Supporting Actor 2004

My favorite category that always seems to deliver! Let's dive in.

2004 Best Supporting Actor

Morgan Freeman - Million Dollar Baby

And the Best Voiceover Oscar goes to... No, but seriously Freeman is pretty good in this movie. I understand why he got the win and it will go to the thing I talk about over and over and that's career win. But this isn't one of those career wins that leaves you scratching your head as to what the Academy saw in it. This movie is a feel good story (at least for most of it anyway) and Freeman's character is super likeable. He's a retired boxer who helps out at Eastwood's gym and acts as the sage, old professional, the voice of reason. He helps out Swank's character, defends a simple minded trainee, adds some laughs through the great chemistry he has with Eastwood, and narrates the film on top of it all. There's no bad quality to this character but Freeman doesn't play it in a sugary way, instead he plays it as real as he can. I likened it to his character being the stand in for the viewer. Everything Freeman does and feels is what we as the audience do and feel. What I liked about it was that it seemed measured, in that he's not just a plot device but an actual character to the story. It's strong work in a beloved movie and it's clear why it was nominated and won. If the Academy is going to reward a career, there are worse performances to reward.

Alan Alda - The Aviator

It has to be asked if this is a nod to Alda's career. He was great in MASH. But his role as the opportunistic, conniving Senator from Maine isn't exactly a thing of amazing quality. Just as Blanchett overacting as Hepburn, Alda comes off extra villainous here only needing a mustache to twirl to complete the look. But that doesn't mean this is a bad performance. Far from it actually. Alda does a good job as Hughes' tormentor. It's just that there's not a lot more to the character. Most of the scenes he's in with Leo focus more on Leo. That seems an obvious thing to say for a movie like this but Scorsese doesn't linger on Alda's character much so there's not a lot to get out of the performance other than how Leo reacts. Alda makes Leo more sympathetic to us. Basically what I'm trying to say is that Alda is good at being the foil for Leo in the movie's third act. He's the conflict for the end of the movie and does a good job. It's not a winner but it's not terrible, either.

Thomas Haden Church - Sideways

I really enjoyed this character. It's funny because he just wants to get drunk and we feel his pain as we are watching. He's like an ogre in pretentious wine country and I think many of us viewers would feel the same way, especially those of us that know nothing about wine. He's hilarious because he seems to represent the everyman and speaks his mind. He's an actor making the trip with his buddy to wine country before he gets married. He wants one last hurrah and that hurrah includes getting laid. He's successful in that regard but I never grow to dislike him as a person. I know many others watching will have a problem with his wanton cheating and disregard for his friend, future wife, and the woman he's cheating with telling her he loves her. He's just that kind of guy - a charming, suave, funny guy who has always skated by on his looks and personality without having to answer for his discretions. Church is the best choice for the character because he's this big, hulking, deep voiced dude that is the furthest thing from a wine drinker as you could imagine. His friendship with Giamatti's character is almost sweet and very much a guy friendship. You'd never believe the two were best buddies because they are almost total opposites. But it doesn't strike this guy as odd. It's not a performance that hits you over the head with its greatness. But as I said for Virginia Madsen in the Supporting Actress category, this IS a Supporting Actor nomination through and through. You can judge whether that is a good or bad thing but this one works for me. Does it deserve a win? Not at all but I did enjoy what Church brought to the table. If it was never nominated, though, I wouldn't lose any sleep. It's very replaceable but also a good fit.

Jamie Foxx - Collateral

I like the fact that I get to watch a movie that I really, really enjoy. It's almost a guilty pleasure except it's actually a good movie. So seeing it listed in this category is like having a nice cold beer after a long day working. I love this movie because it's so cool and the way Michael Mann shot it is just pure awesomeness. This was the year of the Foxx and it's surprising that he was also nominated here in Supporting. You might argue that he's actually Lead but it's definitely an achievement that a black man was nominated in two different categories in the same year - quite the feat. Foxx plays Max, a cabbie who is forced to drive Tom Cruise's hit man character around LA at night. Things go south quickly and Foxx is forced into a reluctant hero role. What I loved about this performance is that by the end of the film, it becomes such a fully realized, three-dimensional one. The relationship between Foxx and Cruise feels natural and their time on screen together is electric. It's as if Max was waiting for this moment to finally realize he was alive and could be more than just a late night cabbie. It's an inspired performance from Foxx, one that eschews charisma for a regular joe kind of attitude. While the ending might be a bit unbelievable, Foxx's gradual turn into our reluctant hero is really good acting. This is a performance I could watch again and again without getting bored.

Clive Owen - Closer

I'm not gonna lie, I'd probably watch Clive Owen in anything. He's just one of those badass guys you like watching in whatever terrible shoot-em-up movie he's in. This isn't one of those. In this one he's a pervert, plain and simple. And it's implied, though never shown outright, that he's a misogynist. But that makes sense because he tries to meet girls on a sex chatroom, asks super detailed sex questions when breaking up with his wife and later with Natalie Portman's stripper act, and asking for sex in return for signing divorce papers. He's a manipulator, a scoundrel, a fucked up doctor. Owen is just not a good man in this movie. And Owen really plays his character like all his other characters. It's Clive Owen as so-and-so. If this movie had a shootout, I wouldn't have been surprised. That's not exactly a knock on Clive Owen. I love what he does but this was all those characters without a weapon. There really is no redeeming quality to his character, either. He's a disgusting human being. I can't help but think maybe the director/writer were using Owen and Jude Law as the dichotomy of men...possibly in relationships? It's a stretch, sure, but Owen would be the intense, hypersexual, possessive male. And Law would be the sensitive, artistic, emotional guy. The fact that these guys were sort of the opposites of each other was not by accident. Regardless of all that, Owen came off as extremely creepy and weird and he did a great job of displaying that. There's no doubt that I believe Owen could be some weird dude peering between the bushes even though he's a successful doctor. Apparently Owen played this character on stage first before the movie so I can respect that portrayal is the way it is. It's interesting that the Academy decided to nominate him here but I'm kinda glad they did.

Maybe not the best Supporting Actor groups I've watched so far but this category always delivers at least one great performance and gives me the chance to watch some really good/interesting movies. I can agree with the Academy's choice simply because they gave Foxx the Best Actor Oscar anyway. I think my choice for the win in this category would have been Foxx (which is basically a Lead Performance) with Freeman a close second. A more distant third and fourth would be Church and Owen and then Alda bringing up the rear. A strong year for black actors.

Oscar Winner: Morgan Freeman - Million Dollar Baby
My Winner: Jamie Foxx - Collateral
Morgan Freeman
Thomas Haden Church
Clive Owen
Alan Alda