This was mostly a neck and neck race between Affleck and Denzel, with many people thinking Denzel was getting his third Oscar. I was rooting for Affleck all the way without having seen any of these but I am excited to see how both of them do in their roles and the other three, too.
2016 Best Actor
Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea
This was probably the one acting performance I was most excited to finally watch. I am a big Affleck fan and love most of his work. I'm a fan of the brooding, introspective acting that Affleck does in most of his work. He doesn't have to say much, he can just look forlorn or wracked with guilt or overcome with sadness or whatever and display all of those emotions on his face and in his body language and in his very being. Pretentious kinda, I know, but my point stands that Affleck isn't just an actor who gives in to histrionics or big, grand moments. It's like he studies every move his character could make and goes for the unexpected because a lot times you can get frustrated with his characters for not talking or for not acting a certain way. But that's what I like about Affleck and I think he's very good at that type of acting. We get a lot of that in this film as he plays a guy whose brother dies of a heart attack and then has to take care of his nephew. Affleck also has some personal tragedies that have gone on before the current story that we see in flashbacks that further explains why his character is so emotionally void and confused. We also see the change when in flashbacks, Affleck is jovial and cracking jokes with his bro while out on the boat with his nephew and when partying at home. But then the thing happens and there's a moment where we see the realization on his face that his life is irrevocably changed and his world crashes inside of him. In the current story, he trudges along staying emotionally removed from most people though he is very protective of Patrick, his nephew and new charge. There is just so much depth and layers to Affleck's performance, so much subtlety in how he moves or reacts and how he responds that it's just a treat to watch him work. It's like you have to do some work of your own to parse through just what is going on for Affleck's character and that makes the performance richly rewarding, to me anyway. It's why I enjoy watching Affleck do his thing and yes, it can be frustrating at times but he definitely pulls it off for his Oscar win. I'm very happy that Casey won because I feel like it's been a long time coming.
Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge
I wrote and re-wrote this review a couple times because I felt like I wasn't saying anything more than Garfield was okay. This is a difficult role to pull off and I think Garfield was the perfect choice to play Desmond Doss. Doss is a conscientious objector from the Virginia boonies who enlists in the Army to be a medic but won't touch a gun which gets his commanders above him pissed off and his fellow soldiers wary of him as an equal, thinking he won't protect them. Doss keeps at it and makes it all the way through boot camp before they court martial him because he didn't complete the rifle range. He's saved at the last minute by a letter from a General friend of his father's and can go to war like everyone else. I say this is a difficult role because in this first part of the film, Garfield has to be this charming, countrified, cornball and make it look natural and not cringey. His Doss is such a goober, but a sweet, firm in his beliefs and convictions kind of goober. He's a good ol' boy with an aw shucks type of demeanor and it works for Garfield. We see that Doss isn't like other men and is firm in his moral beliefs even if the performance to this point is hokey and goofy. Doss suffered through a tough upbringing with an alcoholic veteran father and he almost killed his brother when fighting. His dad beat the family whenever he felt like it so there was turmoil for Doss to overcome and rectify with his own faith. Garfield does a good job in showing all of that turmoil in the early parts of them even if Gibson makes these scenes turn out somewhat sentimental in nature. I think Garfield really excels in the second part of the film where he goes off to Okinawa and we see the battles scenes atop Hacksaw Ridge. His story is so unbelievable that I'm surprised it took this long for a film to be made about his actions. Doss saved something like 75 men, Japanese and Americans alike, on his own while out on the ridge with no Americans around him except the wounded. He overcame rough terrain and tough odds and run ins with the Japanese to pull this truly heroic deed off. But Garfield succeeds in this part of the performance because he treats Doss the same way as in the first part. There are no gung ho action hero type moments or big heroic speeches or any nonsense other than a man believing his faith will help him find more men to save. Garfield is scared but determined and we see these little moments of introspection that show us that Doss wasn't super human or even God-like, he was just a man doing his job to the best of his abilities. That's mostly why I think Garfield is the perfect choice for the role of Desmond Doss. I don't see any other actor portraying the cornball hillbilly and the American hero without letting one of the two suffer greatly. Garfield takes on both roles and gives us something really interesting and compelling to watch that isn't over the top which the role seems to invite. I feel like there's a lot more to this character and performance than what you might see on first watch. When you really look into it is when you see how much work and effort Garfield put into this. It might not be obvious or classical but his performance is something that stands out in the film. I also think his performance in Silence helps him land a spot in this group, too. This might not be the one I like the best but I can enjoy Garfield's performance for not adhering to stereotypes and giving us something much more intelligent and compelling to watch.
Ryan Gosling - La La Land
I am a Gosling fan. He does some great work and has been really amazing in some indie films, one of which he got nominated in 2006 for Half Nelson. He's also getting into bigger films with the new Blade Runner sequel coming out this year so things are exciting for Gosling and his fans. My big question going into this film was if Gosling just came along for the ride with the film or if he really stood out on his own, independent of all the La La Land hype. I would say it's a mixture of both. If the film wasn't so loved, I'm not sure he gets nominated. But that doesn't mean Gosling does a poor job. He is actually quite perfect for the role of Seb, a jazz musician trying to find his way in LA. Gosling has that old school movie star quality with his good looks and presence and that helps him here in this performance. He has great chemistry with Emma Stone, as the two have been in a couple films prior to this and clearly have established a great rapport with one another and it's palpable onscreen. They sizzle together and it makes watching the film enjoyable just from them alone. Gosling also excels at the comedic aspect of the role. He has great comedic timing and he does it all in this sort of dry, sarcastic way almost. So he is hilarious when the film calls for it and it makes his performance that much better. I think my main issue with Gosling in this film and his others is that he can become an emotional void at times. He has this stoic quality about him that at times it takes the place of actual emotion. He does it here a little bit and it's the one thing that annoys me about his performances. It might be appropriate in some of his other roles like in his Nicolas Winding Refn work, but Gosling shouldn't just play the cool, reserved dude always. Give me some passion and energy, especially in a film so energetic and happy as this one. So while I do think he does a good enough job for this role and adds overall to the film, I want more out of him. I want him to push himself beyond just being a merely good performance in a well liked film. Be a great performance in a well liked film! But, let me reiterate, Gosling is pretty good in this film. The chemistry, the music (his singing is okay but not amazing), the screen presence and comedic talent all add up to a good performance. I just know he could have been great here. This could end up being the weaker link of the five but that's not exactly a terrible knock against him when he makes a very good five.
Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic
What I know about this performance and film from the Oscar race last year is that it came out of nowhere. In the lead up to awards season, I don't remember a single mention about Viggo anywhere. Then all of the sudden he's landing a SAG nomination and Golden Globe nom and things were heating up for him to make an Oscar play and then, voila, he was nominated here. A lot of the reason why is that he seems to be extremely well liked in the industry and people noticed his performance in the film and decided to reward him for it. It also happens to be a really, um, fantastic performance. Viggo is a father who lives out in the forest with his 6 kids while their mother is getting treatment somewhere else. Viggo trains and teaches all the kids in self defense and music and physical fitness and regular school stuff. They are essentially hippies living on the land and hating on the man. But we quickly learn early on that their mother and his wife has killed herself. This leads to them making a journey to the funeral that she expressly did not want and lots of issues for Ben (Viggo). Ben is a great dad and the kids are super smart and well behaved and not very well versed in everyday human interactions. What I really love about the performance is that Viggo is a lot of different things with the character. He is a selfish asshole at times, putting his beliefs before the family. Another reviewer called him exasperating, which fits his character perfectly. There are times where you want to yell at his character that he needs to think more about his kids than himself or to stand his ground like at the funeral or to just take a breath and just talk to his kids or to his wife's father or whoever. But Viggo also comes across as such a warm, caring, standup person who does actually love and put his family first and who does understand their well being is paramount. It's a gentle performance from Viggo and it really impressed me. He is so good with the child actors (who are all mostly great, the one who hates him for some of the film is kinda meh but that's being picky) and just exudes so much fatherly love throughout the film that it's palpable. Other reviewers called him arrogant which he definitely is, having raised a bunch of geniuses out in the woods. I think Ben just feels strong in his convictions that being an arrogant asshole like when calling out his sisters' kids or tearing down religion while in a church at a funeral is not something that he even thinks about. There's so much subtlety and nuance and grace in Viggo's performance that you really have to pay attention to him, especially his facial expressions. There are times where his face tells what he's truly thinking and feeling even though he may be saying something else. To me, there is just a lot to like about Viggo in this performance. I suspect that not many people have actually watched this film and just dismissed it as one of those Academy bones to a respected actor. But I honestly think this film could have and probably should have been nominated for Best Picture. Although, I do feel like having a liberal bent to your own self ideals certainly helps. Viggo, though, is amazing in the role and isn't simply a throwaway nomination. I highly recommend watching this film.
Denzel Washington - Fences
Okay, so during the Oscar race, Denzel literally took the lead for the majority of the season and was a threat to win his third Oscar. There are a surprising number of people who feel Denzel deserves a third Oscar a la Streep or Daniel Day-Lewis but I'm not of that society. Denzel does not deserve a third Oscar. He is a great actor and is one of the very few black actors with a Best Actor award but forget giving him a third Oscar just because. If you've followed me, you know I don't like merit Oscars. Earn the fucking Oscar or get out. There was a ton of talk of Denzel getting rewarded for this role and honestly, I wasn't sure who was winning this come Oscar night. Denzel won the SAG Award which was a huge oh shit! moment for the prognosticators. My point is that I don't just want to reward someone because they are considered Oscar royalty. Earn your fucking Oscar! So during the season I wasn't sure if he was worthy or not but now I know Denzel was. Denzel is Fences. He directed and produced and starred in it. This is his baby. My issue is that this feels like a play on film and Denzel feels like he rehearsed for months and then filmed it. It's too wordy and slick and he doesn't shut the fuck up for like 40 minutes. The more quiet, introspective moments with his baby (actual baby in the film) are cool but not earned and feel scripted (it IS a play) and don't have the emotional impact they should. Denzel is flipping good in this. This is the best he's been in ages. I thought he was great with his role in Flight, but that was the first time we'd paid attention to him since his win for Training Day. This was just as great as those nominations and shows that Denzel is a force to be reckoned with for Broadway. Denzel is solid but I still need to see a couple performances to see exactly where he ranks in this group of five. I just know that Denzel really chews the scenery in this film and dominates every scene and every supporting actor, too. He shows how great he is as an actor, but sometimes you have to let your acting breathe a little and Denzel just keeps his foot on the gas pedal all the way through the film. I like it, but certainly not enough for a third Oscar.
This category had some heavy hitters going up against each other. There is no bad performance here, which is always nice to see. I went back and forth on who would bring up the rear and went with Gosling. Really that's because he plays his cool guy, charming persona like he always does and while he is funny and entertaining, he's not anything spectacular. He comes along with the film. Garfield has a tough role in making a hokey character into something not so hokey and actually believable as a hero soldier. I think he does quite well with what he's given to work with and his battle scenes elevate him from the bottom. Denzel is Denzel. He chews the hell out of the scenery in his film and at times it's great and at times you want him to shut the hell up and let the other characters do something for a change. Because he dominates so much, I have him in third because it's way too much Denzel for me to take. Now, Viggo, any other year and he wins easily. I was ready to write him off as just a token nominee but he is so damn good in his film. Watch it right now, please. You'll see just how wonderful his performance is. I wish I could give him the win but I just really like Affleck's acting. I'm glad he won and not Denzel because I honestly don't think he deserved a third acting wise. But yeah, I'm happy Affleck won and I hope that next year gives us some really great performances like these.
Oscar Winner: Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea
My Winner: Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea
Viggo Mortensen
Denzel Washington
Andrew Garfield
Ryan Gosling
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