The Best Performances of 2007

Posted on February 22, 2008 by Moen Mohamed

In 2007, actors and actresses were presented with challenging roles, many of which garnered much acclaim and bountiful awards. However, the
performance of the year, without a doubt, goes to Casey Affleck for his work in THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD.

Affleck embodies his role with such conviction, intelligence and humanity, that it leaves one in utter amazement. A great performance is able to extract multiple reactions from the audience, and not just empathy, for example. As Robert Ford, Casey Affleck allows the audience to enter his world, but there is always a distance between us and his character. And that distance encompasses tension and unpredictability. The result is an absolutely memorable performance by this relatively new actor and is one of the highlights of this fine film.

BEST ACTORS

  1. CASEY AFFLECK – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
  2. MATHIEU AMALRIC – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  3. EMILE HIRSCH – Into The Wild
  4. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS – There Will Be Blood
  5. SAM RILEY – Control
  6. RYAN GOSLING – Lars and the Real Girl
  7. PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – The Savages, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead & Charlie Wilson’s War
  8. GEORGE CLOONEY – Michael Clayton
  9. JOSH BROLIN – No Country For Old Men & American Gangster
  10. SASSON GABAI – The Band’s Visit

BEST SUPPORTING ACTORS

  1. JAVIER BARDEM – No Country For Old Men
  2. VLAD IVANOV – 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
  3. ARMIN MUELLER-STAHL – Eastern Promises
  4. TOM WILKINSON – Michael Clayton
  5. JOHN CARROLL LYNCH – Zodiac
  6. HAL HOLBROOK – Into The Wild
  7. MARTIN PIROYANSKY – XXY
  8. OMAR METWALLY – Rendition
  9. HEATH LEDGER – I’m Not There
  10. CHRISTIAN BALE – I’m Not There

BEST ACTRESSES

  1. ANAMARIA MARINCA – 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
  2. JEON DO-YEON – Secret Sunshine
  3. MARION COTILLARD – La Vie en rose
  4. INES EFRON – XXY
  5. LAURA LINNEY – The Savages

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSES

  1. TILDA SWINTON – Michael Clayton
  2. SAOIRSE RONAN – Atonement
  3. SAMANTHA MORTON – Control
  4. MARIA BONNEVIE – The Banishment
  5. AMY RYAN – Gone Baby Gone
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2 Responses to The Best Performances of 2007

  1. James McNally says:
    February 22, 2008 at 1:29 pm

    Though I haven’t seen all the films, this looks like a good list. However, why only five each for the ladies, while ten each for the men? And just off the top of my head, surely Ellen Page (Juno and The Tracey Fragments), Kelly MacDonald (No Country for Old Men) and Julie Christie (Away from Her) all deserve a nod?

  2. Moen Mohamed says:
    February 22, 2008 at 5:01 pm

    Hi James, thank you for the special attention you are giving my lists. That is very kind of you. Your comments on my choices are valid and expected. A lot of people would ask the same. I had written an explanation on the original list as to why there were 20 picks for men and 10 for women, but I deleted it as I didn’t want the email to be long. Basically, there were more exciting and plentiful roles for men this year and not so much for women. In recent years, it’s always the other way around. With regards to Ellen Page and Julie Christie, both are good performances but I was not moved by these performances, although I found both performances to be sympathetic, hence the acclaim which leads to being overrated, which I humbly think they are.

    I agree that Kelly MacDonald was superb in No Country For Old Men. But I like multiples of 5 for my lists (as you may have noticed).

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