10 Best Actress in a Supporting Role Potentials for the 2010 Oscar Awards

If I were responsible for the rules and 2010 Oscar nominations there would be a field of ten contenders for Best Actress in a Supporting Roles.

My potential nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a 2009 movie would be as follows.

Helen Mirren - The Last Station (November 2009)
Helen Mirren shines as the wife of Leo Tolstoy in this movie about his later years. Mirren brings life and vitality in a stunning portrayal of Sofya, who is battling Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) and his protégé (James McAvoy) to protect Tolstoy's work from becoming public property.

Helen Mirren deserves the 2010 Oscar nomination she received for Best Actress in a Supporting role.

Marion Cottilard - Public Enemies (July 2009) starring Johnny Depp.
Johnny Depp plays infamous bank robber John Dillinger, with Marion Cottilard, Billie Freschette, at his side. Marion Cottilard does a magnificent job playing the love interest to a gangster on the run. Her acting in this movie covers a range of emotions as she gets to know and falls for the most wanted man in America.

Marion Cottilard was overlooked by the Academy, but I think she deserves a nomination for Public Enemies. Anyone who can portray the poise and character with Depp as a leading man deserves an award, but Cottilard did more than that. She brough Billie Freschette to life.

Rose Byrne - Adam (July 2009) starring Hugh Dancy.
Adam is different. He has Asperger's Syndrome, but he is still a young man. He can't help falling for Beth (Rose Byrne), a young lady who moves in upstairs in his small apartment complex. Beth is drawn to Adam even before she falls for him. She is willing to face the challenges that their relationship will bring. Rose Byrne is moving, witty, and real in her portrayal of Beth, her love for Adam, and her defending their love against the odds.

Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (2009) starring Gabourey Sidibe
Precious penetrates your mind and soul long after the film is over. It is brutal and cruel, but very, very real. Mo'Nique, a Hollywood outsider, is Precious' mother. The comedian turned actress took on a tough role as a demanding and abusive mother, who not only looks the other way as Precious is sexually abused by her father, but contributes to the physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Mo'Nique gave a stunning, vile performance and delivers it with authenticity. Not only is she a 2010 Oscar nominee, I believe she will be the winner of Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Helen Mirren - State of Play (April 2009) starring Russell Crowe.
Washington, DC reporter Cal McAffrey, Russell Crowe threatens to unravel a national conspiracy involving a friend and Congressman, Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck). Helen Mirren is the hardnosed editor who pushes McAffrey to follow-through and get it done fast. Mirren, as usual, adapts to this supporting role with believability and intensity, demonstrating yet another aspect of her abilities as an actress. Mirren makes it clear to Crowe that she is the boss so poignantly that she makes the audience feel like they need to sit up in their seats and stay on top of their own jobs.

I love Helen Mirren's work. State of Play gave her another outlet, albeit smaller than her role in The Last Station, to demonstrate her award winning capabilities.

Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air (2009) starring George Clooney.
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) hangs on to his job by flying around the country firing people from their jobs. When a young upstart (Anna Kendrick) joins Bingham she threatens his livelihood by recommending his job be done via video conferencing. Bingham takes Natalie (Anna Kendrick) on one of his whirlwind trips so that she can see what the job is really like, and so that he can make his romantic rendezvous. Anna Kendrick's portrayal is lively and refreshing, opposite one of our favorite actors. The onscreen dynamics create an extraordinary juxtaposition.

Anna Kendrick has been nominated for 2010 Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in Up in the Air. I concur with the nomination, but look for her to lose the win to performances by actresses in more dramatic films. The win should be all about performance, but we know that the role and genre of the film is a huge predictor of which supporting actress will take home the Oscar.

Melanie Laurent- Inglorious Basterds (August 2009)
While Brad Pitt leads a group of American soldiers known as "Inglorious Basterds" through Nazi occupied France killing and scalping Nazis, Shosanna (Melanie Laurent) is fighting a parallel war. Having witnessed but escaped the Nazi killing of her Jewish family Shosanna makes a life in Nazi occupied France running a cinema. Unknown to her or the Inglorious Basterds their battle plans become interwoven to trigger a night of destruction and vengeance upon the Nazis.

Melanie Laurent's role in this movie is passionate, filled with nuances, and along with Christoph Waltz's is among the most memorable in the film.

Marsha Gay Harden -- Whip It (October 2009) starring Ellen Page
Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page of Juno)) cannot find her place in small town Texas. Her mother eats, lives, and dreams beauty pageants, but Bliss can't stand them. She finds her niche and true love when she stumbles into a roller derby team.

Harden's performance as Bliss Cavendar's pageant obsessed mother helps elevate Whip It from the stereo-typical roller derby movie. Harden deserves credit for grounding the film and keeping it real. I would have liked to see Marsha Gay Harden recognized by an Oscar nomination for her motherly role, whose love ultimately leads to understanding.

Charlize Therone - The Road (2009) starring Viggo Mortensen.
The Road is a difficult and harrowing movie to watch, yet despite its morbidity and morose mood father (Viggo Mortensen ) and son ( Kodi Smit-McPhee ) plod on in the ashen and cannibalistic place the world has become. The father keeps going, refusing to give up hope for his son. The mother (Charlize Therone) doesn't last as the family journeys along The Road for survival, but in her role as supporting actress Charlize Therone gives everything her role requires and more. Fear, shame, sentiment, and the sacrifices of motherhood are beautifully demonstrated amidst one of the most ugly times the earth has ever known.

An Oscar nomination would not have been Charlize's first. She has won two Oscars for Best Actress in leading role and other awards for Best Actress in a Supporting role from other organizations.

Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crazy Heart starring Jeff Bridges.
Bad Blake is a country singer who is on his way to being washed up after he has washed down too many drinks and left too many women heart-broken in his wake. This immensely popular movie builds on a classic tale of redemption, which hinges on Jean Craddock ( Maggie Gyllenhall) . Craddock extends her hand and her heart for Bad Blake. .

Gyllenhall pulls off the role with the strength to confront a guy like Bad Blake. Maggie Gyllenhaal puts the soft around Jeff Bridges rough edges. The Academy has recognized Gyllenhall's work and she has been nominated for a 2010 Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 2010 Oscar Award Nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role are:

Penelope Cruz - Nine

Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air

Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crazy Heart

Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air

Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

Mo'Nique won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. I look for her to win the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, as well.