The Best Actress of This Decade

The problem with trying to come up with the best actress of the 2000s is that the decade isn't over yet. The problem with that excuse is that there is little reason to suspect that anyone new will suddenly appear on the scene. The fact of the matter is that the best work being done by actresses so far this decade is being done by actresses who came to attention during the 1990s. There really hasn't been any actress who has appeared during the decade to take one's breath away, although Zooey Deschanel is beginning to make a serious bid for the title of best actress of the next decade, and the juvenile duo of AnnaSophia Robb and Dakota Fanning both seem to have the potential for long careers if they can avoid the trappings of early fame. (Yes, I'm looking at you Lindsay Lohan.) But other than Deschanel it's really difficult to come up with an adult actress who first appeared in films in any vital way this decade that has impressed. Of course, Barbara Stanwyck was great in the 30s and I picked her for work in the 40s, and Bette Davis didn't even make my list until the stuff she did in the 60s, so there's nothing wrong with actors needing seasoning.

I know I'll take a lot of heat for this from people who actually are convinced that movies have never been better-both of them are likely to leave flaming comments-but frankly the state of roles for female actors has never been worse. This decade has proven to be even worse than the 50s. If you don't believe me, just look at the winners of Best Actress so far this decade: Julia Roberts and Halle Berry! Cut me a break. Obviously, if movie producers had the sense to cast Lucy Lawless in big screen movies this article would be much easy to write. In my recent article on Xena, I announced to the world that there is no role I wouldn't first offer Lucy Lawless. Unfortunately, I'm not a movie producer-actually, that's really not such an unfortunate thing-which leaves us with only three bona fide contenders.

As I mentioned in my article on Emma Thompson, she is making a comeback after kind of slipping off the radar. Unfortunately, the roles being offered aren't quite the stuff that was offered in the early 90s. Of course, Emma Thompson is such a tremendous talent that she could quite literally read the phone book and make it interesting. (If you don't believe me, just look at what she did in Stranger Than Fiction in an utterly thankless role.) So, with a few years yet to go, don't be surprised if Emma Thompson makes a case for back to back best actress of the decade awards. As it stands at this moment, however, there are two blonde actresses battling it out.

Laura Linney first came to my attention as part of the ensemble cast of the PBS miniseries Tales of the City. She was actually the de facto star of that series of miniseries and you could just tell she was going to become famous and good. She is famous and, more importantly, she is good. Laura Linney doesn't stun you by playing around on the edges of her range; she doesn't take the Streep route of doing accents and she doesn't rely on heavy makeup or gimmicky roles. She just simply takes a normal human being and breathes the fire of life into them. There may be no better actress around today at making average seem so interesting. As of yet, Laura Linney hasn't yet had that one role that just blows everyone away, but I'd be willing to bet it is coming soon.

Cate Blanchett has already blown us away. Raise your hand if you think she was robbed of an Oscar for Elizabeth. Yep, it's unanimous. Cate Blanchett has within a short span of time proven herself to possess an exceptionally admirable range. Blanchett clearly has the inside track to ending the decade as the actress with most respected body of work. She's already got a Supporting Actress Oscar and I would not be at all surprised if she bagged a Best Actress before the decade is over. Of course, I would also not be surprised if she never gets nominated again; you know how these Oscar voters love to miss the obvious.

Aside from the trio of Thompson, Linney and Blanchett I cannot foresee any other actress eventually laying claim to the title of best actress of the decade. One can only hope, however, that the next decade offers meatier roles. Otherwise we may actually have to be put in the position of considering someone like Scarlett Johansson next time around. Shivers.