Best Supporting Actress 2015

5. Rachel McAdams - Spotlight
McAdams took the easiest possible approach to her performance - she just played what was written in the script, she was not even trying to make something more out of this dully written character. There is only one scene that stands out for me and even in that one she didn't have a lot to do.

4. Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl
Vikander is wonderful alongside her partner Redmayne in a less challenging role, but she pulls it off rather well. She is not overshadowed by him and the emotional impact of her performance is not small. It'd still prefer her performance in Ex Machina to be nominated (or even won her gold).

3. Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs
Winslet is great as always in a role of the only woman in Jobs' life that he listens to. She's got a great on-screen charisma and the chemistry with her colleagues is wonderful. She flawlessly understood the tone of the film and is very supportive to the plot. Some accent flaws are therefore very forgivable...

2. Rooney Mara - Carol
She is wonderful in a leading role of Therese, who falls in love with an older woman. Her portrayal is very subtle, but it's flawless. Her and Blanchett have got an excellent chemistry and Mara's Theres is simply adorable. Her shy Therese is the character to fall for. I'd especially like to point out one particular scene in a train that is the proof of a pure acting perfection.

1. Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight
It is impossible to choose between the two ladies, but I decided to go with Leigh, as she really is supporting. Her Daisy is the most memorable supporting performance of 2015 and of the best from Tarantino films. Leigh is enjoying her role and so are we enjoying watching her. I simply loved this performance...

My Nominees:
1. Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight
2. Alicia Vikander - Ex Machina
3. Helen Mirren - Trumbo
4. Rose Byrne - Spy
5. Marion Cotillard - Macbeth

Best Supporting Actress 2015: Rooney Mara - Carol

Carol is a beautiful film. It is probably my favourite film of the year. The way it expresses the relationship of two lesbians is simply flawless. It has got a unique atmosphere and I definitely prefer it to Brokeback Mountain, which has a similar topic.
Rooney Mara plays Therese, a young woman, who falls in love with an older lady played by Cate Blanchett. The fact that Mara was put into the supporting category is the most ridiculous case of a category fraud I've seen in years. The whole story is portrayed through Therese's point of view and if one of the these ladies is supporting, it would be Blanchett, but the truth is that both of them are co-lead.
Mara's performance is very very subtle, yet it's so fascinating to watch. By her subtlety, Mara was able to become somehow cute and that's the best way to approach this character, because we can more easily sympathize with her. She portrays a shy and inexperienced young woman, who is still searching for herself. She doesn't understand the feelings she gets, she doesn't know how to act, she's a bit confused of the whole situation. This is wonderfully showed in scenes with her boyfriend, for example.
I really loved the emotional moments of Therese, as Mara takes a great approach to them. Most of them are portrayed solely through her eyes (such as the first dinner with Carol, or their first meeting at the shop). Mara is somehow irresistable because of this.
There is a wonderful, yet very brief scene in the film, in which Mara is on a train and she cries. Not only was she able to carry my attention, but she raised such emotions in me that I have never experienced by any other film performance in a very long time. Though it's a short moment, I suddenly felt so sorry for her, asking why is she crying and I wanted to soothe her. This would probably be her best scene.
What proves the perfection of this performance, is the fact that we don't wonder, why this character falls in love with an older woman. Both of the actresses are so realistic in creating their relationship that it's a pure joy to watch.
The chances of winning an Oscar: When the nominees came out, I thought she was the frontrunner. As the time went on, I realized it was not so possible. Right now, I guess she was the fourth...

Best Supporting Actress 2015: Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight

I love The Hateful Eight. It's definitely one of the top three Tarantino films for me and I don't quite get the controversy around the film and this particular character, so I'm gonna ignore it in this review, because it would take too much time and I wouldn't be nice to feminists.
Jennifer Jason Leigh received her first Oscar nomination (which is kinda ridiculous) for portraying Daisy – an outlaw, who is being 'arrested' by a bounty hunter played by Kurt Russell. She plays the only significant female character one the film. It is portrayed in the screenplay, but in Leigh's acting, as well that Daisy is not normal in her head. Leigh shows it wonderfully from the very beginning by the way she looks around, or speaks.
The most important thing about the performance is how enjoyable it is, while it stays complex. Leigh greatly shows that her character has got nothing to loose. It's as if Leigh personally didn't have anything to loose, as well. Not only with her acting approach, as it really doesn't fit any acting method, but also with the fact she agreed on playing this character, because it took acting many risks.
Leigh is also excellent in creating a secret around Daisy. It is revealed in the last chapter of the film and in Leigh's hands it doesn't seem forced, at all. On the top of that she gets much many acting opportunities after the revealing and she uses it perfectly! In her final scenes she reminded me of Carrie (I guess it was on purpose) – it is a strange person, who is sadistic, wicked, crazy, but it's difficult not to fall for her. Leigh achieved a wonderful thing – we like Daisy and feel sorry for her, but we dislike her at the same time.
As the only woman of the cast, Leigh stands out not only in terms of acting, but her character as if didn't fit the plot. It's something that is done on purpose and she was great in showing this.
All I can say at the end is that after Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, we got another brilliant female supporting turn in Tarantino film.
The chances of winning an Oscar: I think they're higher than most of other people do. She's my dark horse for the film. I guess she's the second behind Mara. 

Best Supporting Actress 2015: Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is a wonderful biopic about one of the most interesting figure of the recent history. In 2013 we've had an opportunity to see a film about him, starring Ashton Kutcher, but this one is much better, which was obvious just by the look at the name of the director.

Kate Winslet plays Joanna Hoffman, a Polish assistant of Steve Jobs. Winslet herself has said on various occasions that this woman looks nothing like her or talks like her in real life. I would probably say she was a miscast before watching the film. But then after doing so I have to admit that Winslet is able to overcome the differences between her and the woman she's portraying. Though sometimes her accent comes off as a little bit inconsistent, it's forgivable, as it doesn't distract you from the scene.

Winslet wonderfully understands the tone of her character and is very supportive to the plot, as to Jobs as a person. She knows, where her place is and she doesn't try to steal any scene for herself, because she knows it wouldn't fit the film. Except from one particular scene, in which she confronts Steve about his daughter. This scene is focused mostly on her character and this is an opportunity for Winslet to shine. We uses it perfectly and we are witnessing a perfect piece of acting. If I were to choose an Oscar clip, I'd certainly go with this scene.

What I love about Winslet in general, is her excellent screen-charisma. It is visible here, as well and Winslet uses it greatly and it's a pleasure to watch her working (just like any other time).

Joanna Hoffman is the only woman is Jobs' life to have an influence on him. She's the only one, who stayed there for him, who supports him. All of this is very well portrayed in Winslet's performance.

The cherry on the top of this film (and performance) is her chemistry with Michael Fassbender. These great actors are a pleasure to watch. I take for instance the scene at the very beginning of the film. They start the film with such energy that stay with it till the end.

The chances of winning an Oscar: As the time goes on, they seem smaller and smaller. She's won a Golden Globe, but it doesn't seem to matter. I guess she's the third, or the fourth. But this year is so wide open in this category that she might upset.

Best Supporting Actress 2015: Rachel McAdams - Spotlight

Some performances get rewarded and I will never understand why. You all know I'm not a fan of too natural performance (e.g. Paul Newman in Nobody's Fool or Marion Cotillard in Two Days One Night), but I can give some credit to them (both of the performances received four points from me), so that I'd stay objective. But there is something that I can't reward. It's the roles that give an actor nothing to play and when an actor is lazy to do something about it. Unfortunately, that is the case of this Oscar-nominated performance.
Rachel McAdams plays her character exactly, as it written. This might have been a compliment, if the character hasn't been written blandly. There is really nothing to this role. It's a woman. That's all I can say about it. The role of Sacha Pfeiffer has only got some lines that reveal simply nothing about the character. (It's not the only such character in the film. In fact, all of them are so.) But the biggest blame against McAdams is that she doesn't add anything to her character. She reads her lines (and she reads them just fine, to make that clear), but we don't find out anything about her character's character.
She has got some better moments, for example in the scene Sacha comes to the priest. She shows just the right amount of energy and eagerness as a young reporter, who wants to squeeze everything out of the story she's working on. But that's probably it. On the private matter, we don't find anything out about her.
I'm thinking, why she even got recognized is that she's the only woman in an ensemble full of men. It's not a bad performance. It's just a weak one.
The chances of winning an Oscar: Let's just hope the best picture heat is not going to push her to the win. I guess, it won't. She's the last one in the game. 

Best Supporting Actress 2015: Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl

The Danish Girl is a fine film, though it's my least favourite Tom Hooper film. He's somehow underusing his usual techniques that I enjoyed in his previous films. This way it's only a well told biopic that is not special by almost anything.
This performance has been nominated for Golden Globe and for Bafta in a leading category and I think that's the right place to put her in. Though argument could be made, since it is role of a supportive wife and the true lead is Redmayne. But I guess nobody could make any complaint, if she was nominated in lead.
Vikander in fact is very good as a supportive wife. It's clear that she love Einar (played by Redmayne) and that she cares about him. She only wants the best for him and even though the situation is very difficult for her, she is willing to sacrifice it for Einar's good.
Unfortunately, she didn't get enough space to show her inner confusion. There are few such scenes in the film and in these Vikander uses everything that is given to her, but the final thoughts were a bit inconsistent.
The beginning of the film is a little bit silly. The film was a contender for my personal Razzie nominaees – so crazy and improbable it all was. Luckily, it change later on, but what I have to mention is that Vikander wasn't able to overcome the silliness of the film.
If I was to choose the best scene of this performance I would point out one short moment, in which Vikander desperately comes to Hiddlestone's character and she's waiting for his to come. When he appears, Vikander's excellent in her reaction. The pure despair and confusion of what's happening to her in life right now is simply excellent. I wish there were more such scenes for Vikander to show off her talents.
Do you remember last year, when I was disappointed by the fact that Marion Cotillard was nominated for Two Day, One Night, rather than The Immigrant? This is a similar case. Vikander gave a very good performance in The Danish Girl. But there were two performance she gave this year that were better. In Testament of Youth and especially Ex Machina. Though all three performances are lead, the one closest to this category is in Ex Machina and apart from that, it's the best one. So I would prefer her to be nominated for that performance...
The chances of winning an Oscar: I guess they are not so great. Category confusion also doesn't help. I think Vikander is going to be Oscar-nominated many times in the future and this time she'll have to be satisfied with the fourth place...

Next Year: Best Supporting Actress 2015

The Nominees:
Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl
Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight
Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs
Rachel McAdams - Spotlight
Rooney Mara - Carol (predicted winner)

What do you think about the nominees? Who are your nominees? Who are you rooting for? What are your predictions for my ranking? Tell us in comments!