5. Helena Bonham Carter - Sweeney Todd
Despite my reservations of Tim Burtons Sweeney Todd, the performances were the least of the problems. With familiar castings in the Burton repertoire, it was Helena Bonham Carters performance as the Sweeney Todd love struck, baker, Ms. Lovett that stood out above the bleakness and the stagnation of the rest of the film. Though, not having the strongest voice, Carters performance is perfectly cast as she possesses the sad eyes, hopeful of a goal that cannot be attained, one day being with the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. That dynamic gives the film its much needed emotional core as she quickly became the only character that I was emotionally invested in as the rest of the characters lacked any real substance. She lets her acting stand for her average voice which raises the performance itself.