This was Ali's year from start to finish. No one really challenged him except Bridges who had the veteran angle going for him but there wasn't much traction to that, I don't think. Everyone else was just glad to be along for the ride.
2016 Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
This was absolutely the year of Mahershala Ali. He starred in two Best Picture films, Moonlight and Hidden Figures, and was also one of the best parts of the Netflix Marvel show, Luke Cage. I thought he was a really great villain in that show and the series suffered when he left in the middle of it. All three of these roles show off Ali's range. In one, he plays a deadly villain. In the other, he plays a charming military man. And in his winning role, he plays Juan, a drug dealer with a soft spot for a boy he meets that reminds him of himself. I honestly wasn't expecting Ali to be so sweet and tender and human. I know that's weird to say but I figured he'd be a hardass gangster from the little that I knew of the film but Ali takes in Chiron and becomes an almost father figure to the young kid. The kid has a terrible home life with a crack addict mother and Ali recognizes that the boy needs some guidance and someone to be there for him. The standout scene is Ali's last in the film where Chiron asks what a faggot is and is he one and how would he know. Ali and his character treat this situation with the utmost delicacy, sincerity, and genuine compassion so much so that this part of the performance floored me. This was tremendous acting and honestly, that scene will stick with me forever as a favorite and an example of masterful acting. Up until then it was yeah, Ali is pretty good like in the realness of yelling at Chiron's mom when she was smoking crack in a car on his street, but this was where the win for Ali made perfect sense. I like every other person nominated in this category and would be happy if any of them had won, but Ali winning makes me the happiest because he is phenomenal in this role. This isn't just a black man winning because of past controversy, this is a well earned Oscar for a performance that more people need to see. I wanted the whole film to be about Ali and could have watched him for two hours or more. But I do like that we don't know a whole lot about Juan and we just get this small snapshot of who he was because it actually feels supporting to the main character, Chiron, influencing his decisions later in life. These are the kinds of performances that I live to find in doing this project and I'm glad the most recent Oscars provided me with one.
Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water
I have gone off elsewhere about the Academy always going to the same well for it's nominees and that goes especially true for this year (just look in the Supporting Actress group for my hot take on that). There was a very real sense that Bridges could win his second Oscar for this performance and the run up to Oscar season had it as Bridges versus Ali as the main contenders. There was also a loud sentiment that his costars in Ben Foster and Chris Pine were equally as deserving to be nominated and it was a take your pick kind of thing for the film, maybe even a double nomination. Well, Bridges was obviously the one and he is damn good in this role. He plays a Texas Ranger about to retire who takes on a string of bank robberies. He's got a heavy Texan accent and a sarcastic, asshole demeanor. He clowns on his partner who is Mexican/Native American and the relationship feels authentic and legit. The quips are funny and come from a place of respect even if they are terribly racist. Bridges is a grizzled Texas Ranger veteran, though, coming to the end of his career. He has that intuition about what a criminal is going to do and is able to predict where the next bank robbery will be. Say what you will about deus ex machina and all that and the fact that Bridges is this expert sniper from hundreds of yards away (not terribly unbelievable), he makes you believe in his character. It's also the fact that Bridges has played a couple western type characters, including his Oscar nominated turn in True Grit, so he has cultivated this character and performance over years so this feels lived in and like a fully developed character. Obviously, the standout scene is the very end where he and Chris Pine have a nice verbal tete a tete about Pine's involvement. It's full of so much subtext that you need to watch it a few times to soak it all in. Just watch Bridges' hands at the end and fully listen to his words that mean more than what they say. It's great acting and probably secured him the nomination. But, to my earlier point, if Foster was nominated here (or even Pine, though he seems more Best Actor material) I wouldn't be upset. But Bridges is more than deserving. You can also compare Bridges to Tommy Lee Jones in No Country for Old Men, and though there are some similarities, the two men are completely different. Bridges' character isn't weary at all and would continue being a Ranger if he could, which he kinda tries to do. Jones is just a tired old lawman. But both are cut from the same cloth, I think. Bridges is good and I hope he has more performances like this in him in the future.
Lucas Hedges - Manchester by the Sea
The main thing that sticks out to me about this performance, or really just the character in general, is that Patrick (Hedges) doesn't act normal. I get that people react differently to tragedy in their lives but this is almost absurd and I really loved the film! So Hedges has his father die from congestive heart failure which everyone knew could happen at anytime. But the kid doesn't react at all to this sad, life changing news. He just cracks jokes, tries to bang his multiple girlfriends, hangs out with his friends, and goes on with his life as if nothing has happened. It really boggled my mind that that was the direction writer/director Kenneth Lonergan wanted this character to go. He doesn't even ever seem sad. All we ever get emotion wise is that he doesn't like the idea of his dad being in a freezer until he can be buried in the spring and has a freak out moment when food falls from his freezer and he has trouble putting it back in. That's it! That's the only emotional response we get from Patrick. It's absurd. He doesn't cry at the hospital or at the funeral or anywhere and he just goes on with life. Hedges does what he can with the character but your performance is going to suffer when a film with so much tragedy has one role that is completely unaffected by said tragedies. Hedges reminds me a tiny bit of a taller, skinnier Matt Damon and he holds his own against Casey Affleck just fine, but I feel that's because the character is just immune to emotion. I just didn't get this character at all, so maybe someone out there can explain it to me. For that reason, I find it hard to get into Hedges' performance. He's a typical kid, he's funny, he's likable and he's got a little bit of presence but how can you judge this without any real emotion? I'm struggling to figure out why Hedges was nominated other than the Academy loved the hell out of this film. Anyone care to explain it to me?
Dev Patel - Lion
Honestly, the first thing that even pops into my mind when seeing him nominated here is that this is a make-up nomination. I don't feel like I'm wrong at all about that. I do feel like this is because Patel was so good and so instrumental in Slumdog Millionaire winning Best Picture. Without Dev Patel, that film doesn't win a thing. So this is Dev's consolation prize, so to speak. It is for great work, though, which is good. The film is about an Indian boy who gets separated from his brother one night and travels hundreds of miles away from home and is eventually adopted by an Australian couple. He is raised in a loving, normal home and goes to college in Melbourne. From there, his friends encourage him to search for his birthplace on Google Earth and he finally locates home. Patel is good because he moves the story forward. I know that sounds stupid but he's so good at being a conduit to move a story forward. He is a vessel for the audience to put all their emotions and not feel weird or hesitant about it. A 56 year old white woman from Kansas can become emotionally involved in an Indian boy in Australia because of Patel's acting. It's beyond emotional and he hooks you with his sincerity to his journey and to his mother. Patel makes the adult Saroo into a charming yet troubled version of himself. He kills a relationship because of an identity crisis but we understand because it's a very real one. I think Patel delivers a very poignant portrayal of what it's like to be unsure of one's history while trying to search for it. Patel is tired and desperate yet unyielding. He takes the audience on an emotional ride that feels natural and earned and highlights a very good supporting performance. The big issue is that some feel he was Leading but he shows up 53 minutes into a less than 2 hour film, so no, he is very much Supporting. And he's very good at it.
Michael Shannon - Nocturnal Animals
Michael Shannon could have like 7 Oscar nominations already if it were up to me. He's a great character actor and supporting player who gives amazing performances in almost everything he does. No different here as he plays a policeman who helps Jake Gyllenhaal after his traumatic night of terror where his wife and daughter were raped and murdered. Shannon is just a gruff old cop who responds with grunts at times and looks like, and is, a hardass with a good heart. A lot of people will think this film is all style without any substance and you wouldn't really be wrong. The film looks gorgeous and Tom Ford's style is pretty evident in everything about the film. I personally like the mood and intensity of the film and don't care about the paper thin real life characters. I'm just along for the beautifully dark ride. Shannon does make a little something out of a role that with anyone else would have probably fallen flat or been way too overdone. Shannon gets it just right and his get justice done at any cost style feels natural to the character. You naturally gravitate towards watching Shannon work in the film because you want to see what he does next and how he does it. He's like that in all of his performances and probably why he was the choice for the nomination here over Aaron Taylor-Johnson (who is equally as good in his sadistic, psychotic bad guy role) and because Shannon has been nominated before. Shannon's character might not be the most deep or unique one of all time but Shannon takes a rote role and turns it into something interesting and compelling and that is why I like Shannon as an actor.
This is always my favorite category because the films and nominees are always so diverse. This is where you'll get a crazy film like Nocturnal Animals or an Indian actor actually nominated for once. This year was no exception as everyone is good or great minus Lucas Hedges. I hate to call him out like that but I didn't get the character so the performance suffers for me and didn't understand the nomination. Plain and simple. Patel is a make-up nomination for essentially the same role in Slumdog Millionaire but he is pretty good and I'd say he belongs here. I just love Shannon even if the role isn't the most unique one ever created. He puts his Michael Shannon spin on it, though, and I was entertained. Bridges is clearly a league above the other three and could have won in any other year. I really do hope Bridges will continue to deliver great performances like this one in the future. But this year was all about Ali. His performance is amazing and it definitely deserved the win. Everyone should watch it, if just for his last scene, which is a thing of beauty. This was a very good year and I hope that trend continues for 2017.
Oscar Winner: Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
My Winner: Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
Jeff Bridges
Michael Shannon
Dev Patel
Lucas Hedges
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