Meryl Streep, Doubt
The "greatest living actress" turned Sister Aloysius, the Catholic school principal investigating a possible act of sexual predation, into such a preening harpy that the character becomes nearly impossible to accept with a straight face. Indeed, one smart critic, Jim Emerson of rogerebert.com, chose to champion "the outlandishly broad comedy of Streep's 'The Devil Wears a Bonnet' performance... I don't think she's getting enough credit for how funny she is."
Actually, she got her usual credit: an Oscar nomination, her 15th (a record). Streep won Oscars, for Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie's Choice, two of the first four times she was nominated. Since then, the voters have used her only to fill out their dance cards; she's been a finalist 10 times without winning (also a record). Though she won the Screen Actors Guild prize for Doubt, this Bride of Christ is likely to be an Oscar bridesmaid once more. Odds of winning: 4 to 1