Best Actress Rewind: 2006

Oscar Nominees:

Penelope Cruz … Volver

Judi Dench … Notes on a Scandal

Helen Mirren … The Queen

Meryl Streep … The Devil Wears Prada

Kate Winslet … Little Children

Mazur Nominees:

Maggie Cheung … Clean

Judi Dench … Notes on a Scandal

Laura Dern … Inland Empire

Gong Li … Curse of the Golden Flower

Laura Linney … Jindabyne

Oscar Winner: If I have to type any more than one sentence about Helen Mirren’s boring Oscar sweep, I might actually die of boredom.

Mazur Winner: In a year with some intense, raw portrayal’s of the female psyche, there is no woman who is as fearless as Laura Dern in David Lynch’s mind-bender Inland Empire. Dern is always one to watch, from her hysterically funny, sharp turn in Citizen Ruth (1996) to her Oscar-nominated turn in Rambling Rose (1991), Dern’s characterizations are always fresh, daring. With Inland Empire, she tops herself yet again with a dream-like ode to being an actress, being insane, and being a close collaborator of David Lynch. One of the best, most experimental performances of the entire decade.