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The Best Individual Film Achievements of 2001

© Nicholas Moreau

Well here we are, just a few days away from the much anticipated announcement of the 74th Annual Academy Award nominations. It took a little longer for me to get my usual personal best together this year, but I finally made it! So in the next few days, I will present three articles, all before Tuesday's Oscar Nominations announcement, revealing my own personal achievements for the best in film for 2001. This was a tough year to select a ten best list ... as you'll see in my next articles, it was not immediately apparent which film I would select as the year's best film. It took a lot of thought and analysis before I arrived at my choice.

I'll summarize the year in film from my perspective in more detail next week, but this week, it's time to reveal my own individual film achievement selections in various categories. These are not my Oscar predictions, but my own personal choices for the best achievements in film for 2001.

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE -- Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind

Even though the Academy may hesitate to give this incredible actor a second Best Actor Oscar in a row, he actually deserves the Oscar this year for this absolutely incredible performance. As John Forbes Nash, Jr., Russell Crowe again digs deep into his soul to completely embody this character, as he has done so well in his past performances. Say what you want about Crowe, he is an incredibly gifted and talented actor, completely devoted to his craft. He works hard to get a character's physical look and behaviors downpat, and his Nash is another incredible transformation of a star into an extraordinary real life man.

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE -- Halle Berry in Monster's Ball

Halle Berry gave an absolutely stunning performance in one of the best films of the year, Monster's Ball. Berry found this character deep down somewhere, and gives one of the most realized female characters on screen in quite some time. The story is so powerful because of how Billy Bob Thornton and Berry find each other through desperation, and it's through their powerful performances that the desperation seems even more real.

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Steve Buscemi in Ghost World

Steve Buscemi has always been a wonderful character actor, and in Ghost World, he played an interesting everyman whose life is touched and changed in a way by his relationship with the young Enid, played by Thora Birch. Buscemi has usually played very quirky characters, but here, his quirkiness seems comforting, and his emotions all seem real, never contrived. Buscemi plays a full range of emotions in this character's life, making Ghost World one of the true delightful gems of the year.