Unfortunately, this was Smith's Oscar all the way. It felt like it was predetermined by everyone that he was going to win no matter what even though from what I've heard others gave better performances. This felt like the Academy felt it was his turn or his time to get one. It sucks that the slap overshadowed everything about this night and allowed Hollywood to shot its ass yet again by giving him a standing ovation like an hour later as he rambled on a really terrible acceptance speech. Smith was banned for 10 years from the Academy and didn't get to present at the next year's awards as is tradition. Honestly, good riddance to an absolute garbage person and hypocrite, but I will keep my mind open to his performance in case it actually is deserving. Let's find out.
2021 Best Actor
Will Smith - King Richard
Yes, Smith was an idiot on Oscar night and everything that happened was beyond absurd and he deserved his punishment. That said, this is about the performance, which I was keenly intrigued about before all that crap went down. He plays the father of Venus and Serena Williams and we see how his overbearing presence shaped them into tennis legends. It was touted as being a major player before the film even came out, though a lot of his roles start out that way and then fizzle once people actually see them. But this one had staying power and I think a lot of that is due to it being a very engaging and likable film. It's easy to root for Venus and Serena even though we know what they become later on. Smith dominates the film, but the girls standout as well. Smith's accent is okay, it's like a mix of Charles Barkley and Mike Tyson at times. But he is effective in the role of the overbearing father who has to have the final say in everything. I like that this performance doesn't rely much on Smith's big smile and his charming personality. Richard is not always the nicest guy and Smith shows that off to great effect. You can also see Smith really settle into the role as the film progresses and he becomes more confident in his Richard and we get some good scenes. There are some corny scenes, which is to be expected from a film told in a positive light with the sisters' blessing about their father since it barely touches on Richard being a piece of shit with multiple other kids in real life. What I like about the performance is that it doesn't feel like Smith just playing Will Smith playing some real life person. The humor and charm is toned down. We don't get a lot of the baity scenes that don't feel true to life but are designed to get Oscars. I like that it's toned down but Smith still elevates the work into something worth watching and paying attention to despite what he's known for. I would have liked if this film and performance took on more of the negative about his life and his approach with his daughters because I feel like that could have wrung even a little bit more of some truly great work from Smith. I feel he's capable of it and though his work here is strong and easily the best out of his three nominations, it could have been so much better. I'd like to have seen more complexity and depth besides a righteous man who thinks his way is the only way and who gets to riff on others while they sit back and take it, but this is a feel good film partly produced by the sisters so I get it. Smith does what is necessary for the role and does it well and ends up creating a crowd pleasing performance that the Academy fell in love with and rewarded. I can't hate on it at all, it's a good watch, it's entertaining, and that's in large part due to Smith.
Javier Bardem - Being the Ricardos
I was very interested in this performance from Bardem because he is a great actor and I've loved his previous three Oscar nominations. He plays the role of Desi Arnaz ,who we have all seen from the I Love Lucy Show, so there is an expectation of the kind of performance we should be getting for that role. But unfortunately this is a massive miss for Bardem. I don't think he was the right choice at all to play Desi. Never mind that there isn't much of a resemblance, Bardem simply cannot match the presence and charisma that Desi exuded on the show. His attempts, if you can even call it that, at matching the higher pitched voice are awful and he doesn't even stick to it for most of the film. Desi was a peppy, energetic force with an expressive face and eyes and Bardem doesn't convey any of that in the performance. It feels like a producer should have stepped in and said this isn't working out, we need to find someone else (Oscar Isaac was an early choice before Bardem). Even the real life portions of the film where we see the behind the scenes machinations, it feels very by the numbers acting for Bardem, which is a shame because it seems like he wants it to work but just can't get it there. The chemistry with Nicole Kidman's Lucy is fine, but it's not anything that sizzles or feels authentic to what we understand their relationship to be like. The crisp, witty writing that Aaron Sorkin is known for falls flat out of Bardem's mouth and it's just an overall disappointing film and performance, neither helps the other. Not sure what the acting branch saw in all three of the performances nominated from this film other than recognizable characters and previous Oscar winners. This is one to skip, sadly.
Benedict Cumberbatch - The Power of the Dog
The race this year was between Will Smith and Cumberbatch and for a time I thought it was going to be Cumberbatch and I would have been ecstatic at that win. But we got a horrible winner and this film just died a hard death only receiving Best Director after being a front runner in a few categories. This is honestly the best I have ever seen from Cumberbatch. I'm a fan of his TV work, his Marvel work, and his other films but this is his peak so far. Cumberbatch plays Phil, a cowboy/rancher who lives with his brother Jesse Plemons who brings home a new wife, Kirsten Dunst, who is widowed and has a son, Kodi Smit-McPhee. Those are all the players in the story and Cumberbatch is this grumpy, tempermental, mysterious guy who apparently was college educated but became a cowboy from following his mentor, Bronco Henry. He has bought into that lifestyle which is Montana in 1925 and is a hard ass and doesn't wash himself for days. Cumberbatch nails the American accent and just has the gruff, lived in feel to his performance. I read that he stayed in character, didn't wash for weeks, and didn't talk to Dunst on set, really going the method route. The performance has a lot of internalized acting, where we read Cumberbatch's eyes, face, or body language to gleam what his intent is in whatever moment. He only explodes a couple times and they hammer home that his character is in charge and that he can be genuinely hurt by others' actions because it directly affects him. Like when the cow hides are sold or given away (wasn't sure if the gloves Dunst got were payment or not) that scream from Cumberbatch was not in the script and was improvised and surprised all the other actors whose reactions are real. That reaction is because he couldn't use hide strips to make the rope for KSM's character who he had developed some camaraderie for (maybe love, but I can't quite tell if the vibes are homoerotic or not) and wanted to finish the rope and also because Dunst one upped him. If you pare it all down, it's a performance where Cumberbatch is wrestling with himself on who he really is. Is he the strong alpha cowboy who everyone follows? Is he a man attracted to KSM and doing things for his attention? Is he trying to be a mentor like Bronco Henry was to him (and I got the vibe that Bronco Henry was more than a mentor)? There is so much subtext that I feel like you have to watch this film like two or three times to fully figure out your thoughts on who these characters are and even then you'll never truly know. It's a great performance from Cumberbatch and it's what I want to see more from him and less of the Marvel shit because he can easily win one of these in the near future. I didn't do this performance any justice so just go watch it yourself and marvel at how good his acting is.
Andrew Garfield - Tick, Tick...Boom!
Oh. My. God. This is brilliance. I am not kidding. This film and performance resonated with me like few others ever have. While watching this I kept pausing and saying what the actual fuck, I love this film. I like Garfield's previous work whether as Spider-Man, or a conscientious objector who goes to war, or a televangelist who grifts folks. This guy can play anything you throw at him. I was not prepared for him to knock my socks off as a version of Jonathan Larson, who everyone knows for creating the RENT musical. This film looks into his life before that success while he was trying to get his other musical shown which became tick, tick..boom! That play debuted after he died suddenly in 1996, but he obviously left a huge, gaping legacy that made it wait until the 2000s for his work to gain resurgence. Larson is interesting, but Garfield is beyond perfect and a once in a lifetime connection to Larson. I love unequivocally that Garfield learned to sing for a year before shooting began because you cannot tell me that he didn't have the chops to sing those songs before this film. Dude's voice is perfect for a musical and he matches the style of some white dude creating his own musical. Not a slight, but a very legit compliment. His energy and dedication to the character are second to none and I can't believe that Garfield isn't a musical veteran and that he hasn't sung much before. I do know that Garfield won a Tony Award just before this started filming for Angels in America, so at least he knows the stage. This dude even did the swimming scenes because he was better than the stunt double they hired. What the hell can't Garfield do? I am still blown away that he wasn't a singer and practiced for a year and gave a performance that I am going to consider one of the best ever. Because I feel it is and can be and the film should have been nominated for Best Picture and maybe Best Director. I wish we could have got more out of Larson but this will do.
Denzel Washington - The Tragedy of MacBeth
It's actually pretty cool to see Denzel in a Shakespeare play/film, especially as MacBeth. It is also the first time an actor was nominated for a Shakespeare role since Kenneth Branagh in 1989 for Henry V. Obviously, these types of nominations used to be more commonplace, but I think the tide has turned against them because we have seen so many different adaptations on stage and on the big and little screens through the decades that you need to stand out to be noticed and nominated. Or just be Denzel and that will work for you, too. I jest a bit, but if this were anyone else I highly doubt they would have even sniffed any type of awards, let alone an Oscar nomination. This was Denzel's ninth nomination which is absolutely incredible and is testament to his long, illustrious career. It feels like the Academy has been really pushing for him to get his third Oscar in the last couple of years and I understand the sentiment, I just want him to earn it if that's what happens. You should know the story of MacBeth because even if you never read the play in school or watched a version of it, you've seen a remake in some capacity that had a different name since this story has been told over and over forever. Denzel's MacBeth is good and my fear going into these is just how does the actor treat the lines. Denzel has been on stage plenty of times and is no stranger to that kind of acting, so it's only natural that he fits the role of MacBeth just fine. And while his line delivery isn't the most natural and effortless (I like Brendon Gleeson's delivery in this film for comparison), he plays it like a regular performance of his bringing that gravitas to the role and making you invested in his version of MacBeth. The lines also don't sound so foreign coming out of his mouth which is a good thing because some actors can be wooden or a bit awkward with them or feel like they or simply reciting lines with rehearsed movements. The film is gorgeous and filmed by Joel Coen (minus his brother, Ethan) and his work lends a lot of power to Denzel. It's filmed in black and white and has this ethereal sense to the whole thing and so we don't see Denzel in these garish, period piece costumes with elaborate sets. It's a stripped down version of the story that focuses on the characters and the story and that allows Denzel to act the best way he knows how. He's great in the quieter moments and we know he's amazing at the times he has to get loud and be a force. He's really good at making the paranoia seem real alongside Shakespeare's words. It's as good of a performance of Shakespeare that you can expect from Denzel. At this point, though, I need something like this to blow me away and transcend acting to get me to vote for a Shakespeare performance to win. But this is one that Denzel can hang his hat on and be proud of playing.
Okay, so Smith wasn't awful and was his normal Oscar bait self in those types of films he's done throughout his career. It's fine and if it hadn't won, we'd just think of it as maybe belonging in the group but not entirely deserving of the award. I still don't think it should have won and it seems the Academy was desperate to reward him for whatever reason. The less we say about the bizarre events and that weird standing ovation the better. Interesting that this was a minority majority for the first time ever in the category if I'm not mistaken and that is again because of the new look Academy. Bardem is unfortunately so bad that I can't believe he got nominated. Nothing against him, but that was hard to watch. Washington doing Shakespeare is fun to watch, but you have to be beyond amazing or do something never seen before with the role to get any awards traction with these kinds of performances. Cumberbatch came close to winning and probably would have if not for the push to get Smith an Oscar. I think he was strong but not the best of the year. That goes to Garfield who I just absolutely loved. That performance resonated so well with me for whatever reason. I may need to come back down from it a little but it's easily one of the best musical performances ever in my book. It should have won and we should be hailing Garfield as the gifted actor he is. Just brilliant work. A decent group of nominees with the wrong winner. Hopefully 2022 gets it right.
Oscar Winner: Will Smith - King Richard
My Winner: Andrew Garfield - Tick, Tick...Boom!
Benedict Cumberbatch
Denzel Washington
Will Smith
Javier Bardem
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