No fun introduction again. Have seen Tom Cruise but it's been awhile and I'd like to revisit him and haven't seen anyone else. This group is pretty intriguing and has an actor that I like a whole lot in Fiennes. Just super glad to be knocking these out!
1996 Best Actor
Geoffrey Rush - Shine
While writing the other reviews for this film I actually forgot Rush won Best Actor for this. Not even a joke, I scrolled to the bottom to find his name and realized, oh he won! Which I think is about a scathing of an indictment as I can write. Rush is not bad. At all. He's technically brilliant playing the schizophrenic piano genius David Helfgott. However, he has mastered the man's mannerisms but failed to bring the character to life. I can imagine all the hard work that went into mimicking the way David talks super fast, saying nonsense type stuff, laughing weirdly, squinting his eyes, shuffling around hunched over acting like Rain Man on crack. All of that is interesting to watch for about all of five minutes when you realize that is all you are going to get out of Rush's performance. There's no soul to his character. Even when he marries, which comes out of nowhere and is not set up at all, or when he meets his dad for the first time in forever - these are moments that are supposed to show the human essence of David. It's supposed to shine beneath the schizophrenic exterior into the man that is a musical genius. Except nothing is there. It's all a showcase for Rush, who does pass the test but offers up nothing besides mannerisms. It doesn't help that the film only spends about a third of it's time on him, making him seem like more of a supporting player than the heart and soul of the film. We basically just watch this weird guy prance around and bang away at a piano and then that's it as far as his present day adult years are concerned. I was more interested in the middle version of David as I thought he made for a way more compelling and fleshed out character. You would think that by 1996, the Academy would be over rewarding performances like this one. Instead they voted Rush's breakout role to an Oscar win. Go figure. I'm not a big fan of these types of roles, no matter how technically great they are. Give me a fully realized character over an imitation every time.
Tom Cruise - Jerry Maguire
It can be hard to really judge a Tom Cruise performance because just how much of it is performance and how much of it is just Tom Cruise? Here he plays sports agent Jerry Maguire who is forced out of the big sports agent company he works for after writing a mission statement about integrity and being more personal with clients and whatnot and is only able to keep one of his clients. Jerry is a very cocky guy who seems to be a great agent getting deals done before his epiphany. Then he is forced out and wants to do things the right way and you know the rest because it's standard bad guy becomes a good guy kinda stuff. This also brings about a romantic change as his beautiful fiancee leaves and then Jerry falls for the somewhat plain Zellweger who left the company with him and has a kid and all that cliche stuff. They fall in love, he bonds with the stupid little kid, the relationship has issues and then they have a big scene at the end where all is forgiven and love wins. Typical romantic comedy stuff and Cruise is typical Cruise playing a romantic comedy guy. There's nothing pushing the boundaries in this performance. I would say it's what Cruise had been doing for years and for some reason the Academy felt like nominating him perhaps because the film blew up, I don't know. But reality is that this is the same Cruise performance you've seen over and over, just this time he's a sports agent and not a race car driver or bartender or fighter pilot. There's no denying that Cruise is a great actor but this is a role he could do in his sleep and doesn't offer up anything new about his abilities. He's always been charismatic and emotional and blends a lot of that together in his performances which is why people like him and his films so much. I guess my thinking is did this performance stand apart from all his other ones? I don't really think so even if it's some good work by Cruise. I certainly don't think it was Oscar worthy but maybe the Academy felt it was time to reward him again. If you've seen one Cruise performance, then you've seen this one, too.
Ralph Fiennes - The English Patient
I'll say right away that I adore Ralph Fiennes. I think he is a gifted actor and supremely talented. There isn't anything that I've seen him in so far that I didn't like, The English Patient included. And when I say gifted actor, I honestly think he's one of the greatest living actors going today. In this film, as long as you can forgive the absurd burn victim makeup, I think he's as talented as anything else he has done. He has such a way, whether it's his English charm or not, with conveying humor in such a subtle yet stinging way. He can say something and it doesn't register as being hilarious until moments later because his delivery is so sarcastic and non-humorous. There's a great deal of humor in this role, also, which might not seem as evident on first watch or when you think back on it. He plays Count Almasy who is a pilot that gets shot down and badly burned and is taken care of by Juliette Binoche but was also in love with Kristin Scott Thomas when able bodied. The story slithers in and out in a labyrinthine way so we see all the different versions of Fiennes at once. I think it makes the impact of his performance more engaging as he is so sullen and grumpy looking when earliest in the timeline yet he's so lively and funny when badly burned and being taken care of in the bombed out monastery. He is equal to all versions presented, being good at Thomas' lover and to being the bed ridden victim. Fiennes delivers a pretty wonderful performance, one that many other actors wouldn't be able to pull off. I do think that if The English Patient's leading man wasn't so endearing and likable, the film would have failed miserably. Fiennes brought something real to the role and did a great job with it.
Woody Harrelson - The People Vs. Larry Flynt
When it comes to this performance, it's the tale of two halves. The first half is the beginning of Larry Flynt's career, naturally. Woody just plays that part of the character like Woody. Seriously, if you take any Woody Harrelson character from his filmography and put it in this first half, it'll look the exact same because this is Woody being Woody. This isn't Woody being Larry. If you said it was Woody portraying Hugh Hefner I'd have felt the same way. There's just no real reason to nominate the beginning part of this for an Oscar because it's so basic and nondescript. Then once Larry is shot and paralyzed is when we finally get some acting from Harrelson. He is in a wheel chair, obviously, but the voice is the big change. If you've seen Larry Flynt, you know he has the slurred words and distinctive voice. Woody does his best to emulate that but that's exactly what it seems like - emulation. Woody sounds kinda like Bane at times but never convinces me he is Larry Flynt. I think that might be the issue with Woody Harrelson is that he's so similar in all his roles that when he inhabits a famous person like Larry Flynt, he isn't able to be linked to the actual man. So this is a performance where Woody Harrelson is just Woody Harrelson at the end. Nothing wrong with that but I don't think it should be Oscar nominated. A good try but not my favorite.
Billy Bob Thornton - Sling Blade
This was the role that made Billy Bob's career and it's easy to see why. It's one of those passion projects where the actor writes, directs, produces, stars, caters, etc. and pulls off an amazing job because it's been a long time simmering. Like when a band's first album hits and is so good it's because they had their whole lives to write that first record. Same kind of idea here. It's obvious that Thornton had been developing this character for a long time and the performances proves that. It's a lived in performance and those are usually really good. Thornton plays Karl, a retarded man who was incarcerated in a mental hospital because he killed his mom and her boyfriend, I think, with a sling blade. He's been set free and he goes back to his hometown and befriends a kid and his mother and lives with them and we see his day to day interactions with them and the mom's abusive boyfriend and all the other people in their lives. Run on sentence aside, Thornton does a great job inhabiting Karl. Sure, he's got the funny voice and the mannerisms of constantly saying mmhmm and rubbing his hands together and swaying and all that, but after the initial introduction of it all you stop noticing it because you notice Karl, the man. He's a goodhearted, gentle soul giving out simple, yet fatherly advice to the boy who became his only real friend. It never comes off as being too hokey, it's very genuine and it's not as if Karl is making these big, long monologues on life and happiness or whatever like you might get in another movie. His character stays true to his simple self, no real big moments, just genuine ones that work better within the film. Now, I didn't like the ending as I felt it didn't quite gel with everything we just watched for almost 2 hours. We see Karl be this gentle guy and never get angry or allude to his past with his actions. And then we get the ending and it's like there's a disconnect. I understand where the point is trying to go but I think it would have been better if Karl protected the family or even moved on. Maybe it's also because I became a little more interested in how Karl would survive that I didn't want him to repeat his past mistakes. That speaks to the performance that Billy Bob gave and I must say it worked for me. It's a great performance.
Overall, not a bad group. It's got average to really good performances so that's a plus. The hard thing to do is put it into any kind of actual order. I guess the bottom two would be Harrelson and Cruise because they basically play versions of themselves and that's kinda boring even if they are really good actors. I want that range! Show me something out of the ordinary. Rush is my middle just because he's more of a supporting guy and skates by on the quirky mannerisms of his character. It's interesting for sure, but again I need more than that! That's why I like both Fiennes and Thornton. They create characters that I was invested in and cared about. Fiennes makes his severely burned patient compelling and funny and interesting to watch. As does Thornton with his simple minded man. Honestly, deciding between the two is hard because I think Fiennes is one of the best and Thornton is very strong with this performance. I guess I'll give the slightest edge to Thornton who was Rush's competition in 1996. It would be deserving but I could change it next time you ask me, it's that tough and close of a call. I'm happy with this group as is, mmhmm.
Oscar Winner: Geoffrey Rush - Shine
My Winner: Billy Bob Thornton - Sling Blade
Ralph Fiennes
Geoffrey Rush
Tom Cruise
Woody Harrelson
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