Overlooked Performances - Best Supporting Actress

The front-runners in this category are Cate Blanchett (absolutely deserving for her brilliant turn in I'm Not There) and Amy Ryan (equally deserving for her amazing character work in Gone Baby Gone). Also getting a lot of mention are Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), Saoirse Ronan and Vanessa Redgrave (both from Atonement). I have no problem with the first two — I haven't seen Swinton's film and Ronan was haunting in hers — but Redgrave's inclusion is a head-scratcher. She appears in Atonement for about five minutes total and, while she's quite moving, it's simply not "best of" fare. Ruby Dee (American Gangster) is also in the mix, along with Catherine Keener (Into the Wild), Marisa Tomei (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) and Jennifer Garner (Juno).

OK, that's all fine and good. But what about these four women, who I've yet to see given serious award consideration?

Allison Janney - Juno

She has a small role and fifth billing behind a quartet of amazing performers, but Janney still manages to steal just about every scene she's in. Funny, strong and smart, she plays the most sympathetic stepmom in recent memory.

Kelly MacDonald - No Country for Old Men

In a movie all about the evil (and good) men do, it was the woman who best embodied the film's soul. Forget for a moment that MacDonald has a thick Scottish brogue and somehow pulls off an authentic Texas accent — reward her depiction in just a few scenes of a character so innocent, devoted and tenacious that she proves herself tougher than all the tough guys circling her.

Leslie Mann - Knocked Up

In the year's funniest film, Mann delivered big laughs and quite a bit of drama, particularly in her 'driveway' fight scene with Paul Rudd as well as her meltdown outside a nightclub. With the film's runaway success, she once seemed like a sure thing for a nomination, but the trail has gone cold.

Tabu - The Namesake

This role could also be classified as a lead, as The Namesake is the mother's story even more than the titular young man's. Gorgeous Indian actress Tabu traces Ashima's path from an innocent experiencing America for the first time to the matriarch of a proud Indian-American family, before retiring to the simple life she always longed for. Beautiful work.