Skip to main content

TOP 210 Performances of the 21st Century: Viola Davis as Rose Maxson in "Fences" (#10)

Few actresses can bring the authenticity of inner strenght to a performance so beautifully as Viola Davis - and she achieves her best performance (yet) at the hands of Denzel Washington's direction and August Wilson's words. Davis has one of the best written characters of the last decade and she makes the most of it with two key scenes for me: the "18 years of my life" argument scene and the scene where she holds the baby in her arms. In those scenes, we see a broken woman who tries to keep her whole dignity when she's hurt and bleeding inside. Yet, in those scenes she frees herself, she finally raises her voice and she finally raises herself.
It's a powerful performance and Davis is able to outshine Denzel Washington wheter when they're sharing a scene or simply when she isn't on-screen but you wish she was. It's a role that seems meant for her and she delivers a performance that makes you feel that no one could top her work. It's an acting turn that's mesmerizing and impossible to forget once you watch Fences. Viola Davis' performance is one for the ages!
For her performance as Rose Maxon in Fences, Viola Davis got some award recognition from some of the biggest associations/organizations in the movie industry (in fact, it was a n awards sweep):
    • Academy Awards - Best Supporting Actress (win)
    • British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards - Best Actress in a Supporting Role (win)
    • Golden Globe Awards - Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (win)
    • Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture (win)
    • Critics' Choice Awards - Best Supporting Actress (win)
    • Black Reel Awards - Best Supporting Actress (win)
    • Critics associations/groups awards 25 wins out of 38 nominations

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

TOP 35 Actors and Actresses Under 35 Working Today - 2017

The almost annual TOP 35 Actors and Actresses Under 35 Working Today is out, with me considering the performers' performances of 2016 also. We have a few changes since last year's list, with Greta Gerwig toping the list thanks to her last 3 great performances in Mistress America , Maggie's Plan and the Oscar buzzy acting turn in 20th Century Women . Scarlett Johansson comes second with her latest distinguished performance being in 2014 ( Under the Skin ), but she managed to be at the spotligh this year thanks to her fine turns in critically acclaimed movies: Hail, Caesar! , Captain America: Civil War , The Jungle Book (voice) and Sing (voice). Emily Blunt adds another great performance to her resume in The Girl on the Train and she comes third, while Elle Fanning 's turning into one of the finest actresses and she's getting to play more adult and complex parts like The Neon Demon  and 20th Century Women 's (her two best performances since Super 8 ). Finall...

TOP 10 Most Promising Movie Actors (under 30)

Today I discussed about how awful some "teen icons" are and then we talked about some exceptions. So, I decided to make a little list, a TOP 10, with the male actors that I think that will become music in an ocean of noise somewhere in the future (I did one list before, but it was a little bit pathetic and I didn't justify my choices). Let's start... 1 - Ryan Gosling He may not have a huge list of movies in his body of work, but the few times he makes something, all the time he almost carries the movie. In fact, Gosling is a proof that talent does exist and that you don't need excentrical characters to receive raves. He rose to fame after the big screen adaptation of The Notebook (2004) and then received lots of critical praise for his performances in movies like Half Nelson (that gave him an Oscar, a SAG Award and other major awards nominations), Lars and the Real Girl (that gave him a Golden Globe, a SAG Award and other major awards nominations) and Fractur...

TOP 35 Actors and Actresses with or under 35 years old: 2018

I think it was my TOP 35 under 35 list I've ever done since I remember: so many great performers emerged last year with distinguished performances that elevated their previous works (I'm talking about Elizabeth Olsen , Lucas Hedges , Robert Pattinson , Gaspard Ulliel , Tessa Thompson or Jamie Bell , for example). I'm kinda sad I felt "forced" at letting Jonah Hill ( Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street ) and Emma Watson ( The Perks of Being a Wallflower , The Bling Ring and 2017's Beauty and the Beast ) out of the list. Congratulations to Kirsten Dunst , who turned 35 last year so she can not be included in this year's list - such an amazing child actress turned movie star, who delivered memorable performances in Interview with the Vampire (1994), The Virgin Suicides (1999), The Cat's Meow (2002) or Melancholia (2011). This year, Saoirse Ronan tops the list thanks to two great performances: On Chesil Beach and an iconic acting turn in Lad...