Only two weeks into my new feature and I’m already a day late — apologies. My laptop (now cured, at least until its next mood swing) will graciously accept the blame.
If you missed last week’s introductory instalment, the game is a simple one. In the run-up to nomination day, I’m picking five outstanding contenders in each major category in films from the first half of the 2010 release schedule: a period repeatedly neglected by voters in favor of newer, shinier delights. We started with Best Supporting Actress — during which I learned that a lot of you really don’t like Taylor Swift, but you still all saw “Valentine’s Day” — and this week we fill in the male half of the equation.
Keen as I am on all five performances I dredged up from the January-to-June wilderness, I was somewhat disappointed to note a very similar template forming to last week’s list: one French breakthrough talent, one blockbuster high point, even one star from a particular film. All accidental, I assure you… but to think I complain about “slot” mentality in the Oscar-analysis game.
A more satisfying throughline I noticed upon gathering these five men is how many of these performances hinge on the masking and teasing of the audience’s trust; bar the fifth nominee, for whose performance the word “subtle” could only be a drawback, it’s an impressively gray-shaded and mutable collection of supporting turns. One of them could easily win my personal ballot for either half of the year; sadly, only one of these guys is even within spitting distance of the Kodak.
Nicolas Duvauchelle, “The Girl on the Train”
One of world cinema’s most promising (and, thanks to his ever-growing tattoo collection, most immediately recognizable) young actors, Duvauchelle is one of many elements making Claire Denis’s “White Material” the best thing currently on US screens, but he’s a lonelier standout in André Téchiné’s muddled political drama. As Franck, the sporty, shifty boyfriend of Emilie Dequenne’s directionless young graduate, Duvauchelle is by turn coldly and charmingly cavalier – the only sinuous character in an otherwise airless dramatic setup. His early exit from the scene rather stops the audience in their tracks; unfortunately, the same goes for the film.
Michael Fassbender, “Fish Tank”
I’ll come clean here: unlike last week’s unexpectedly crowded Best Supporting Actress group, my first draft of this list effectively read, “Michael Fassbender and four other guys.” It’s been 18 months and two more viewings since I was first wowed by Andrea Arnold’s sink-estate drama, and Fassbender’s is the performance that reveals more at each turn: as the kindly boyfriend of the teen protagonist’s neglectful mother, his delicate negotiation of the queasy divide between parental and sexual impulse gives the film its messy emotional heft, but he’s responsible for some unexpected stabs of joy too. In some parallel universe, the Oscar is already his.
John Hawkes, “Winter’s Bone”
With Jennifer Lawrence’s deserved Best Actress nomination looking all but a sure thing at this point, the question remains whether voters who are only now popping in their screeners will notice the rock-solid band of character actors bolstering her work. Chief among these is Hawkes, long a reliably dissolute Amerindie player, but here called upon to do more fractious, concealed work than usual: as he unfussily holds back on the nature and his intent of his relationship to Lawrence’s headstrong Ree, the maintenance of mystery in the film falls largely on his shoulders.
Rhys Ifans, “Greenberg”
Here in the UK, at least, Rhys Ifans’s profile as an actor has rather been eclipsed by his second career as a kind of professional West London partier, so it was a witty move on Noah Baumbach’s part to cast him as the kind of gone-to-seed rock ‘n’ roll dabbler he’s been acting as for the last few years anyway. The surprise is that this kind of personality-based trick has resulted in the most searching and affecting performance of the actor’s career: his Ivan is an organized, surface-only wastrel who has admitted to his limitations and made peace with them, beautifully balancing the title character’s uncertain yearnings.
Sam Rockwell, “Iron Man 2”
Yeah, yeah, Rockwell is fine in “Conviction,” even if Juliette Lewis does her darnedest to ensure no other actor gets out of that film alive. But if we must finally hand the man his well-earned first nomination this year, why not make it for genuinely inspired, grandly entertaining work in a film that pretty much needs to be stolen? Rockwell is a gleefully lascivious yet wincingly dorky foil to Tony Stark in this over-inflated blockbuster sequel, playing things interestingly close to Robert Downey Jr.’s own brand of smooth peanut-butter smarm, and providing the best possible reason for a third trip to this particular well.
Which supporting actors stick in your mind from the first half of 2010? Have your say in the comments. Next week, we press pause on the acting races and venture into the writers’ lounge.
[Photos: IFC Films, Strand Releasing, Roadside Attractions, Focus Features, Paramount Pictures]
Comments
72 responses to “FIRST-HALF FYC: Best Supporting Actor”
Justin Timberlake’s performance in TSN floored me in many ways. He showed a lot of nuance and control of tone in what could have been an over the top perf and for me, I’d rather he get nominated than garfield.
I sense I’m going to be repeating this a lot throughout this series of columns, but we’re talking first half of the year.
Steve Carrel in Date Night. As for Iron Man 2…NO. Give it for a role that is actually worthy.
Why not just call it the “overlooked and underrated” instead limiting it to “first half”? Especially since most in the first half generally all fall in that category.
Completely with you on Rockwell in Iron Man 2, Guy. Of all the nonsense in that film, the most spectacular thing was Rockwell’s dance. And his fake tan.
Thank God he was doing something of note, because no one else was.
Anyway, my picks:
Oliver Platt in Please Give. It’s a great cast, great performances all around, and with Platt there’s just this calmness about him. Reminded me of Stanley Tucci in Julie & Julia, in a way.
Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow in Shutter Island. Class actors in some juicy roles.
Sharlto Copley in The A-Team. He was the only one who seemed to really be able to capture the character he was playing. Not a great performance or anything, but I think he should get credit while the rest were being lazy.
Why not just call it the “overlooked and underrated” instead limiting it to “first half”?
Because the first-half requirement imposes an element of challenge, which makes it more fun for me. And because people have very different ideas about the meaning of the term “underrated.”
I know there’s a month left to go in the year, but I think Michael Fassbender in “Fish Tank” might be my favorite performance in any category from this year.
And Rhys Ifans is a great pick too. A surprisingly moving performance.
I don’t know why I didn’t connect the actor from “White Material” to the one from “The Girl on the Train.” Especially given the tattoos. But I intensely disliked the latter film, so maybe I was blocking it out.
Hear hear, re: Ifans — still the most soulful supporting performance of the year for me.
I’m guessing Bill Murray just missed the cut-off, July and all?
I don’t care who gets nominated in any category, as long as John Hawkes is there.
Michael Shannon in The Runaways was a great one.
Love the mention of Ifans in Greenberg. It’s an overlooked film to begin with, and he’s also in the shadows of Stiller and Gerwig. Nice to see someone pick him out. He does a lot of heavy lifting in terms of providing that film’s emotional payoff.
Loyal: I wouldn’t have included Murray anyway.
For me, I found Bill Cobbs to be absolutely superb in a small, but meaningful supp. performance in ‘Get Low’. Anyone else agree?
I completely agree with John Hawkes. It’s the best supporting performance I’ve seen this year.
But Timberlake and Hammer from “The Social Network” should also be considered.
“But Timberlake and Hammer from “The Social Network” should also be considered.”
First. Half.
Pierce Brosnan in The Ghost Writer. He has very little screen time compared to what the previews indicate, but he is fabulous and those scenes that he is in tower over the rest of the movie, creating a mystery of who his character really is and might be.
Rhys Ifans is hilarious in Charlie Kaufman’s criminally underseen “Human Nature”. His Puff is sheer comic genius.
This is from the beginning of the year but my favorite male supporting performance of the year by far is Anthony Hopkins in the wicked brilliant “Tall Dark Stranger”.
I keep hearing such endorsements for Hopkins in “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger” and someone is going to have to explain it to me. Lucy Punch is the only person in that cast making any effort whatsoever.
I thought Rockwell did a pretty terrible job in Iron Man 2. I love Moon and think highly of the man but it seemed to me that he wasn’t in love with the role.
Shutter Island had some great supporting roles. And I personally loved Alfred Molina in Prince of Persia but that’s just me.
I’m really excited because “Fish Tank” is coming to Criterion on BluRay in February. Can’t wait to get that. Loved that movie.
Love this series and the idea of sticking to the January to June release window (sorry Tom Hardy!)
My relatively atypical picks:
Joe Anderson (The Crazies) – 2010’s second best horror film boasted three core performances that are altogether better than the material deserves. Anderson has the most interesting of the three core survivors of the zombie-esque outbreak (Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell play the others). Anderson, also good in Across the Universe, makes his character’s gradual disintegration a sight to see.
John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone) – Guy’s write-up works for me…
Jackie Chan (The Karate Kid) – Yikes, I never would’ve expected this. But I thought there was an astounding amount of believable emotion in Chan’s breakdown over his lost family. A deft balance of comedy and soul.
Sam Rockwell (Iron Man 2) – I’d add that he was rumored to have been Jon Favreau’s first choice as Tony Stark and I would’ve loved to see what he would have done with the franchise.
Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island) – The first time I saw Shutter Island I was rather let down by the usually strong Ruffalo, something about his role lacked conviction to me. Having seen it twice more since then, I’ve realized the genius of the role – the subtle ways Ruffalo alludes to his character’s identity are incredibly effective.
Two actors I’d mention that are ineligible for consideration:
– Michael Sheen (Unthinkable): Junk movie yields some interesting performances at its core as Sheen continues to prove himself as one of the most versatile actors in the business.
– Sean Bean (Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974): Red Riding represents the underappreciated pinnacle of 2010. Always a great character actor, Sean Bean’s scenes with Andrew Garfield are absolutely electric and some of the most riveting moments I’ve seen this year.
For some reason I had thought Alexander Siddig (Cairo Time) was 1st half, turns out it was August, but I wanted to mention him anyway. Amazing work in a great little actor’s showpiece.
Also I think forts is on to something: Prince of Persia was pretty terrible, but Alfred Molina’s scenes are a hilarious little piece of charm in an otherwise bland and soulless movie.
If I had my way, this would be Gary Oldman’s to win (for “The Book of Eli”). And while we’re mentioning “Get Low”, am I the only one who thought Lucas Black was best in show?
Rockwell absolutely hammed it up in Iron Man 2. It was like he and Downey, Jr. were locked in the contest to who can outcheese the other in the film. Really perplexed by that inclusion.
I 100% agree with John Hawkes and would love to see him nominated (partly too because it would be cool to have someone from Eastbound and Down get an Oscar nomination). I also thought the choice of Ifans was inspired. I hadn’t forgotten about the performance, but when I saw the his name it brought back what a great job he did in that movie.
On the other hand though, I definitely disagree about Rockwell. He was one of the worst parts of Iron Man 2 to me.
John Hawkes was awesome too bad supporting actor is so strong this year.
someone said Michael Shannon for The Runaways, and i can’t be more agree on that one.
Assuming all the “Red Riding” actors are not eligible here (ludicrous), I’d have to say Garret Dillahunt’s performance in “Winter’s Bone.”
Me three re: Michael Shannon. His 2008 nom notwithstanding, I think the guy’s problem is that he does such fantastic work in roles that are too creepy for people to want to reward.
Nic Cage for Kick-Ass, anyone?
Pierce Brosnan was EXCELLENT in Ghost Writer and I loved Mark Ruffalo in Shutter Island
Otherwise I think Fassbender, Ifans and Hawkes are all great picks. (Haven’t seen other two)
“…it seemed to me that he wasn’t in love with the role.”
In fairness, what actor would be in love with that role?
And Joe7827, while I’m on the record as a non-fan of Get Low, I’ve long said that Lucas Black is my favourite thing in it.
Guy, are you not considering “A Prophet” in this set of columns? I know it was up for Best Foreign Language Film last year, but I didn’t think it gained U.S. distribution until March of this year (I saw it in April). If it’s eligible, I’d highlight Niels Arestrup.
Failing that, I’ll also single out Michael Shannon. God is he a terrifying Prohibition agent. Wait, that’s “Boardwalk Empire”. No matter, he’s terrific in “The Runaways” as well.
Christ, could we please arrest the Rockwell adoration for a moment. Even he was unimpressive in Iron Man 2. The movie was poor in each regard.
I feel you’d much better have mentioned Cage in Kick Ass for a crazy nod.
Since “Fish Tank” is one of my favourite movies this year, I echo every praise about Michael Fassbender (who could also have been nominated for his work in the amazing “Hunger” two years ago).
Haven´t seen “Winter´s Bone” yet but I support every Indie-performance that might get a chance to penetrate the elitist Hollywood society.
What else? Pierce Brosnan was career-best in “The Ghotswriter” (which doesn´t say that much, to be true, but he really nailed the arrogance of power).
1. Mark Strong (Kick Ass)
How Shakespeare would have written a comin book movie. The whole thing is a big mass of conflicting agendas and human motivations turned into a big broad comic book. Best actor in show was Strong as the villain, managing to fill the bill as both a man of power emabarrassed by his son’s weakness (yet ultimately needing his knowledge of geeky stuff) and also a cartoony mob boss.
2. Brian F. O’Byrne (Brooklyn’s Finest) In a cast full of big names, this guy as Ethan Hawke’s concerned yet doomed buddy stole the show.
3, 4. Richard Gere, Wesley Snipes (Brooklyn’s Finest) Not that the name cast members were any slouch, though.
Nic Cage (Kick-Ass) Like much of Nic Cage’s work, I’m not sure that it’s good acting, but it is unique.
Fassbender is freakin’ great in Fish Tank.
John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone
Michael Douglas – WS2
Josh Brolin – WS 2
Jeremy Renner – The Town
Max Von Sydow – Robin Hood
Honorable mention:
Richard Jenkins – Let Me In
Fish Tank came out last year
Rashad: Douglas, Brolin, Renner and Jenkins are all from the second half…
Pierce Brosnan, absolutely.
He made all the dimensions of his complex character work as a whole. Bumbling and aloof one moment, canny and menacing the next.
Bonus points for great chemistry with Olivia Williams.
I also thought Johan Hill did solid work in Cyrus even if the movie was flat around him. A full performance – no winking.
According to the Academy Fish Tank isn’t eligible.
Why? I don’t know.
Also The Killer Inside Me & Vincere.
Source: http://wwwdb.oscars.org:8100/servlet/impc.YearBrowse
Bernard, you assume I have read the article. You think too highly of me.
I shall uncomfortably saunter out of the room now.
Rashad, I believe that “Fish Tank” had it´s official release date in the US in February this year. It was screened on several Festivals in 2009, that´s true, but I suppose it´s eligible for Oscar honors.
It’s ludicrous that John Hawkes should even need to be a part of an article like this. He belongs deep in the mix for this year’s Best Supporting Actor race.
I try to bring this up time and time again, but people (paid pundits, included) simply remark that, “It doesn’t seem to be happening for him, so it’s not worth discussing.”
Well, maybe if more pundits were mentioning his name he would become part of the discussion. It’s a performance that deserves sincere notice and consideration.
People really don’t seem to understand the concept of “first half.”
What the hell happened to my last two posts in this thread?
Anyway…
JOHN HAWKES