Top 16 Best Supporting Actress Performances

Top 16 Best Supporting Actress Performances

of the Last Decade (2000 to 2009)

If you think there are performances that should be on the list, please tell me in the comments. I probably haven't seen them yet, so it would be great to get some feedback. Thanks as always, - Ben.

If you like this list, check out my other lists!

Top 10 Leading Actor Performances of the Last Decade

Top 10 Leading Actress Performances of the Last Decade

Farewell My Concubine (1993) – ★★★★★

Director: Kaige Chen
Writers: Bik-Wa Lei, Pik Wah Li (Novel and Screenplay)
Stars: Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang, Li Gong, Zhi Yin, Hailong Zhao

Farewell my Concubine is undoubtedly one of the greatest movies ever made. It spans throughout 5 decades of chinese history, and follows one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever seen. It’s costumes are spectacular and the cinematography is brilliant. What makes this one of the greatest movies ever made is the acting. For me, there were no actors in this movie, only the characters. It is a class of acting that you seldom see in Western cinema. If you won’t watch the film on the heart-wrenching story alone, then watch it for one of the greatest performances of all time by Leslie Cheung.

This is the story of two men, Douzi (Leslie Cheung) and Shitou (Fengyi Zhang), who met as apprentices in the Peking Opera, and remained in contact for over 50 years. Both of them grew up to star in the opera ’Farewell My Concubine,’ where Douzi played the Concubine and Shitou played the King of Chu.

Over the years we see the era of the Warlords (1920s), the Japanese invasion (mid 1940s), the retaking of China by the nationalists (late 1940s), and then the communist era of Mao Zedong. This epic story spans all the way to 1977, and not once does the excitement or attachment to the story falter.

Leslie Cheung truly embodied this character and brought it to life. It was all in his eyes, every emotion that you could imagine. The anger, frustration, terror, love, and heartbreak all came across plainly on his face. There hasn’t been a performance that moved me this much in a long time. From losing the man he loves to overcoming an opium addiction, every single movement, word, and expression was perfect.

Li Gong also gave a breathtaking performance as a former prostitute and the wife of Shitou. Honestly, there is nothing this woman can’t do. She’s able to display such strength, and such fragility, all wrapped up into one character. Together, Gong and Cheung have brilliant chemistry as two ‘women’ who want the same man.

There is plenty of brutality in this film, mixed with plenty of tenderness. It’s not completely tragic, for there is a lot of hope in these characters. You cannot describe this film with a genre or a word. It’s more than a period drama, or a romance, or a tragedy.

These characters are interesting enough from a psychological perspective alone. If there’s one thing I love about Farewell My Concubine, it’s that it begs you to discuss it afterwards. You're left to connect the dots when it comes to motives, feelings, and symbolism.

I was thrilled from start to finish with this masterful film. It truly is one of the greatest movies ever made. Schindler’s List may have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards during the same year, but for me this is a film worthy of that title. There’s nothing I could fault about Farewell My Concubine. I recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in history and psychology

Raise the Red Lantern (1991) - ★★★★★

Director: Yimou Zhang
Writers: Ni Zhen (screenplay), Su Tong (novel, "Wives and Concubines")
Stars: Li Gong, Saife He, Cuifen Cao, Lin Kong

Based on the novel "Wives and Concubines" by Su Tong, Raise the Red Lantern is an absolutely riveting film that delves into the world of four women married to the same man. This movie had me hooked from the very first scene and didn't let go. If you didn't know anything about the lives of concubines years ago in China, then this film will most likely clear up most questions. It displays the competitive, betraying, and luxurious world of four very interesting women.

When the fourth mistress (Li Gong) arrives, the lives of these women are changed forever. There is an immediate spark of competitiveness between herself and the third mistress (Saife He); a deceiving friendship with the second mistress (Cuifin Cao); and mutual disinterest with the first mistress. All of the scheming eventually leads to the true personalities of these characters being revealed, which turns out to be both shocking and fascinating.

I have to say that after seeing this film, Li Gong would have to be one of the greatest actresses I've ever seen, and my absolute favorite from Asia. Film after film she gives stunning performances with an array of different characters; her role as 'The Fourth Mistress' is no exception. Her monologue in the very first scene is such a masterpiece of acting and cinema. Throughout the film we see her fall, grow, evolve and descend. She is such a thrill to watch on screen.

The supporting actresses were terrific also, with Cuifin Cao playing a brilliantly intelligent 'Second Mistress.' Her character intrigued me greatly, for her motives, past, and cleverness was something I wished to explore further. The same goes with Saife He's 'Third Mistress,' who was a charismatic, attention seeking opera singer. One other performance I feel should not go unsung is Lin Kong's brilliant performance as the uneducated yet scheming servant to the Fourth Mistress. If anything, I felt most for her, which is an achievement that the other actresses did not evoke out of me as much.

It is important to note that the cinematography in this is breathtaking at points, then tedious in others. I can't stress enough how beautiful each shot of the mansion was, and how incredible the set and costume design was. However, there were so many establishing shots of the mansion, and the mistresses, where nothing happened. I think at least 15 minutes of the film must have been camera shots of the scenery, which to me felt unnecessary. It did manage to suck me into their world, where what happens outside of the walls is a mystery to the women and us all.

With that being said, Raise the Red Lantern is a masterpiece by Yimou Zhang. This movie invests you into the lives of these women, and provokes you to think of their motives, their past, their thoughts and their feelings. Every scene is a work of art in its way, and there is a great use of symbolism in many scenes. This film may bore some people, but for me, it was so interesting that I saw it twice in a row.

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - ★★★★★

Director: Rob Marshall
Writers: Robin Swicord (screenplay), Arthur Golden (novel)
Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh, Li Gong

I started watching this film with little knowledge on the life of a Japanese Geisha, and left in amazement at the skills they have and the lives they lead. This secret world has been opened up with this wonderful film that beautifully depicts the true story of one Japanese Geisha with blue eyes; the eyes of water.

Set in 1929, an impoverished nine-year-old girl named Chiyo is sold to a geisha house in Kyoto, where she undergoes cruel treatment from the owners and the head geisha Hatsumomo (Li Gong). Her stunning beauty attracts the vindictive jealousy of Hatsumomo, until she is taken under the wing of Hatsumomo's bitter rival, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh). Under her mentorship, Chiyo becomes the geisha named Sayuri (Ziyi Zhang), trained in all the artistic and social skills a geisha must master in order to survive in her society. As a renowned geisha she enters a society of wealth, privilege and war between herself and Hatsumomo. Not far in the future is World War II, where the world of geisha's are changed forever.

I had my reservations about the film being in the English language rather than Japanese because I felt that it would be less effective. One of the great things about Memoirs of a Geisha was that it felt authentically Japanese whilst being spoken in English. It submerges you in the world of these Geishas, where they must compete against each other in order to get customers and earn a living. It also shows the sad reality that many of these women were sold into the business and had to become Geishas to pay back the debt they owed to the people that bought them. It's a very education film that leaves you thinking.

The acting throughout the film was just marvellous, with the accents sounding authentic for the most part. Li Gong as Hatsumomo was the standout of the film, who could stare daggers into Sayuri whilst still looking kind. Ziyi Zhang was great as the young and kind main character. Michelle Yeoh commanded the attention of the audience whenever she was on-screen. She did the same in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but this time as a graceful geisha rather than a martial arts expert.

From the very first scene I was sucked into the story of Sayuri. The story is told so well through the usage of astonishingly beautiful music and locations. It's no wonder that Memoirs of a Geisha won three Academy Awards including an Oscar for cinematography. At the centre of the film is a very sweet love story that does not overbear the many stories from other moments in her life. The love story has such great importance to the movie yet is only mentioned from time to time, which made it all the more effective.

I cannot say whether the film does the book justice. All I know is that if the book is much better than this adaptation, then that must be one hell of a book!