Third place:
Cécile de France, The Kid with a Bike [72 points / 12 votes]
Second place:
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables [88 points / 13 votes]
And your winner...
Amy Adams, The Master [146 points / 22 votes]
"It has been said that man’s pursuit of a woman’s favor has led to the creation of great works of art and inspired men to power and conquest. Think of women like Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Lady Macbeth or Peanuts’ Little Red-Haired Girl and you’ll see. As much as The Master is a film about men and masculinity, Amy Adams might represent its strongest force.
If this is true, casting Adams in such a pivotal role seems intentionally perplexing. Well-known for portraying naive or innocent characters (Junebug, Catch Me If You Can, Enchanted, last year’s The Muppets), Adams could inhibit the post-war American housewife facets of Peggy Dodd in her sleep. Indeed, Peggy is introduced as a sweet motherly type, nurturing the clueless Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) when he first stumbles into her world and a spiritual movement known as the Cause, led by her ringmaster husband Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Her unflappable belief in her husband’s methods makes her a highly valued force within the Cause but also feeds a darker side. She is understandably protective of her flock as well as her place within it. Over time, Peggy perceives Freddie’s often drunken or disruptive presence in the group as a threat and urges Lancaster to oust him. When her appeals are ignored, she directly confronts the threat and is unafraid to get her hands a little dirty in the process.
One of the major themes of The Master is the struggle to conquer one’s inner animal. To this end, it’s even possible to extrapolate that Peggy herself is the “true” Master -- not simply an equal, but capable of quietly manipulating the boisterous, preening man-animals in life to her benefit. In this interpretation of a monumentally slippery film, Peggy’s vision for the Cause has fueled Lancaster’s passion and built him into the leader he has become. In the face of public challenge and rejection, she is the muse that has provided Lancaster protection from his baser outbursts, which eerily resemble Freddie’s. To be sure, it’s a multifaceted role, and Adams deftly subverts expectations with controlled charm. In my mind, it’s an award-worthy performance as well as a fresh direction for Adams’ still burgeoning career." -- Patrick Williamson
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