Best Actress

Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation)

A tradition is developing in this category. Each year, the women who have gotten the most first place votes have failed to generate enough bottom of ballot consideration to win. Last year, Naomi Watts got the most overall votes without garnering a single first place nod. Out of the 2003 selections, there were six other actresses who got as much first place recognition as our winner, Scarlett Johannson of Lost in Translation.

In the end, we finally settled upon Ms. Johannson's winning portrayal of a desperately lonely Sofia Coppola-like character trapped in a Japanese hotel. This accidental tourist is a lost soul searching for meaning and understanding in a spiritual land where she unfortunately doesn't speak the language. While her more recognized peer, Bill Murray, is getting all of the attention for (arguably) the finest performance of his career, it is actually Johannson who anchors Lost in Translation. Through her eyes, the audience comes to appreciate the excitement and novelty of learning the customs and culture of a foreign country. As Johansson's character, Charlotte, manages to escape the crippling depression of her existence, the very world around her begins to burst with kinetic energy. The shots that reflect her wide-eyed attempts to take it all in are among the finest cinematic moments of 2003.

What separated everyone's favorite Japanese tourist from the rest of the pack was her popularity among those who didn't feel she offered the best performance of the year. While only one person felt she was the very best, 82% of our voters felt she was one of the best. Even more staggering is the fact that over half the people surveyed thought she offered one of the best two performances of the year. They simply vacillated on whether she was the very best, but in the end, the results are clear that she was far and away the group's overall favorite.

Finishing a solid second is child prodigy Keisha Castle-Hughes. The Whale Rider single-handedly carried a tiny budgeted New Zealand production to international acclaim. Her performance as a predestined leader of an unwilling, phallocentric society was the surprise nomination of the Academy Awards. Almost 20% of the BOP staff (myself included) felt it was the best performance of the year. No one who has seen the picture can argue the fact that she is the Michelle Wei of her craft.

Nothing says acting like putting on weight or hiding behind make-up. Eric Stoltz knew it, Boris Karloff knew it, Elizabeth Taylor knew it and now Charlize Theron has combined the two. We can't ignore such a stubborn attempt by a model-cum-actress to get notice for her acting even if her roller disco make-out session with ever-creepy Christina Ricci has ruined Journey's Don't Stop Believing for us. The biopic of the most famous female serial killer in North America is never going to be described as the feel good film of the year, but Charlize demonstrated she can be more than just the pretty face standing next to the CGI ape or the Mini-Cooper.

Uma Thurman's work in Kill Bill Vol. 1 was so good that people actually stopped talking about how huge her pregnancy-inflated breasts were at the Academy Awards a couple of years ago. The Quentin Tarantino masterpiece allowed her to take the conceptual comedy of The Bride character and enhance it with an impressive range of emotions. While many people left theaters talking about her wardrobe, the film's music, and the bloodbath sequence The Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves, BOP voters walked away raving about how effective Uma was at playing the badass. We never had such a slight woman pegged for such a physical role, but Alias and Buffy the Vampire Slayer's impact on cinema has been far reaching. BOP also believes Uma should only work with Quentin Tarantino and vice versa because they definitely bring out the best in one another.

Speaking of dressing down for success, fifth place finisher Hope Davis couldn't have looked any more old maid-ish in American Splendor if she had put her hair up in a bun and offered neighborhood kids hard candy. We didn't mind, though, as we found her portrayal of a quirky woman romantically entangled with an even stranger man quite winning. In point of fact, the main reason Harvey Pekar is redeemable as a movie character is because a woman as noble as this is able to fall in love with him. Making an audience accept the Paul Giamatti character as anything other than a freak of nature is quite an accomplishment, and BOP noticed.

Sixth place sees a tie between two incredibly different performances. Patricia Clarkson's work as a tortured mother unable to cope with the loss of a child is the emotional core of the slight but tender The Station Agent. Parminder K. Nagra's effort as a soccer star in the making whose family is more determined to see mature into a prim and proper young lady is one of the most winning theatrical heroes for teen girls in recent memory. We found both laudable in their own ways with each even snagging a first place vote from members of the staff.

Rounding out our list of top performances of 2003 are Samantha Morton of In America, Diane Keaton of Something's Gotta Give and Charlotte Rampling of Swimming Pool. Morton's performance as an Irish mother coping with her family's ability to adapt in their new American home didn't prove as popular as her effort last year in Minority Report, but she is one of only five actresses chosen both years. Rampling's work as a conservative, deeply withdrawn author trying to re-awaken the stirrings of emotion she has somehow lost along the way is one of the most inscrutable in recent memory, and we mean that in the most complimentary manner possible. It's an incredibly brave effort. But the bastion of thespian courage in 2003 is none other than Diane Keaton. The 58-year-old was an early 1970s ingenue, but she has long since outgrown parts as the romantic flame. That was the thinking coming into December of 2003, anyway, but Ms. Keaton demonstrated that love isn't always lost on the young. Her effort in bewitching both Keanu Reeves and Jack Nicholson was arguably the most surprising effort of the year. BOP voters were thrilled by the grace and timeless beauty she demonstrated in the process.

Just missing the cut was last year's winner, Naomi Watts, along with prior winner Renée Zellweger. The two women's work in 21 Grams and Down with Love were both enjoyable but not our favorites this time out. Sandwiched between the two was Angelica Lee, who is not well known in North America as of yet. If The Eye is any indication of her prowess, though, she is going to be a factor in the coming years. Former Best Supporting Actress winner Jennifer Connelly's grim effort in House of Sand and Fog was technically sound but not quite enough to make the top ten. The other near misses were Jamie Lee Curtis as a mother having a bad experience with body snatching in Freaky Friday and winsome French women Audrey Tautou and Monica Bellucci for He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not and Irreversible. (David Mumpower/BOP)

Top Ten
Position	Actress	Film	Total Points
1	Scarlett Johansson	Lost in Translation	111
2	Keisha Castle-Hughes	Whale Rider	94
3	Charlize Theron	Monster	80
4	Uma Thurman	Kill Bill Vol. 1	56
5	Hope Davis	American Splendor	43
6 (tie)	Parminder K. Nagra	Bend It Like Beckham	37
6 (tie)	Patricia Clarkson	The Station Agent	37
8	Samantha Morton	In America	35
9	Diane Keaton	Something's Gotta Give	28
10	Charlotte Rampling	Swimming Pool	26