20 Best Movie Performances Of 2019

14. Awkwafina - The Farewell

Another big surprise this year was Awkwafina revealing herself to be an actress capable of great restraint in Lulu Wang's remarkable dramedy The Farewell.

The comedienne plays Billi Wang, a Chinese-American woman who comes into conflict with her family after learning that they don't plan to tell the terminally ill matriarch of the family (a wonderful Zhao Shuzhen) that she's dying.

It's challenging material that's handled with an uncommon maturity and thoughtfulness by Wang, and Awkwafina does an incredible job internalising most of Billi's emotional torment.

There aren't any big, Oscar-baiting screaming matches here, but the pain is ever palpable on Billi's face, and she is in every sense the heart and soul of the film.

It's probably too slight a performance to entertain much serious consideration from the Academy, but exemplary all the same.