The films of 2022 are coming to a close, meaning it is time for the Best of the Year list and the race to the Academy Awards has truly begun. One of the most exciting races this year is the Best Actress category. There have been several great performances that have generated awards season buzz from Viola Davis in The Woman King, Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans, and even Mia Goth in the horror film X. Yet two stars have jumped to the front of the race.

The Best Actress Oscar seems to be split between Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once and Cate Blanchett in the great film Tár. These are two great performances from two of the best actresses working today from very different movies. Take a look at what both performances have going for them and what is going against them, as well as who should win the Best Actress Oscar.

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Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once

     A24

Michelle Yeoh has been an international star for years, and in recent years has truly become a major player in Hollywood blockbusters like Crazy Rich Asians and Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings. In Everything Everywhere All At Once, Yeoh is given the task of playing multiple versions of herself across the multiverse. She has to balance many different personalities, while also showcasing some impressive stunt work, all while carrying an emotional story. Yeoh’s performance is cited by many as the best of her career and has already won Best Actress from the National Board of Review, The Saturn Awards, and the Boston Society of Film Critics.

The biggest obstacle in Yeoh’s way is just the style and tone of Everything Everywhere All At Once. While a critically acclaimed film and likely a big hit with the Academy’s younger members, the film could alienate some of the older Academy voters who might not see it or Yeoh’s performance as “Oscar-worthy.” Yeoh’s performance does not fit the traditional perimeters of what people expect from an Oscar performance, and the very fact that it is a more subtle nuanced performance instead of a showy scenery-chewing extravaganza might work against her.

Cate Blanchett in Tár

     Focus Features

Since premiering at the Venice Film Festival, Tár has generated rave reviews from critics and all of them single out Cate Blanchett’s performance. Tár is very much a performance piece, one the rest on the talent of the star, and Blanchett truly shines. In a career filled with incredible performances, for Tár to be considered one of if not the best performances by the star are certainly high praise. Blanchett already won Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and has won Best Actress from the New York Film Critics Association and The Los Angeles Film Critics Association just to name a few.

While Blanchett might seem like the lock, the fact that she has previously won two acting Oscars for her might work against her. That certainly didn’t stop Daniel Day-Lewis from winning three Academy Awards for Best Actor, there is always the case that Academy voters might think that Blanchett’s performance is phenomenal they may want to give attention to someone who doesn’t have an Oscar already.

Who Should Win

Both Blanchett and Yeoh gave two incredibly great performances this year and both are worthy of awards recognition. It is a shame only one can win. There is always a chance that they tie like in 1969 at the 41st Academy Awards where Barbra Streisand and Katherine Hepburn both tied for Best Actress for Funny Girl and The Lion in Winter respectively. However, in all reality, one has to win so who should it be?

While Blanchett’s performance certainly is a powerhouse, and the movie hangs on her performance Yeoh winning feels more appropriate. Tár is a great movie but also the performance is a more traditional role that tends to win Academy Awards, while Yeoh’s role in Everything Everywhere All At Once is thematically similar but tonally different from any other Best Actress win it would be a great chance to redefine what is an Oscar-worthy role. While Blanchett having two Oscars already should not take away from the performance and it should speak for itself, it is hard to argue that in terms of a telecast the award going to someone who has not won before certainly makes for a powerful moment.

Yet aside from that, Yeoh gives an incredible performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Yeoh’s performance has oddly been overshadowed by her co-star Ke Huy Quan who has quickly become the front-runner for Best Supporting Actor. Quan’s performance is incredible, but it should not take away from the incredible work Yeoh does in the movie. Yeoh has not only spent years giving incredible performances in movies, and with her performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once being considered her best then it can be argued she should win Best Actress for not just being the best performance this year but the best performance of a career.