OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR

Ethan Hawke (Blaze, First Reformed, Juliet’s Naked)

Nicole Kidman (Aquaman, Boy Erased, Destroyer, How to Talk to Girls at Parties)

Julie Walters (Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, Mary Poppins Returns, Paddington 2)

John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman, The Old Man and the Gun, Of Monsters and Men)

Rachel Weisz (Disobediance, The Favourite, The Mercy)

AND THE WINNER IS:

NICOLE KIDMAN (AQUAMAN, BOY ERASED, DESTROYER, HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES) How thrilling it is to be a Kidman stan, usually when an actress enters into the second half of their acting career the roles dry up but Kidman some how has moved on and even worked much more frequently than she had during her prime. This year she starred in four films (one premiered in 2017 but was released in 2018) and with each the only thing in common was Kidman and her love of a wig. The first I saw was the 2017 holdover How to Talk to Girls at Parties, Kidman as the manager of the local punk scene is wild and fun in the small-ish role. Reunited with her Rabbit Hole director Kidman is explosive as the David Bowie in Labrytinth styled character. The next performance I saw was in Aquaman, the film which I'm sure she's made the most money on but somehow she still was able to do some great character work in a film that seemed too focused on all the visual designs. Nicole has talked about how she did this film so her children could walk her in a film and even still she managed to steal the film as the heartfelt queen of the ocean. The first of her oscar contending films Boy Erased was a rather flat film experience to watch. Kidman played the loving mother of the central character who had to go through gay conversion therapy. Kidman has recently delivered similar loving mother performances like this but this does not mean that she's not great to watch. Especially towards the end when her character realises the mistakes she's made Kidman gets to shine. The final film I saw starring Kidman was her challenging lead role as Erin in Destroyer. Kidman has talked about the darkness she felt while filming this and it can be seen because there is nothing joyous you can grasp on to. She does however outdo the rest of the film with her stellar performance. Nicole Kidman really was the performer of the year for all her work and if you ever take a look at her IMDb profile there is no sign's she's slowing down and maybe she'll contend for this again as she works and works and works.