Another interesting year, one that I know surprised a lot of people on Oscar night. Did Brody deserve to win? Was he the winner because of a split in the vote between the other nominees? Let's dive in and see what I think!
2002 Best Actor
Adrien Brody - The Pianist
I've always had apprehension about this watching this win. I wanted so badly to like it but was always afraid that it would suck or that even worse it would be meh. Meh is absolutely worse. Polarizing is understandable but something that is in the middle that wins is almost unforgivable. I know that sounds weird and insane but I'd rather have good/great or bad rather than just meh. This was the last film/performance I watched for 2002, savoring the moment of finally getting to watch it. And I liked it! It's still fresh to me as a write this but man, did I like this. It's satisfying that the Academy didn't fuck this up. Even if the vote was split and that's how Brody won, you can't hate on this performance really and the win is justifiable. I was even worried at the beginning of the film when Brody didn't seem all that remarkable but as he undergoes his change from all the tragic events he witnesses in the Nazi occupied Warsaw, his performance just gets better and better. He is able to act without speaking all that much and just survives on his pure acting ability. And he's able to get us to react emotionally without saying a word and it still comes across as being powerful. That's what really impressed me is that even in silence or in German (which I didn't get subtitles in my version so I was left to sort of piece together what they were saying with what was happening) Brody was able to convey the desperation and the hurt and the true human spirit. He persevered but not in the classical heroic sense. No fighting as part of the underground uprising movement or or daring escapes or cliche Hollywood big moment. Just a man that survived due to sheer dumb luck, the kindness of strangers, and perhaps some divine intervention. It was a very real portrayal and one that absolutely deserves the title of Best Actor. Maybe once I've had a significant time to digest this film and performance I might come down on how good I think it is, it certainly does stand with the rest of the group as a strong addition to the Best Actor race. Brody does a wonderful job here.
Nicolas Cage - Adaptation.
I'll admit that I like almost anything Nic Cage does, from his great performances like this one to those terrible straight to DVD ones as well. And I think those terrible straight to DVD movies are what put a lot of people off to Cage. So much so that I think they might scoff a little at seeing him on a list of Oscar nominees even though he has an Oscar win under his belt. Therefore it's rewarding when he is able to sort of focus and put all his talent and energy behind such a great performance. And it really truly is a great performance. He has the dual role of playing the screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and his brother (who may or may not be real) and dual roles are always tough to pull off. Cage makes it look easy. He is superbly hilarious and his comedic talents are actually well suited for the nerdy, pathetic Kaufman that he portrays. Cage is best at the neurotic, odd ball characters which are the ones I typically really like from him. When he tries to go too badass or macho, it often doesn't work out too well. But those movies are usually pretty terrible action movies to begin with so maybe that's why I like the other ones so much. At any rate, Cage really carries the film. His breathless tone for the voice overs works so well and really makes it sound like we are in Kaufman's head as his thoughts race around. Even things like his posture and forgetting the food after he runs into his agent at the restaurant when he leaves are these nice touches for the character that go above and beyond what a lesser actor would do. I just wish that Cage would get more roles like this because they really highlight how good of an actor he can be. A really well deserved nomination here.
Michael Caine - The Quiet American
More like The Quiet Englishman, amiright? Ok, no it's not a quiet performance or about a mute or anything like that. What it is about is Michael Caine is an English journalist living in Vietnam in the 1950s before American involvement. What we get is the typical Caine performance. He's charming and witty and does a solid job with the material. So that makes it seem like a veteran nomination, but he's already got 2 wins, one of which was relatively recent to this in 1999. Then you think maybe they wanted to nominate a sort of anti-war film/performance given the recent events of the time with 9/11 and war in Afghanistan and a run up to Iraq. I really do think that the anti-war thing comes into play as a legit reason why he was nominated. But as for Caine himself here, his character is introduced to us as a guy enjoying the escapist lifestyle with his lunches, trips to the opium dens, his relationship with his 20 year old Vietnamese mistress. Gradually he becomes more involved rather than just a passive journalist content with not doing much. He deals with Brendan Fraser's American CIA agent and the increasing of hostilities in Vietnam and Caine is able to transition from one extreme to the other convincingly. It's an effective performance in a completely overlooked film that probably deserves a bit more love.
Daniel Day-Lewis - Gangs of New York
I mean, what is there left to say about Daniel Day-Lewis? He is without a doubt THE greatest actor living today and one could make an argument for greatest of all time. There is no debating that he is great. The stories of his unparallelled devotion to method acting and living as his characters are well known and show why exactly he is so great. He is meticulous about the small details: authentic accents, the facial expressions he uses, the way he moves around, how natural he looks doing certain tasks. It's amazing and a wonderful gift to us film lovers. You know if DDL is involved, you're getting the very best performance he could give and one that is typically can't miss. In Gangs of New York, DDL plays Bill 'the Butcher' Cutting, the head of an American born gang. Since it is DDL, his Bill the Butcher is passionate, intense, and highly entertaining. There's shades of Daniel Plainview in this character so it's interesting to see what at times looks like an early version of his second Oscar win. There are similarities with the look and certainly with the voice, which is frankly my favorite part of Bill the Butcher. It just amazes me when a British actor such as DDL can so convincingly sound American like he does here. It blows me away. The entire performance is amazing and absolutely a must watch for anyone. Brilliant work.
Jack Nicholson - About Schmidt
I actually thought this was my second Jack Nicholson review for the blog, think he was nominated for Something's Gotta Give, but nope I was wrong! Which I think speaks to the acting of Nicholson that I want to give him even more nominations than he already has. Amazingly, this is his last nomination and probably will be forever barring some late career stroke of genius. And if this is his last nomination then it's a pretty damn good nomination to go out on. We all know that Jack is one of the greatest actors ever. For me, it was refreshing to see him in this film because he was so human and so real instead of the larger than life movie star. Alexander Payne is great at getting some truly grounded performances out of his talent and this was no exception. Nicholson plays a newly retired insurance man who lived a safe, predictable life. But early on in the film, loses his wife and that causes him to find himself and the meaning of his place in the world. It's a sort of existential character in the not so obvious way and Jack relates so well for the audience. We can see ourselves as him and we can both empathize and sympathize with what he's dealing with. His performance is both emotional (but not in the tear jerking way) and heartfelt. There are these truly human moments where Nicholson shines and lots of little slyly comedic ones where he really flexes his acting muscles. The fact that he can so seamlessly transition between this myriad of emotions is a testament to his abilities and defines what makes Jack so damn good. About Schmidt is a lovely little film that will make you understand just what a treasure Jack Nicholson is.
God damn it this is hard! So besides Brody, everyone else had at least one Oscar win already and 3 of them (minus Cage) had at least 2 (or will have in the future, actually)! That's kind of insane to think about and makes accepting Brody's win a lot easier. No one was harmed by his win. There will be no make up awards down the line, heck, Day-Lewis would win his second AND third years later on his own merit. So it's this weird kind of place where you can't really be mad if you didn't like the Brody win. That tempers things a bit as far as that goes. But! It's a hell of a strong group on it's own. You've got 5 strong performances. I mean 5 fucking strong performances! How the hell do you choose from this group? I totally believe that Brody could have won because the vote was split but how was it split? I wish we could see vote totals because I think this might be one of the closest totals from top to bottom. They are all good. I'll go with Brody as the win because it was a great performance as well as he was the only one without an Oscar. Maybe DDL next because he's amazing and then Nicholson for going against type and wowing us still and then Cage for his dual role amazingness and Caine for being his usual strong actor self. The divide between Brody and Caine is microscopic. Mix em all up and pick from a bag and you really can't go wrong. One of the best groups so far, if not the best group so far. I want more like this.
Oscar Winner: Adrien Brody - The Pianist
My Winner: Adrien Brody - The Pianist
Daniel Day-Lewis
Jack Nicholson
Nicolas Cage
Michael Caine
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