20 Best Movie Performances Of 2017

12. Sally Hawkins – The Shape Of Water

Sally Hawkins has been reliably chipping away at her craft for years and years, typically in a supporting capacity, so it's great to see her land a huge leading role in a major Hollywood movie, one which she totally knocks out of the park.

As mute janitor Elisa Esposito, Hawkins' wordless performance relies solely on her physical actions to convey emotion, either by way of sign language or her facial expressions, and she totally nails it.

While it would've been easy for her more subdued work to get lost in the shuffle opposite both the fascinating creature and the spoken efforts of her co-stars, Hawkins' soulful performance speaks volumes even without making a single sound.

After being snubbed for several of her terrific, Oscar-worthy turns in the past, this is the right time for the Academy to make it up to her.