with Burton's guidance - allows us to get inside Alice's skin."

She put adult action stars to shame as 'Hit Girl' in 2010's action comedy Kick-Ass, and in Let Me In Chloe Moretz is positively riveting as a perpetually young vampire. The English language version of the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In had its detractors, but nearly everyone agrees Moretz' incredibly textured performance was equally as horrifying and touching as the performance of Lina Leandersson in the highly regarded, award-winning Swedish version.

A hit with audiences but a film that divided critics (some thought it was too sacchrine sweet), Secretariat is not just the story of the most amazing race horse to ever hit a racetrack. Directed by Randall Wallace and based on true events, Secretariat also details the relationship between the horse and his owner, Penny Chenery, a housewife who stepped up to take over her family's Meadow Stables after the death of her mother and illness of her father. Penny fought sexism and became a major player in a male-dominated sport, her faith never wavering in her big-hearted horse. And in Diane Lane's capable hands, Penny's story is captivating and inspirational.

I called Anne Hathaway's performance in the romantic comedy/drama Love and Other Drugs "bold, fearless and beautiful" in my review of the film, and that pretty much sums it all up. Hathaway plays a woman who has serious health problems that have kept her from becoming too attached to anyone, and the 28 year old Oscar-nominated actress (she picked up a Best Actress nomination in 2009 for Rachel Getting Married) never allows the material to get away from her.

The Kids Are All Right is one of those films that I just couldn't adore and embrace the way many of my fellow critics did, although I thought the entire cast did terrific jobs. The film tells the story of a married lesbian couple (played by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore) with two kids who find their lives disrupted by the insertion of the kids' biological father (Mark Ruffalo). Bening is convincing as the more assertive parent, but it's really Moore's performance that gives the entire film emotional depth.