There were a plethora of major female performances in both supporting and leading categories. That said, this series for "The Best of 2015" will give our writers an opportunity to pick their respective choice from either the supporting or best lead actress.

One Moment Makes a Huge Impact - Cate Blanchett in "Carol"

By David Salazar

There were two actresses that really owned 2015 -- Alicia Vikander and Cate Blanchett. While the former showed her tremendous versatility across three major films (and stealing every single scene from her co-stars), Blanchett arguably delivers the most gut-wrenching moment of the entire year in film and hence why she winds up taking the cake for this writer.

We are well into the second half of Todd Hayne's "Carol." The eponymous character is at the end of her rope, losing her lover and now essentially facing the loss of her daughter. She is sitting across from her husband Harge battling over her future, her marriage's future and more importantly, the future of their child.

Carol is lost in this moment her only real outlet is to go to court and prolong the battle. It is at this moment that Blanchett's Carol stands up for the first time in the scene, assuming the "power" position and makes a threat. She is aggressive, borderline unhinged in this instance, the very first time we see Carol lose her composure. She is a wreck and she tells him that things could get "ugly."

And then the moment comes. In a split second, she turns back to him, her heart in her hands and she tells Harge that "we are not ugly people." We catch a hint of Carol choking up and are struck by the pain in the statement. She is angry at her husband. Furious that he is doing everything in his power to retain her by his side or take away her daughter, the light of her days. And yet she cannot help but appeal to the fact that, at heart, they are both humans -- not monsters. It is this moment that makes Blanchett such a wondrous actress and never has she been this good.

Throughout the remainder of the film, she gives off a brimming confidence, her exterior rather cold and calculate, hiding the tempestuous interior that will slowly come to the fore and climax in the aforementioned scene. Her magnetic presence makes us fall in love with her in the same way that Therese does and the pain of not seeing them together becomes our pain. Rooney Mara has a lot to do with this as well, but Blanchett is simply on another level, giving this writer's favorite female performance of 2015.

Also worthy of note: Alicia Vikander in "Ex-Machina" and "The Danish Girl" are getting a lot of buzz but her best work is in "Testament of Youth." Rooney Mara is fascinating in "Carol" while Brie Larson is heart-breaking in "Room." Kristen Stewart is also worthy of mention for her work in "The Clouds of Sils Maria." Let's also give a big nod to Daisy Ridley for delivering the best turn in any "Star Wars" movie to date.

A Breakout Year! - Alicia Vikander

By Francisco Salazar

In a year with so many great performances, it is truly hard to pick a Best Actress. The year included great work from Kate Winslet in her role in "Steve Jobs," Brie Larson in "Room," Saoirse Ronan in "Brooklyn," Kristen Stewart in "Clouds of Sils Maria" and Jane Fonda and Rachel Weisz in "Youth." There was also Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett, who both lit up the silver screen with their ravishing work in "Carol."

However, the one star that really broke out and created some of the most memorable performances was Alicia Vikander, who proved she could handle any type of role in the five films she starred in. She starred in "Burnt" and "The Man from U.N.C.L.E," but her work in "Testament of Youth," "The Danish Girl" and "Ex Machina" are the roles worth mentioning.

In "Testament of Youth," Vikander carries the movie with her fearless strength in what may be her best work of the year. In this film she play Vera Britain and the character must go through a series of emotions from fighting for equality to coping with the death her beloved in war. Vikander's performance is equally physical and emotional particularly in the moments where her character works as a nurse and attends to the wounded. One of the most memorable moments in the film is toward the end as she stands up in a rally and asks for peace.

Vikander delivers her monologue with impassioned tone but there is clearly some distress, especially after all she has gone through during the First World War.

In "Ex Machina," Vikander plays Ava, a robot that is being experimented on. Here Vikander lets go of her emotions and uses her sensual voice to seduce the audience and the characters on screen. Vikander takes advantage of being trapped in the body of a robot, blurring the lines between the automaton and human expression, her piercing eyes particularly resonant.

Her final performance of the year comes from "The Danish Girl" where she plays the real life figure Gerda Wegener. Vikander's Gerda is a strong, vibrant woman at the beginning but quickly must summon the more emotional resources to cope with her husband who goes through sex reassignment surgery. While Gerda is clearly suffering and longs for her husband to return, Vikander never falls into the trappings of over-sentimentality. Instead she gives her character courage and vigor. While the title mostly references Lili's transformation, one could easily say it is Vikander's Gerda who is referenced in the title as well. While she has wonderful chemistry with Eddie Redmayne, it is Vikander who easily steals each scene and gives her character the biggest arc in the film.

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