AFT Awards: Best Actress in a Leading Role

This is the second category of the 9th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 122 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
Alice Braga (Kill Me Three Times), Brooke Bloom (She's Lost Control), Cate Blanchett (Carol), Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), Geraldine Chaplin (Sand Dollars), Giulia Salerno (Misunderstood), Greta Gerwig (Mistress America), Günes Sensoy (Mustang), Hadas Yaron (Felix and Meira), Hannah Murray (Bridgend), Helen Mirren (Woman in Gold), Jennifer Aniston (Cake), Jennifer Prediger (Apartment Troubles), Jess Weixler (Apartment Troubles), Joséphine Japy (Breathe), Julianne Moore (Freeheld), Juliette Binoche (Clouds of Sils Maria), Lola Kirke (Mistress America), Lou de Laâge (Breathe), Margot Robbie (Z for Zachariah), Melissa Rauch (The Bronze), Regina Casé (The Second Mother), Yanet Mojica (Sand Dollars)

Runners-up:
Alison Brie (Sleeping with Other People)
Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
Rooney Mara (Carol)
Taylor Schilling (The Overnight)
Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van)

The winner:
Brie Larson (Room) molded a mother with literally nothing besides her son in her life, creating a character so strong and full of happiness that in no way matched the horror of her reality.

Other nominees:
Jennifer Lawrence (Joy) teamed up with David O. Russell for another immensely successful collaboration, this time playing a real person defined by perseverance against all odds and a fantastic driven lead for a superb film. Ronit Elkabetz (Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem) was an inspiring emblem of fruitless efforts, constantly crying out for freedom and being repeatedly denied any rights. Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) stole her film from her costar with a more enticing role as a spirited, opinionated wife not content to be relegated to the shadows in any part of her relationship. Lily Tomlin (Grandma) walked all over every single other person in her film, creating a nightmare of a grandmother who actually has more heart than she cares to admit.