Girl Week 2017: My Favourite Female Performances of 2017


Hello peeps. I'm back with another entry for Girl Week 2017, the blogathon hosted by Dell at Dell on Movies that's all about girls. On Monday I talked out my mom and I's favourite mothers in movies (apparently I was/wasn't off topic), today I'm talking about those ladies who stole my heart with their performances.

I'd like to point out that there's plenty of movies I'm yet to see, Ingrid Goes West and Lady Bird only to name a few, so with that in mind, here are my favourite performances of this year so far, in order of watching date.

Dafne Keen as Laura, Logan

20th Century Fox
If you ask me, this young lady absolutely stole the show in the final chapter of the Wolverine trilogy.  She plays a young mutant who asks Logan for help. She doesn't speak much, but she doesn't need it, she does pretty much all with her eyes. She has so much energy and force, and she conveys Laura's fragility and overpowering strength beautifully, often at the same time. 

Melanie Lynskey as Ruth, I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore

Netflix
Before seeing this quirky dark comedy, I had only seen Melanie Lynskey in Two and a Half Men (and in some other movie I think) and I used to think she was okay. She plays a depressed nurse who unwillingly becomes a vigilante, and she just nails it. She is very likeable, funny and innocent, she manages to keep the character very realistic and brings to it the right amount of drama and humour. 

Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman

Warner Bros. Pictures
For me, she already owned the role in Batman v Superman, but with such little screen time, she just couldn't shine. It's a whole different story in Patty Jenkins's movie. It's her own movie this time, and she makes sure everybody knows it. She has such a strong presence and her performance here is just brilliant. She conveys Diana's naivety and strength, and her emotions at the end feel so real, it's heartbreaking. 

Zendaya as Michelle, Spider-Man: Homecoming

Sony Picture Releasing
I never saw her before this so I didn't know what to expect from her, but I definitely liked what I saw. She plays a quirky student who hangs around Peter Parker, some sort of hipster girl who hates everybody. Her character serves no real purpose (and it's a shame), she's basically there only as comic relief but she made it work. Her performance isn't particularly strong, but she is very funny. To be honest, she delivers the best lines in the film and she is the most memorable thing about it.

Lily Collins as Ellen, To the Bone

Netflix
There's been a lot of controversy around this movie, with many stating that it promotes and glamorises anorexia and eating disorders. I didn't think so. Anyway, Collins plays a young woman suffering from anorexia who joins a group home to heal. The character could have used more depth but Collins manages to deliver Ellen's emotions, inner struggle and suffering. 

Zoe Kazan as Emily, The Big Sick

Amazon Studios, Lionsgate
I watched this romantic comedy knowing absolutely nothing about it, not even that it was a rom-com (I hate them, just in case you didn't know), but I ended up loving it. What I loved even more was Zoe Kazan. She plays a grad student who falls in love with a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian. She is asleep for quite some time (her character goes into a coma), but that didn't prevent her from being great. She has such a charming and at times awkward presence, the energy she brings to the role is unbelievable. Her performance is very sweet and touching. And probably my favourite of the year so far. 

What are your favourite female performances of the year? Please let me know in the comments below, I'd love hearing from you. 

10 comments :

  1. I need to see Wonder Woman! Thesefilms look like they are great to showcase women. You know, there was a girl known through the city because she would walk, first on her own and finally, with 2 canes who was a severe anorexic. People tried to help her but she refused everything. People knew herand we. All felt bad for her. When she died, she was only 69lbs or so. She was on the front page because she was so well known around the city. I felt bad for her parents who did not know how to deal with her. She worked in a bakery and her kitchen cupboards were filled with boxes of cereal and canned goods. It is a horrible disease

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    1. I've had several eating disorders in the past and I get that girl. Although it wasn't anorexia for me, I'm glad I realized what I was doing was wrong before it was too late. Unfortunately not everybody is that lucky. Or has the strength to fight the illness.

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  2. I saw your first four picks and love all of those performances. I hope to see The Big Sick really soon. Haven't heard of To the Bone, but it sounds interesting. Some others from this year I thought were great:

    Carla Gugino in Gerald's Game
    Noomi Rapace in What Happened to Monday
    Seo-hyun Ahn in Okja
    Catherine Keener in Get Out
    Carey Mulligan/Mary J. Blige in Mudbound
    Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde

    Thanks again for joining in!

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    1. Seo-hyun Ahn was lovely! I hope to see Gerald's Game and Mudbound soon.

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  3. Yaaasssss! I love all of these. I haven't seen to The Bone yet, it's in my queue. I've been wanting to watch this for ages.

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  4. Oh dear I haven't seen any of these, I'm so behind this year. But Wonder Woman came in the mail yesterday so I'll be catching up on that one very soon. The others all sound decent hopefully I'll have a chance to see them eventually.

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  5. Love to see Dafne here! I hope she gets awards love during the Oscar season, she sassed Jackman so adorably when they won MTV movie award

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    1. That'd be great but I have the bad feeling she'll be snobbed

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