Why compete when you can win?

This year, as in the previous two, The New York Times Magazine has tried to eschew this notion of competition by saluting the performances that moved, surprised and thrilled us, regardless of whether they were nominated for awards.

Once again, the photography team of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin has beautifully composed and captured the variety of characters who resonated with us this year and distilled the essence of what makes great movie acting great.

This is an interesting shoot.