Well, it’s March and you know what that means: the Knave’s EoY countdown is in its final third! As a reminder, this is a retrospective dedicated to the movies I saw in 2019, not all 2019 movies I’ve seen so far. Little Women, for instance, I didn’t to see until January of this year; that would have thrown this list, of the best female performances, into total disarray if it was in contention. But it’s not; just 2019 movies I saw in 2019.
2019 Movies I Saw in 2019
Top Female Performances
Honorable Mentions
Ana de Armas – Knives Out
You’re not much of a detective, are you?
Penelope Cruz – Pain & Glory
She got something I’ve never seen before: “With the special collaboration of Penelope Cruz.” That’s a hell of a credit for an actor to get, especially from a director like Almodovar.
Kaitlyn Dever – Booksmart
We’ll probably just do a Korean face-mask.
Beanie Feldstein – Booksmart
You can make yourself *** using only your mind? That’s like the one thing my mind can’t do.
Tilda Swinton – The Souvenir
It’s a tiny role, really, but there’s a scene near the end and you can tell it’s the reason any performer would take that role.
Top 10
Awkwafina – The Farewell
She dials the charisma way down and plays Billi as a character with a lot of repressed emotions. It’s a fantastic performance, naturalistic and minimal, but still deep and emotionally driven.
Sofia Buenaventura – Monos
Sofia Buenaventura finds a frightened vulnerability in the group’s youngest member, Rambo, a child only just turned fifteen when the movie begins.
Honor Swinton Byrne – The Souvenir
I think we’re all equal in that. We’re all as real as each other. There’s no competition.
Yeo-jeong Jo – Parasite
I’m deadly serious.
Jeong-eun Lee – Parasite
Don’t ******* call me “Sis,” you filthy bitch.
Julianne Nicholson – Monos
Julianne Nicholson is incredible as the American hostage; it’s an intense and incredibly raw performance that’s often hard to watch.
Lupita Nyong’o – Us
Once upon a time . . . there was a girl. And the girl had a shadow.
So-dam Park – Parasite
Jessica, only child, Illinois, Chicago.
Florence Pugh – Midsommar
There’s a lot to love about Midsommar. Queen among those things is the fantastic performance from Florence Pugh as a troubled college student in a dysfunctional relationship.
