The character's name is Grace, and everything about Kidman's physicality in Alejandro Amenabar's classically Gothic ghost story – from her tightly-waved coiffure to her gliding walk – seems designed to bring the minty chill of Grace Kelly to mind, albeit in a claustrophobic genre context the 1950s goddess (whom, funnily enough, Kidman is soon to play on screen) never found herself: Grace under pressure, if you will. But there are shades of Deborah Kerr brittleness, too, in Kidman's portrait of Catholic control with a grave twist – one of two performances that shot her to the top of the game in 2001.

Awards: Best Actress, London Film Critics, Kansas City Film Critics; Best Actress (Drama) nominee, Golden Globes; Best Actress nominee, BAFTA Awards, Goya Awards, Satellite Awards, Online Film Critics, Phoenix Film Critics.