Sneer at the Golden Globes all you like, but they forever have my respect for ignoring the troublesome buzz around Jonathan Glazer's exquisite metaphysical fairytale and acknowledging Kidman's finest hour. Some may prefer to reduce that to Kidman's finest two minutes: the astonishing sustained shot of her face at the opera, Wagner thundering before her as her expression negotiates a world of conflicting questions and realizations about the young boy who has just professed to be her late husband made flesh. It's one of the greatest close-ups in all cinema, channeling Falconetti with a “Rosemary's Baby” crop, and the centerpiece of a performance already rich in ambiguous vulnerabilities.

Awards: Best Actress (Drama) nominee, Golden Globes; Best Actress nominee, London Film Critics.