3. Denis Lavant - Holy Motors
Leos Carax's Holy Motors was a colourful explosion of creativity and self-conscious, provocative oddness. It was so weird and occasionally alarming that it polarised critics and almost intentionally shunned any chance it would ever have of commercial success - but then that was always the point. It was a fever dream with no explanation, nor none needed, and it left a far greater imprint last year than other, far better films did. But aside from all of the unconventional elements, Denis Lavant's central performance as the appropriately named M Oscar (and a myriad of other characters) was astoundingly good. We might not necessarily have enjoyed what he was doing on screen - or understood a good deal of it come to that - but it's impossible not to admire how accomplished his performance was. In truth it was probably the greatest performance of its type ever committed to film - for whatever that is worth...
Why The Snub? The performance was just too odd-ball, and it's still hard to imagine the Academy will reward any performances featuring an erect penis (whether real or not). It's a modern world, but it's not quite that modern yet.