I'll keep an open mind when watching the three movies I haven't already seen but I am pretty sure I already know what my favorite is going to be. (Yes, I write this intro before I review the movies to keep it interesting!) The thing with reviewing the performances is that while I can totally hate a movie the one redeeming factor could be a stellar performance in it. I think that keeps reviewing these performances to be rewarding since it's like finding diamonds in the rough.
2009 Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
Right from the beginning you can see why this performance won the Oscar. It's absolutely brilliant and will be one of the most highly regarded characters in film for decades to come. And that's not some hyperbolic bullshit either. Waltz plays the character of Colonel Hans Landa with a gleeful evil, he's an astute detective that revels in toying with his victims. His face and mannerisms and the way he delivers his lines are so expressive and so memorable that he completely owns the character and is easily the best part of this movie. And it's another great movie from Tarantino with many memorable characters of which Waltz is in a league of his own. There's a mixture of disgust and awe and complete, intense interest at what Waltz is going to do next. In the beginning he's slick and conniving and witty and gains our respect. The next time he's a purely evil Nazi that turns on the charm to get his information. And then he is intuitive and hilarious and evil all at the same time. Waltz does a magnificent job balancing all the different nuances expected of him.
Matt Damon - Invictus
This is a Matt Damon role: a quiet, unassuming guy that becomes a leader/winner/better person. He excels at these roles and does a good job as the captain of the South African rugby team here. Even if the film is a bit too straightforward and neat in showing the nation coming together, Damon plays the role with an intense sense of duty to his country and it comes off as being very genuine. It just doesn't come off as anything extraordinary or special. Inspirational, yes, but it follows the long line of cliche sports movie heroes we've seen many times before.
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
Even if Harrelson's character doesn't wear his beret correctly, he does a good job as the Casualty Notification Officer delivering bad news in The Messenger. I liked this performance because the character seems completely human, faults and all, much like regular Army officers that I've known. There's no superhuman, Army robot, killing machine here, just a man who values his job and what it entails. There's no bravado, no loud overdone performance. You really believe in the character and can identify Harrelson with someone you know/knew in the military. That's why the performance works for me because Harrelson comes off as human and not someone's idea of what a soldier is which hurts another movie from this year that I'll get into later.
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
Let's just say this movie was not very good and go from there. The script does no one any favors in this movie and the story suffers dramatically from it. So in saying that, I don't know what Plummer could have done to make this a memorable performance. I really don't know how he and Helen Mirren were nominated for this poor film. There's just not much going on for Plummer's Tolstoy other than walking around looking content or dying. I guess you can say he does both well, but that's about all he does in this film. There's no subtleties or nuances, no layers, no emotional depth. Everything is superficial and, well, frankly boring. It's as if he put on some Russian-y clothes and was filmed doing so. Much of the fault for such a boring character (and movie) goes to the director, but a veteran actor like Plummer should be able to do something more than this.
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
Surprisingly, Tucci's first nomination comes in this terribly directed movie. Tucci does a superb job as the creepy serial killer, which is a testament to his acting ability. I've seen him in too many Meryl Streep movies and seeing him play something that goes against those types brings a little fresh air to my overall view of him. There's not much else to say about this performance besides it's completely believable. You can imagine this man living next door to you and never thinking anything of it and certainly not thinking he's a little girl serial killer. He plays the character with such an understated, quiet, repressed evil that it adds an extra layer of creepiness and really adds to the character, making him difficult to stomach. An interesting nomination on the Academy's part.
This was an alright group buoyed by Waltz's amazing performance. The rest of the men all gave some pretty average to good performances and it surprises me that some of these were in fact nominated. I again agree with the Academy and I'm not sure how anyone could not agree with them. I'm also wondering if I should lower my standards for these supporting awards since I've been wanting to be wowed by not just the winners but the other nominees as well and have so far been wholly underwhelmed. I have a feeling that will continue as I go back in time. Not saying I don't enjoy watching these films, though, because I definitely do. Even the bad ones. Really you can flip Damon and Tucci and Harrelson and I'd have no problem.
Oscar Winner: Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
My Winner: Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
Woody Harrelson
Stanley Tucci
Matt Damon
Christopher Plummer
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