A Streamer’s Guide to Best Actress

By Joe Reid Twitter @joereid
Published Feb. 20, 2018, 10:26 a.m. ET

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oscars 2018

The 2017 Best Actress field at the Academy Awards is an especially strong field, representing some of the top Best Picture contenders in a way that doesn’t always happen with the Oscars. It’s something that deserves to be celebrated, so first off a big round of applause for:

  • Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water
  • Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
  • Margot Robbie in I, Tonya
  • Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird
  • Meryl Streep in The Post

Of the above five, only Margot Robbie isn’t repping a Best Picture nominee, and given I, Tonya‘s Best Editing nomination (usually a reliable bellwether for Best Picture success), you have to figure her film came close too.

But if you’re a streaming loyalist or just someone who can’t get to the movies that often, it might be hard to get into this year’s race because you simply haven’t seen the movies yet. Neither I, Tonya nor The Post are available to watch at home at all, Lady Bird and Three Billboards are only available for digital purchase, and The Shape of Water won’t be available for another week yet.

But here’s what’s great about the Oscars: there is no shortage of reasons to have a rooting interest. These are five actresses with bodies of work that fully support your enthusiasm, so that even if you’re not on the bandwagon for one of the nominated performances, you have plenty of reason to be onboard for a Sally Hawkins win or for Meryl to take home Oscar #4.

There are also plenty of films featuring all five of these actresses that are available for you to stream TODAY. It’s a low-stress way to go from casual Oscar observer to rabid expert. Allow us to be your guide ..

Sally Hawkins

Nominated for: playing Elisa Esposito in The Shape of Water
Where can you watch?: Available for digital purchase on 2/27.
Previous Oscar Nominations: one

Sally Hawkins has been a working actress since the late ’90s — she has an uncredited role as “Villager” in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace — but it was joining the troupe of regulars in director Mike Leigh’s movies that really got her noticed. After roles in All or Nothing and Vera Drake, Hawkins took the head role in Happy-Go-Lucky. Playing the role of Poppy, the determinedly free-spirited Londoner whose commitment to positivity and kindness has hidden depths, Hawkins took home a boatload of 2008 critics awards, including the Best Actress prize from the New York, Los Angeles, and National film critics. She even won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy, besting, among others, two of her 2017 Best Actress competitors, Frances McDormand and Meryl Streep.

What Sally Hawkins Movies Can You Stream for Free?

  • Paddington: Everybody’s currently freaking out about how good Paddington 2 is, in theaters, so head on over to Netflix to watch the first one, where Hawkins plays the mom of the family that takes in that adorable Peruvian bear.
  • Never Let Me Go: Hawkins has a small role as a schoolteacher in Mark Romanek’s adaptation of the acclaimed novel, but it’s a pivotal role, and the movie is devastatingly great. You can stream it on Netflix.
  • Maudie: Hawkins was actually great in two movies this year, including this real-life story of a Nova Scotian artist. Hawkins plays the title character who ends up in an unconventional relationship with Ethan Hawke. You can watch it on Amazon Prime for free if you have the Starz subscription.
  • Blue Jasmine – Also available on Amazon Prime with Starz is the aforementioned Oscar-nominated film.

What Sally Hawkins Movies Are Worth Paying For?

Frances McDormand

Nominated for: playing Mildred Hayes in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Where can you watch it?: Three Billboards is currently available for digital purchase on Amazon Prime and iTunes
Previous Oscar Nominations: 4

What Frances McDormand Movies Can You Stream for Free?

Besides the above-listed Oscar-nominated movies, you should check out:

What Frances McDormand Movies Are Worth Paying For?

  • The fantastic Curtis Hanson film Wonder Boys would have likely been McDormand’s Oscar-nominated performance if it had happened in a year apart from Almost Famous. She’s great playing Michael Douglas’s long-suffering extramarital girlfriend. You can rent it on Amazon Video and iTunes.

Margot Robbie

Nominated for: playing Tonya Harding in I, Tonya
Where can you watch it?: It’s not available yet.
Previous Oscar Nominations: none

Margot Robbie is definitely the new girl on the block in this category, even if she’s only the second-youngest. After breaking through with The Wolf of Wall Street, Robbie’s shot up the ranks in Hollywood, though it’s nice that she’s now better known for I, Tonya than for stuff like Suicide Squad.

What Margot Robbie Movies Can You Stream for Free?

What Margot Robbie Movies Are Worth Paying For?

Unfortunately for Robbie fans, her best movies are only available for rental, rather than streaming for free. But two in particular that are super worth your money:

  • Z for Zachariah: This low-key post-apocalyptic film sees Robbie and Chiwetel Ejiofor as survivors of some kind of plague, when their isolated mountain existence is happened upon by Chris Pine (with sexy results?).
  • About Time: Robbie is only briefly in this delightful, sweet/sad British movie about romance, time-travel, and family. If you haven’t seen it, let Margot Robbie be your excuse.

Saoirse Ronan

Nominated for: playing Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson in Lady Bird
Where can you watch it?: It’s available for digital purchase on Amazon Prime and iTunes.
Previous Oscar Nominations: two

With her third Oscar nomination by the age of 23, Ronan has an iron grip on any next-generation-of-Hollywood titles. It’s remarkable what a formidable filmography she’s put together at such a young age, working with directors like Joe Wright, Wes Anderson, Peter Jackson, Peter Weir, and now Greta Gerwig. If you’re somehow not conversant in Saoirse, here are a few quick catch-up options.

What Saoirse Ronan Movies Can You Stream for Free?

  • Atonement: Ronan’s first Oscar nomination came for her performance as the young Briony in Joe Wright’s Best Picture-nominated Atonement, who thinks she sees something and acts out of a child’s sense of betrayal in a way she can never take back. It’s a great performance in a phenomenal movie, and it’s streaming on Netflix.
  • Byzantium: Easily the most underrated film on Ronan’s list is this 2013 Neil Jordan-directed movie about a pair of female vampires (Ronan and Gemma Arterton) trying to get by in a quiet English town. It’s moody and lushly violent and more emotionally affecting than you think it will be. Highly recommended that you stream it on Netflix.

What Saoirse Ronan Movies Are Worth Paying For?

  • Hanna: Another team-up with Joe Wright, this time for a child-assassin fantasy where Ronan plays a near-feral girl raised in the woods, off the grid, and it turns out is a kind of super-soldier. She’s tracked down by an extra-as-hell Cate Blanchett through a series of Eastern European funhouses and technicolor nightmares, it’s so very much fun.

Meryl Streep

Nominated for: playing Katherine Graham in The Post
Where can you watch it?: It’s not available yet.
Previous Oscar Nominations: Previous to The Post, Streep has been nominated for the Oscar a whopping twenty times (with three wins). Happily, ten of those 20 nominated performances are available to stream, if you have the right combination of subscriptions. Could make for a hell of a lost weekend:

  • 1978: Best Supporting Actress – The Deer Hunter [Amazon Prime w/ the Cinemax subscription]
  • 1981: Best Actress – The French Lieutenant’s Woman [stream on Hulu or Amazon Prime]
  • 1982: Best Actress – Sophie’s Choice [Amazon Prime]
  • 1987: Best Actress – Ironweed [Amazon Prime]
  • 1998: Best Actress – One True Thing [Amazon Prime w/ Cinemax]
  • 1999: Best Actress – Music of the Heart [Amazon Prime w/ the Starz subscription]
  • 2002: Best Supporting Actress – Adaptation [Amazon Prime w/ Cinemax]
  • 2008: Best Actress – Doubt [Amazon Prime [ w/ Starz]
  • 2009: Best Actress – Julie & Julia [Amazon Prime w/ Starz]
  • 2016: Best Actress – Florence Foster Jenkins [stream on Hulu or Amazon Prime]

What (Other) Meryl Streep Movies Can You Stream for Free?

  • The Hours: Somewhat shockingly, one of Streep’s all-time best performances was in a Best Picture nominee and still she didn’t get a Best Actress nomination for it. There were ancillary reasons, of course, but regardless, you owe it to yourself to watch her play Clarissa Vaughn here, for the kitchen breakdown alone. Stream it on HBO GO or FilmStruck.
  • Death Becomes Her: For a while there, the knock on Streep was that she couldn’t do comedy. This Robert Zemeckis-directed film lays that false rumor to rest. Stream it on Hulu or Amazon Prime with a Showtime subscription.
  • Heartburn: Streep stars opposite Jack Nicholson as a cheated on wife in this adaptation of Nora Ephron’s novel about the end of her marriage. Stream it on Amazon Prime with a Starz subscription.
  • The River Wild: Perhaps the single most underrated performance of Streep’s career, she plays a wife/mother/rafting guide who must save her family from psycho Kevin Bacon. One of the great Saturday-afternoon movies. Stream it on Amazon Prime with a Starz subscription.
  • Angels in America: Streep plays several roles in the Mike Nichols adaptation of Tony Kushner’s towering stage play, including a hard-hearted Mormon mother, an elderly male rabbi, and the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg. It’s essential Streep viewing, and it’s on HBO GO.
  • Five Came Back: Streep doesn’t appear in this documentary series about five Old Hollywood directors who made war films during World War II, but her wise and comfortable narration is present throughout. Stream it on Netflix.

What Meryl Streep Movies Are Worth Paying For?

So many! But here are recommendations for two:

  • Silkwood: The 1983 drama about a real-life whistleblower at a nuclear plant features one of Streep’s best performances but is also the origin story for how she and co-star Cher became friends.
  • The Devil Wears Prada: It’s on TV every other day, but if you somehow have not seen Streep’s Miranda Priestly, the performance that should have been her third Oscar win, you owe it to yourself and the world.