Ugh, this fucking category, man. I hated that they essentially broke protocol or eschewed tradition, however you want to say it, to have this category be the last one announced on Oscar night all because they thought Chadwick Boseman was winning and they could go out celebrating his life and achievement. Yet, Hopkins won because a lot of voters still believe in awarding the best performance and not just because someone died. And Hopkins wasn't even there, so it ended with a resounding thud as the ceremony abruptly ended. No doubt that Hopkins' stature played a part in his win and maybe even the fact that he's getting up there in years. But all I've heard during the awards season and since his win is that his performance is brilliant, so I'm eager to see if that's true or not. Same goes with Boseman's performance, because maybe that should be the winner. Or one of the other three. That's why we watch them all and decide from there.
2020 Best Actor
Anthony Hopkins - The Father
It was embarrassing and downright stupid of the Academy to push Best Actor to the final award of the night because they thought they would reward Chadwick Boseman and get a tearful family acceptance speech. It was also disrespectful of the other nominees who were in a lose-lose situation. Hopkins didn't bother to come to the ceremony because he thought Boseman was winning based on things like the award getting moved. I am sure there are people to this day who hate Hopkins because he won and who have never actually watched this film or performance. My question going into this was did this performance actually deserve the win? Was this maybe the older folks, the British contingent wanting to reward one of their own one last time? Hopkins became the oldest acting winner ever with this so those questions have merit to me. But the performance is legit and allows you to judge based on performance alone and not just extracurriculars like age or race or popularity or whatever. Interestingly enough, both roles were from plays originally but Hopkins feels more rooted in reality than theater. He is a gentleman suffering from dementia and trying to deal with that reality while his daughter tries to take care of him. It's a remarkable performance because Hopkins has to be able to switch between different emotions and feelings in an instant. One minute lucid and joking around to then becoming excessively cruel with his words because he doesn't want a care taker. Walking around doing daily tasks to looking around in bewilderment at him not recognizing someone or his surroundings. Trying to pretend he knows what's going on when talking to people but stuck in a reality he doesn't comprehend or understand. There's a lot of physical acting in how he looks, how he moves and interacts with the environment, to his eyes doing a lot of acting. It's the work you would expect from a seasoned veteran actor and he doesn't disappoint. It's a heartbreaking gut punch to see him go through this terrible thing and to see his daughter become emotionally fraught by it all. I will still have to see if this ends up my winner, as there are some great names on this list but this is worthy of being an Oscar winner, without a doubt.
Riz Ahmed - Sound of Metal
Ahmed is just one of those dudes where you know he's going to get an acting Oscar some day, or at least it feels like it with the quality of work that he's done. He actually won an Oscar at the next year's awards for a Best Live Action Short, which was pretty awesome to see. It's great to see him get this recognition for acting because he is truly fantastic in this film. He plays a metal drummer who starts going deaf and has to deal with that new reality. Ahmed acts a ton with eyes and looks on his face as we kinda see him processing this huge change in his life. He can be bombastic and trash some equipment in his RV to show his anger and frustration or we can see him embracing the change and drumming on a slide while a deaf boy "listens" to the beat. This is an emotional film and Ahmed traverses all of the different emotions and interactions with perfect balance. It's never too put on and never too internalized, deftly moving between different levels of sometimes the same emotions. He has a co-dependent relationship with his girlfriend/bandmate and it's clear they both used the relationship to switch from drugs/whatever to relying on each other for help. We see those moments from Ahmed's side since she can't stay with him at the shelter and he sneaks away to check up on her music and where she is. We feel that anxiety of wanting and needing to be with her and trying to assimilate into a new community. This is a man torn between two worlds and not being able to make good decisions because of that. We see him become comfortable with the group and helping others and being a productive member of the group but never really comfortable with himself. I actually thought that he was going to hookup with the one teacher lady and be all in with his new community, but kinda glad that cliche didn't happen. It felt more real that he got a cochlear implant and went off to find his girl and reunite, because it's not a happy ending totally and because he is still finding himself despite Raci's character trying to convince him to embrace who he is now. There is so much going on with this character and Ahmed is able to make this tough performance shine and deliver us something raw and real and not a perfectly neat character all wrapped up in a bow. Great work from Ahmed and cannot wait to see what he does next.
Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Everyone thought he was winning, including the Academy who moved Best Acting to the final category of the night only to get blue balled when Anthony Hopkins won and wasn't even there. It was a terrible way to end the night, though I understand they were hoping to celebrate Boseman's life and career in that moment. Boseman was a terrific actor, a perfect Black Panther, and a guy that had an amazing future ahead of him. He was more than just the biopic characters he portrayed early in his career, which were all good, but he was an actor and only just getting to show it off. People thought he would be double nominated in Supporting Actor for Da 5 Bloods, which he was also good in this year. This film was based on an August Wilson play, a prominent black playwright who is considered one of the best black Americans to do it. So with that in mind, this is a very theatrical film. This means that the dialogue comes fast and heavy and the intensity ratchets up at different times. This is perfect for Boseman because he can be that jovial type easily and then careen off into some tense, heated scene where he threatens other band members. Boseman plays Levee, a trumpeter in a band for Ma Rainey. He has written his own music and is trying to get it recorded amid teasing from other band members and shit talking them all the same. Boseman's character goes from lighthearted ribbing with give and take over his new gold shoes and trying to record his own songs to being increasingly pissed off that he is denied or taken advantage of at every turn when trying to just go his own way. To the point that he loses his cool and stabs a band member. Spoilers, but it's wild in the context of the film and feels so theatrical to me. Something unexpected that comes out of nowhere in a play rather than being built up to or foreshadowed in a film. But Boseman is great in the role and brings it the energy that it needs. He calls out everyone including Ma and the white recording studio owners, bangs Ma's eye candy, and goes crazy when someone smudges his gold shoes. It shows Boseman's range and it would have been great to see him do this on stage. Sadly, this is all we are left with so at least he went out on a high note and we can always wonder what if a talented actor like him had given us 50 more years. No doubt he would have won an Oscar continuing on this trajectory.
Gary Oldman - Mank
Oldman was still in that window where a previous winner will get nominated if they put in some good work, but his performance here easily stands ahead of that little Academy quirk. Mank is a bit of a complicated, heavy film where your knowledge of film history and knowing Old Hollywood comes in handy and I imagine is tough to follow for an audience coming in blind. Oldman does a fantastic job at navigating such a complex character who, as the title suggests, carries the film. And Oldman does indeed carry the film as his Mank is so effortlessly charming, cunning, and witty. Every line seems to drip with deeper meaning or literary references and you realize just how intelligent the character is and how he could create something like Citizen Kane. The film yo-yo's back and forth between Oldman writing the film while recovering from a broken leg and battling alcoholism in a Mojave retreat and flashbacks of Mank and his career in Hollywood that lead up to now. I think Oldman plays a good drunk here, which can be hard to make convincing and not let get out of control and distract from an otherwise great performance. He exaggerates it a bit but not the detriment of the performance or the film. Oldman is a chameleon and his career bears this out. His transformation into Mank is wonderful and we can forget that he is British with a superb old school accent. His scenes with Amanda Seyfried are great and really serve to highlight the film the film with them as they have great chemistry and it feels like a paternalistic type of relationship to where you want to see more. If you can get through a film that is a bit dense in subject, you can find a rather terrific performance from Oldman that stands up to the rest of his impressive oeurve.
Steven Yeun - Minari
My how far Yeun has come from his The Walking Dead days! He was a force in that show and then once free from TV, he has blossomed with Burning, a great Korean film, and delivers this wonderful performance. Without Parasite, though, I honestly don't think that Yeun becomes the first East Asian to be nominated in this category, which is absolutely wild. Yeun plays Jacob, an immigrant from South Korea who has had a couple stays in America before settling in Arkansas to work at a chick hatchery but ultimately start a farm for Korean vegetables. Family drama ensues and this is sorta based on director/writer Lee Isaac Chung's childhood so it is grounded in realism. What I love about this performance is just how natural Yeun approaches everything. It's almost entirely spoken in Korean with some English mixed in when interacting with the locals, but Yeun never falls into any stereotypical idea of someone new to a country speaking English. Even with his lone worker who begged him for a job, he has a Korean attitude and accent but it never feels exploitative which I think is due to the director being the driving force of the film. Yeun is very much a father figure and a dominant husband who also listens to his wife but puts his farm first. In saying that, Yeun balances the many aspects of his life in support of his family and farm. Tough when he needs to be, but not overly so. And while hints that he and his wife had way happier times, he treats her with respect but makes it known he doesn't want to be a failure to his family if the farm doesn't succeed. Yeun does a lot of delicate balancing with his character and it works out so well for him. I will say I am honestly surprised the Academy nominated this film and this performance because it just seems like something they would overlook. But the previous year obviously played into this getting seen and I love that Yeun was the recipient of almost a century of people being overlooked. Yeun gives a delicate performance that is absolutely deserving of a nomination and is something you should watch as soon as possible.
I just want to say first that I am not against Boseman at all. Had he won, after watching all of these performances, I'd have been okay with it and enjoyed that his career ended on such a high note. I'd have been even more pumped if Yeun or Ahmed won because both are great actors doing great work. And this is the first Best Actor category to have a majority of the nominees be minorities or not white dudes. Which is pretty cool because it doesn't feel unearned or have any token nominees that shouldn't be here. In saying that Boseman is probably my number five spot because I don't think it's the best even though I said I'd be fine with it winning, because I would. But the others are just all so good. Yeun is fantastic as a man trying to support his family by becoming a farmer and dealing with all kinds of obstacles. Oldman is his normal amazing self giving us a performance that is wryly funny and full of heart and intensity. Ahmed is incredible as a drummer that begins to lose his hearing and is fighting with his addiction and loss of his sense of purpose in life. And Hopkins delivers a heart breaking, tough to sit through in a good way performance about dementia. I think I'll just go with the Academy on this one and give it to Hopkins, but everyone in this category is good to some degree. This year will be tough to top, but let's see what 2021 has for us.
Oscar Winner: Anthony Hopkins - The Father
My Winner: Anthony Hopkins - The Father
Riz Ahmed
Gary Oldman
Steven Yeun
Chadwick Boseman
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