So Best Actor didn't quite end the way I wanted and I'm still not over it. Honestly, this was the most personal of losses because I felt so strongly against the actual winner. Just a truly garbage choice by the Academy that they should feel ashamed. I could go on about why I hate how this ended up but let's just get to it, shall we?
2014 Best Actor
Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything
(Puke)
I thought of just leaving that as my review but figured I'd write something for continuity sake. I think some of the main reasons people really hate this win is because Redmayne campaigned so, so hard for the win which always rubs some people the wrong way even if campaigning is a historically Oscar thing to do. People also didn't like his seemingly insincere speeches leading up to his Oscar speech which I know annoyed a lot of people. Plus, lots of people felt Keaton was just honestly the better performance and choice. But that's what happens when you campaign. Thing is, Redmayne isn't too bad at the beginning as Hawking. Obviously what we know of Hawking is the contorted genius in a wheelchair who talks with a computer, so seeing a spry young man was at least interesting. But there's no depth or nuance to Redmayne's Hawking here. It's a surface and superficiality. The descent into the disease is probably the best part of the film as you get to see the change and how Redmayne/Hawking deal with it. It just doesn't last all that long before we get into the pure imitation. I'm sorry but mimicry does not equate to a Best Oscar win. Give me a character! Give me a performance! Give me depth! Give me something that I can point to other than how he sat in a damn chair. It's superficial to the max, hell the whole movie is, which is what I hate about this win so much. Did we ever really get to know Stephen Hawking? No! We got to see someone's physical take on the man but we never really scratched the surface of what was going on in the head of one of the most brilliant men to ever live. Instead we got to see him meet a girl and like 5 minutes later get married and have a family and deal with his illness. We don't even get a good sense of why they actually ended up together and why they stayed together so long. Meanwhile, we see Redmayne contort himself into his chair and stay like that for half the movie, becoming a supporting player in his own biopic! There's so much wrong with this just as a performance, let alone a win, that it boggles my mind that this is the winner. This one sucks, campaigning be damned!
Steve Carell - Foxcatcher
I love this performance and it was such a shocker seeing the guy who once played Michael Scott on The Office deliver an exceptional dramatic performance. The nomination goes way beyond just funny man goes dramatic so let's reward it because this is a good piece of acting. It also goes way beyond the nose prosthetic which I hated everyone mentioning in the lead up to the Oscars. Same goes for Nicole Kidman in The Hours. Both performances were way more than just a funny looking nose, yet people liked to fixate on that stupid detail. With normal noses, both of those performances are still the exact same. Carell delivers an eerily creepy version of John du Pont no matter the make up. I think knowing that Carell is really good at being awkward/creepy from his TV show explains why he is so good here as du Pont. His performance really does make this entire film. Without Carell's acting ability, I'm not sure Foxcatcher has the same feel to it. Carell is very good at being creepy with his dead eyes and vacant stare, with his mix of trying to please his mother and assert his dominance over the wrestlers, with his complete lack of self awareness and detachment from social norms. The way Carell imbues his character with these minor details such as how he moves, how he talks, how he observes, how he longs to fit in is just brilliant to me. This is not done by accident or anything, this is measured acting and Carell really brings du Pont to life in the most horrific way. It's such an utterly convincing portrayal that I was actively rooting for Carell to win even though I knew this was a two horse race. There's almost nothing redeeming about the character of du Pont in this film yet Carell keeps him from looking anything like a villain. He portrays him just as a man with no peers who wants to impress people that don't care. I think the dour subject matter overshadows the brilliant performance at times when people talk about this one but it really is a tremendous performance by Michael Scott.
Bradley Cooper - American Sniper
The third year in a row that Cooper is nominated and I firmly believe his best performance of his career so far. It's a far cry from the previous two nominations and one where he really shows off his acting chops. He beefed up for the role and took on a southern drawl and really, I think, connected with the character and it shows. It's an honest portrayal, devoid of any bullshit. I kinda feel like he wanted to do an American hero proud and didn't want to fuck it up so he gave it everything he had and what we got was some inspired acting. I'm not sure if I would have ever thought that Bradley Cooper could pull off a Navy Seal or a badass war hero but he sure convinced me here. And to me, that's what great acting is all about. Sure, playing a crazy guy in a comedy is easy or having fun being an FBI agent in NJ while yucking it up is an easy thing, but this is on another level. There's expectations from people who have never even read the book, met the guy, or served in the military yet know exactly what they think Chris Kyle should be like. That's tough to live up to or overcome for anyone. Yet I think Bradley Cooper does just that. He honors the whole Navy Seal thing and thrives as the hero type without looking out of place at all. Even if you don't subscribe to the same ideals as Kyle or care for the wars and all that, you have to admit Cooper excels in the role. I think that's what I admire most about the performance, is that it's so genuine and reverent that you can tell Cooper puts so much time and effort and heart and soul into this character. I do think it's a pretty great performance and something I hope to see from Cooper again.
Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
This is the reason why fanboys and girls on the internet love Benedict Cumberbatch so much and why everyone else should love him, too. He is a really great actor that uses intelligence as an asset and always delivers interesting characters no matter if the movie around him is dull or not. Even a character like Alan Turing who fits the cliche mold of unintentionally arrogant asshole genius who has a breakthrough that helps the world and needs those around him to help him assimilate better into society is better suited for Cumberbatch. A character that could easily be boring, isn't. However, the performance - and the film - could be way better. It shies away from diving too deep into Turing as a person, instead showing us the mythical figure. Cumberbatch does his best to bring some honesty and human quality to the man but is limited by the story and direction. The whole homosexual thing is glossed over and if not for some very lame flash forwards, we would never really know that Turing was gay and certainly never know just from watching the performance. Breaking the Enigma is a fascinating subject and Turing is an interesting character but shoehorning in a major part of his life seems like a dumb decision. So all we are left with essentially is the genius who is an asshole which we've seen countless times and while Cumberbatch does a compelling enough job, there's way more to the character and way more that could be done for the performance. Yeah, you might come back to this film to watch Cumberbatch in action but knowing we are missing out on a much more in depth and nuanced performance from a gifted actor is unfortunate.
Michael Keaton - Birdman: or (The Virtue of Ignorance)
I wanted Michael Keaton to win sooooo badly! I really loved his story, the one that mirrored his character's in Birdman. Beloved actor who kinda disappears but then has a resurgence is a pretty good story and Michael Keaton is a pretty likable guy. He's also a pretty great actor and puts all of his talent on display here as Riggan Thomson, an actor trying to shed his superhero roots and become a serious actor. You'd have to find another actor with a similar background for this film to be pulled off and even then I'm not sure it would work. Keaton is the film. It's his gravitas that pushes the film into Best Picture status and he is on top of his game throughout. Watching him act is such a treat because he has such great comedic timing even if it's super subtle and he also balances that out with being able to deliver great drama as well. He knows how to act and he's also a very physical actor. That's why the underwear scene works so damn well, because he makes it so funny but also so poignant with his expressions and just the way he struts. I feel the same way for this performance as I do for Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler: this is the one I want to win yet an asshole won instead. It frustrates me that a performance as nuanced and loaded as this one managed to lose to a subpar performance. I just think Keaton is a phenomenal actor and really deserved to win Best Actor this year. I'm still not over him losing as you can tell. Hopefully, he wins in 2015.
This is actually a pretty good group when you boil it all down and see what's left. Sure, I did not like the Redmayne win, but there are some parts that are okay. It still gets put way down my list on principal, though. Keaton was my, and many others', favorite of the year. I think because it was such an astonishing piece of work by an actor we had forgotten about who came outta nowhere and delivered an awesome performance. That will get anyone's attention and respect. Carell, however, is a very close second to me for pretty much the same reason. Who knew he had that kind of dramatic performance in him? Cooper was also very strong and makes a good third. Cumberbatch is Cumberbatch. He's charming and likeable and did a good enough job in a mediocre movie. Maybe not a strong enough group as some others I've done for the project, but a good one no doubt! I also wanted to note that if David Oyelowo and Ralph Fiennes were nominated for their performances instead of Redmayne and Cumberbatch, holy shit this might have been an all time great Best Actor group. Having re-watched those films and performances, it seems criminal that they were not included.
Oscar Winner: Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything
My Winner: Michael Keaton - Birdman: or (The Virtue of Ignorance)
Steve Carell
Bradley Cooper
Benedict Cumberbatch
Eddie Redmayne
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