Best 2020 film performances so far

I've seen 5 real special ones:

1. (by a lot) Blanchett, Mrs. America (TV whatever)
Nina Hoss, The Audition
Lindo, Da Five Bloods

less great but impressive/underrated Emilia Clarke, Under Suspicion and Yehuda Nahari Halevi, Incitement

only at 17 films and haven't seen much to write home about yet, but these are very good:

Ben Mendelsohn, Babyteeth
Liana Liberato, To the Stars
Ben Affleck, The Way Back
Essie Davis, True History of the Kelly Gang

Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods... I'm conflicted. His manic performance certainly matches the messiness of Lee's filmmaking but that messiness is precisely what I disliked about the movie and I can't fully separate the two. The Brechtian monologues, the screaming, the howling, the crying--how do I connect with these extreme moments? On paper it should be brilliant or at least appropriate, and maybe it is, but it often felt wrong to me and rarely natural. Don't know where I stand yet, but at least parts of it were great. I love the scene where he's on the boat and that guy is offering him the damn chicken and not backing down and Lindo just gets progressively more rattled until he almost goes over the edge.

I haven't seen enough but Hugh Jackman astonished me in Bad Education. What a masterful performance!

The following have all stood out to me:

Essie Davis - Babyteeth
Margo Martindale - Blow the Man Down
Hugh Jackman - Bad Education
Ben Affleck - The Way Back
Delroy Lindo - Da 5 Bloods
Hugh Grant - The Gentlemen
Tony Wallace - Babyteeth
Nicholas Hoult - True History of the Kelly Gang
Eliza Scanlen - Babyteeth
Alison Brie - Horse Girl
Elisabeth Moss - The Invisible Man
Ben Mendelsohn - Babyteeth
Imogen Poots - Vivarium

Although its a miniseries, Reese Witherspoon is already a very strong win for Little Fires Everywhere.

Don't expect her to be overtaken by anyone in film, but we will see.

Riz Ahmed & Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
Christopher Abbott & Andrea Riseborough, Possessor
Jude Law & Carrie Coon, The Nest
Willem Dafoe, Tommaso
Jean Dujardin & Adele Haenel, Deerskin
Anthony Hopkins & Olivia Colman, The Father
Steven Yuen, Yeri Han, Alan Kim & Youn Yuh-jung, Minari
Riley Keough, The Lodge
Rashida Jones & Bill Murray, On the Rocks
Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Charles Dance & Arliss Howard, Mank
Robyn Nevin, Emily Mortimer & Bella Heathcote, Relic
Jessie Buckley & Jesse Plemons, I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Diane Lane & Leslie Manville, Let Him Go
George Mackay & Essie Davis, True History of the Kelly Gang
Delroy Lindo & Chadwick Boseman, Da 5 Bloods
Evan Rachel Wood & Gina Rodriguez, Kajillionaire
Steve Coogan, The Trip to Greece
Carey Mulligan & Bo Burnham, Promising Young Woman
The whole cast, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Nicolas Cage & Joely Richardson, Color Out of Space
Ben Affleck, The Way Back

Mr. “stop eating my sesame cake” himself...Delroy Lindo.

I also want to thank fellow board member JangoB for making that Capone video he did of Tom Hardy to make that the most unintentionally hilarious performance of 2020.

Oh damn Stephen..I thought you were going to say Kelsey Grammer in Money Plane.

1. Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
2. Annette Bening, Hope Gap
3. Bill Nighy, Hope Gap
4. Elisabeth Moss, The Invisible Man
5. Clarke Peters, Da 5 Bloods
6. Cristin Milioti, Palm Springs
7. Kerri Kenney, VHYes
8. Charlyne Yi, VHYes
9. Nicolas Cage, Color Out of Space
10. Colin Farrell, The Gentlemen

Don't have the exact list yet, but Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods would be tops so far, he gives such an introspective amazing performance with such heavy material. Hugh Jackman in Bad Education, Clarke Peters in Da 5 Bloods, and Elisabeth Moss in The Invisible Man would be runner-ups.

Update, now with 35 films seen. I'll do a top 20.

1) Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
2) Jessie Buckley, I'm Thinking of Ending Things
3) Jesse Plemons, I'm Thinking of Ending Things
4) Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
5) Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

6) Frances McDormand, Nomadland
7) Elisabeth Moss, The Invisible Man
8) Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
9) Toni Collette, I'm Thinking of Ending Things
10) Hugh Grant, The Gentlemen

11) Jude Law, The Nest
12) Morfydd Clark, Saint Maud
13) Odessa Young, Shirley
14) Carrie Coon, The Nest
15) Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

16) Elisabeth Moss, Shirley
17) Malachi Kirby, Small Axe: Mangrove 
18) Julia Garner, The Assistant 
19) Mark Rylance, The Trial of the Chicago 7
20) Nichola Burley, Lynn + Lucy