In my opinion, the Oscars for Acting have far more to do with the writing than with the acting. Oscars are, often as not, awarded because people loved the role, and probably would have as long as anyone reasonably competent had played it.
Real acting doesn’t come along very often, because most screen plays are written to present fairly normal people reacting to events in believable ways; it’s not hard for someone to act the role because it’s pretty easy to imagine yourself in the situation and just express the emotions that come naturally. Plus, the words, the script, often carry the burden of conveyance.
But yesterday, I saw the new version of The Stepford Wives. In my opinion, it was a nice enjoyable bit of fluff, with, in general, nothing spectacular called for. However, early in the movie, Nicole Kidman comes in to work as a high powered executive, excited about beginning another day (apparently there really are people who enjoy going to work - go figure), and is told that she is fired. The camera then goes for a medium closeup on Kidman’s face. For about five seconds, we see her, initially smiling and gradually the smile fades as she actually processes what she’s just heard. And suddenly the realization hits! She exhales as if she’s been hit, her eyes suddenly fill with tears and her nose turns read as she looks at her firer in stunned disbelief.
It’s not that difficult to summon tears. But to suddenly go from a half smile to barely suppressed weeping in considerably less than a second! That’s acting. But it’s a brief moment in a not particularly memorable role in a not particularly memorable movie, so it will certainly never see an Oscar.
So, do you have other “pet moments” in movies where the acting struck you as particularly superb? Not the dialog, or the profundity of the moment, or its importance to the movie, but the acting itself?
Just about any performance by Tony Shaloub. Or Alec Guinness. The thing about those guys is that they are (or were) so good that you could never tell they were acting. They just don’t draw much attention to themselves.
But I’d have to go with Stallone’s performance in Cop Land. It was all in his eyes, you see.
Paul Newman in Nobody’s Fool. He did an amazing job of playing a broken down construction worker with childhood abuse issues. Neither he nor the movie got any mention, as I recall. It’s still one of my favorite all-time films.
Anthony Hopkins’ performance as Dr. Frederick Treves in The Elephant Man (a movie I mentioned in another thread earlier today).
Now that he’s famous, there’s mention of his performance in this movie. But in 1980 he was unknown to the general public, and most attention went to director David Lynch and Best Actor nominee John Hurt. In fact, I think Hopkins’ performance in this movie is better than his performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.
The man is good in just about everything I’ve seen him in. But he really blew me away in Creeps. Creeps is a horror/comedy about an invention which brings Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the Wolfman from the realm of fiction to our world. But, due to a malfunction, they’re dwarfs. Fondecarro plays Dracula. He does the role as straight horror, and he’s one of the best Draculas I’ve ever seen. He’s frightening, sensual, primal, and commanding. Before this, I’d realized that he was a much better actor than the rest of the cast in the many b movies he’s in. In Creeps, I realized that had Phil been born of normal stature, he’d be a household name and have more awards than shelfspace.
Some of you may think this is a stretch, but I’ve always said no one could have pulled off ** Ace Ventura{/b] as well as Jim Carrey. I’m still amazed to this day how effectively he played the role; just seemed so natural.
A lot of people think Carrey is a joke, but his performances in The Majestic and Man on the Moon were pretty impressive. I think in another 20 years we may see him looking at an Oscar.
You talk as if this is easy to do. Here’s a tip: Try it yourself sometime. And not just in front of a mirror after you finish brushing your teeth… go to your local community college and audition for a show.
Another 20 years? Hell, I think he deserves an Oscar NOW, for his performance in Eternal Sunshine.
I’m embarrassed that I don’t know the name of he actor or his character, but one of the guys in John Carpenter’s The Thing, gave a tour de force performance, including, having a heart attack, opening his chest and biting off the arms of the man giving him CPR, and stretching out his head so far from his body that his neck snapped like a piece of Play-Doh, causing his head to drop to the floor, whereupon, he sprouted spider legs from it, and scuttled underneath a table.
Well, the role will definately never will an Oscar for the simple fact that it’s on TV, but James Gandolfini consistently blows me away as Tony Soprano. And I mean almost every week for season after season, not just in one movie. His performances are almost always vivid, realistic, full of emotion - you can tell on his face when he knows he just stepped over the line and he went and said that one thing he shouldn’t have said anyway.
He’s been in some movies, but he always plays the same guy anyway (although it’s hard to measure up to him beating up Patricia Arquette in True Romance. I’ve never seen a woman get seriously beaten up like that in a movie before or since.) I doubt he’ll ever really have a career as anybody but Tony Soprano, but there’s definately, absolutely no shame in that. Everything he does as that character is utterly and perfectly convincing, every time, every week. I mean, damn.
Tim Robbins and Jennifer Jason Leigh’s performances in The Hudsucker Proxy perfectly capture the feel of the time period. Many of their co-stars, Paul Newman, Bill Cobbs, Jim True-Frost, Bruce Campbell, and John Mahoney, also put in performances that make the movie live up to its larger than life set design, screenplay, and direction by the Coen Brothers.
I don’t think that’s always the case, but it’s definitely true at times since most of the time similar parts win awards. In particular the Academy seems to favor older, veteran actors playing ‘mentor’-type parts.
Kevin Spacey in L.A. Confidential. He’s won Oscars for other roles and deserved them, but I think he’s just terrific here. His last scene in the movie is just amazing. I guess I’ll use the boxes since the title doesn’t say anything…
I’ve never seen anybody die so convincingly. You can actually see the life go out of his face. It’s fucking spooky, and I still have no idea how he did it. Amazing.
Denzel Washington was nominated for Malcolm X and should have won, I don’t care what the competition was. There’s not one particular scene in there, just the whole damn movie.
I never thought about it before, but you’re right. That’s another thing about Oscars (although it’s hardly a novel observation)- great comic performances just don’t get the same respect.