Five of the seven Oscarologists giving us their first predix of the year put Anne Hathaway in the best actress race for her performance as the troubled sister in "Rachel Getting Married."

And the strong critical support for the film, which opened today, certainly boosts her chances of making the final five. The comedy drama from Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme scored 84 at Meta Critic and 79 at Rotten Tomatoes.

Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times hailed Hathaway for delivering "a career changing performance." As he explains, "With her chopped hair, constant smoking and wraith-from-hell demeanor, Kym calls on aspects of Hathaway, best known for considerably lighter fare like 'The Princess Diaries,' 'The Devil Wears Prada' and 'Becoming Jane,' that simply have not been seen before, and the actress rises to the challenge beautifully, making Kym simultaneously empathetic and outrageous. It's not just that Kym has been an addict, she's done things while under the influence that even she cannot forgive herself for. Yet far from being contrite, Kym is quick to condemn everyone else. Determined to get the consideration she needs to feel whole, she lashes out at what she calls 'the Salem witch trials' atmosphere in her family."

For Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, "The last actress you'd expect to see cast as a self-loathing, frayed-nerves drug casualty is a red-carpet blossom like Hathaway. Yet from the moment she shows up, her eyes peering with a junkie's paranoid radar from beneath her Louise Brooks-helmet-slashed-with-a-straight-razor hair, the actress wires you right into her rage and awareness. Kym is a walking disaster, but a disaster with feelers, and the effect she has upon her family is to electrify them with the dreaded truths she calls up. Hathaway is a revelation: She makes toxic narcissism mesmerizing, but she also gives Kym a desperate confessional ardor."

Lou Lumenick of the New York Post called Anne Hathaway "the icing on the cake" and said, "She's the one to beat for the Best Actress Oscar for her riveting turn as Kym, who has spent years in and out of rehab after her drug use led to the accidental death of her younger brother." And A.O. Scott of the New York Times thought, "With her pale, slack features and dark-rimmed eyes framed by severe bangs, Ms. Hathaway resembles the silent film star Louise Brooks in 'Pandora’s Box,' except that Kym is less like the curious maiden of Greek mythology than like the box itself: a bottomless repository of guilt, destructiveness and general bad feeling."

Claudia Puig of USA Today found, "the film is at its best in scenes featuring Hathaway's mercurial character. It's a triumphant and darkly nuanced role for her and a departure from the more lighthearted comedic performances she has given. Though she recently showed she can pull off a period piece in her portrayal of Jane Austen in 'Becoming Jane,' she has proved beyond a doubt that she also can play a complex and tortured soul." And Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal said, "Anne Hathaway, sweeps away all clinical categories with a performance of phenomenal energy and heartbreaking beauty."

(Sony Pictures Classics)