Top five performances
1. Notes on a Scandal
2. Mrs. Brown
3. A Handful of Dust
4. Wetherby
5. A Room with a View
You know what? It's kinda silly, but I'd throw M in Skyfall onto that list. She shines out in that movie, and for M to shine out in a Bond film takes real talent. She took what could have been a nothing, ho-hum role ("The Spymaster") and made her work so memorable in the series that the producers retained only Dench during the reboot. Her exit-stage-left from the series was handled in Skyfall in a highly dramatic and wonderful way because, again, by her acting capability alone, no one would have been satisfied without Dame Judi having her moment to glow. She throttled a good performance out of that role and got written a better part because she was so darn good.
Consider Anthony Hopkins in Mission: Impossible II: similar "boss" role, but he didn't make the same gravy out of it and, consequently, he isn't integral to the series as Judi Dench was to Bond.
So, Bond films might be a bit of frivolous fun, but she owned the part so hard...how does that not make a list?
Oh, she is excellent in Skyfall and I certainly considered that performance when making my list. Despite the genre it is a full-blooded performance - Dench brings dignity and gravitas to the role of M and would probably be my number 6 or 7 pick.
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