There was a widespread perception in 2002 that the Academy had erred by nominating Kidman for Baz Luhrmann's Best Picture-nominated po-mo musical, and not for her subtler dramatic work in “The Others.” (BAFTA sided with the latter.) They'd have done well to nominate her for both, of course, but voters ultimately made the more exciting call: movie-star acting is a distinct and elusive art, and Kidman's Satine still ranks among the new century's most dazzling examples of it. Incorporating a plethora of heightened performance modes from silent melodrama to frenetic bedroom farce, it's the work of an actress fully alive to her physical possibilities, even as she discovers new ones on the job.

Awards: Best Actress (Comedy or Musical), Golden Globes, Satellite Awards; Best Actress, London Film Critics, MTV Movie Awards; Best Actress nominee, Academy Awards, Broadcast Film Critics, Dallas-Forth Worth Film Critics.