Tess Harper vs Bonnie Hunt
Firstly I want to say that I loved all of the performances.
Many on this board are raving about Bonnie Hunt and whilst her performance was extremely good I think the stand out performance was actually Tess Harper as Elizabeth Austin, the reverand's wife / Mikes adoptive mother. Her journey is better portrayed with sublime subtelty and a vulnerability that is mined more effectively than Bonnie Hunt's character. You can actually witness her thought processes through her face whereas Bonnie Hunt has, sometimes, a tendency to act adjectives.
I'm not familiar with either actresses work (British and don't watch T.V)and so hopefully i'm being objective here but what do others think?