Continuing my rundown of personal 2023 Oscar nominations, today I’ll look at the Best Actress category.

This year’s Oscar race is shaping up to be an exciting showdown between three very different but equally strong performances. All three made it into my lineup as well.

My honorable mentions include Julia Louis Dreyfus’s meaty turn in Nicole Holofcener’s You Hurt My Feelings and Natalie Portman’s mesmerizing performance in Todd Haynes’ May/December. I also have to mention the duo of Ayo Edibri and Rachel Sennot in Emma Seligman’s hilarious Bottoms.

And the nominees are…

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Origin
As a journalist who loses her partner and mother within the same year, Ellis-Taylor beautifully depicts the weight of grief; her face is this movie’s most impressive special effect.

Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
If this movie is about forces eating away at the soul of America, Gladstone’s Molly Burkhart represents that soul. She carries the weight of every horrible event that befalls her people, but with a quiet strength you can see in her extraordinary eyes.

Sandra Huller – Anatomy of a Fall
Huller spends most of this movie holding back her emotions, wary of how she will be judged for revealing the truths behind her messy marriage. Then in a lengthy fight scene, one of the year’s best, she embraces a host of complex feelings at once.

Margot Robbie – Barbie
The Academy left Robbie off of their list, but I’d never make that mistake. Her performance as “stereotypical” Barbie is alternately hilarious and heartfelt, a tour de force too easily discounted because it’s presented by Mattel.

Emma Stone – Poor Things
Bella Baxter is the juiciest role of the year, and nobody but Stone could have inhabited her with this much ferocity and fun. It’s hard to imagine another movie star who would have even tackled this part, let alone turned it into one for the ages.

And the winner is… Sandra Huller. With apologies to Gladstone and Stone, one of whom will likely win the Oscar, I’ve found Huller’s performance the hardest to shake.