This was another very intriguing race that was essentially a three headed monster most of the season. Fraser, Butler, and Farrell all seemed to take the lead at various times and, again, we had no idea who would win on Oscar night. The fact that this year had so many categories up in the air was awesome. It's much better to be on the edge of my seat to find out who wins than to know the winner even before the Globes. I am interested in seeing who the winner should be and if Fraser's feel-good story makes a good win or not.
2022 Best Actor
Brendan Fraser - The Whale
This was another of those feel good stories that this year's Oscars seemed to be all about. Fraser had been sexually assaulted by some guy from the Golden Globes/HFPA in 2003 and along with a divorce and health problems, he stopped getting work for a while and the once top earning actor was now getting bit parts in foreign films or bad movies. Eventually he broke back into TV and started getting more roles which led to this performance and winning an Oscar. I can't say I am one of those Fraser fan boys that seem to be all over the internet and it honestly just feels like a meme, really, but I always enjoyed his work. When he started getting major buzz for this film, I was intrigued because all I knew was that he played a morbidly obese guy who never left his apartment. Would this be exploitative? Would it be pure Oscar bait? Was it a legit comeback? I don't think it's exploitative, but it definitely is baity for sure. And obviously it was a legit comeback. The film is based off a play and besides Fraser and Hong Chau's performances (not as big a fan of Sadie Sink in this as others are) the film is a bit lackluster. We never leave the apartment besides some outside establishing shots and that feels appropriate for a film based off a play. A lot of the film is just him sitting on the couch in his fat suit talking with other people. The performance is strong, though. Fraser had to wear like a 300 pound fat suit/prosthetics and his movement in that thing is convincing. It looks realistic and it provides Fraser with something to act with while struggling to get up off the couch and walk to the bedroom/bathroom. It really is impressive that he makes it look so realistic and learning that he studied with a dance instructor on how to move around at that weight just shows his dedication to the role and that he was all in on this one. Fraser's character is an English teacher for online schooling and is super pleasant and very self aware of his condition and that he is dying from congestive heart failure. Fraser brings a bit of warmth to the character and we see this whenever he interacts with his home health nurse, his estranged daughter, or the missionary who stops by. He exudes empathy and tries to find the good in everyone and that feels right up Fraser's alley. What I liked most about the performance is the times when Fraser eats. Sounds silly maybe, but it's the small bits of acting where his eyes half close and he stares off while eating pizza or fried chicken and we see the power food has on making him feel good. He got fat because his partner killed himself or died somehow and that sent him into a depression he fought with food. But just watch those scenes where he eats and just notice how his whole demeanor changes and he seems to go into another world. That's great, subtle acting that really helps define his character. He has to do a lot of physical acting and also has to act while just sitting on a couch talking to someone and make that interesting, which he does. This film would suffer in lesser hands which is a compliment to Fraser for hard carrying this film and being the emotional center of a rather tepid film. Fraser is extremely likable and will get you fully invested in his dying, obese character. Just wish it was a better film overall that could have better highlighted Fraser's performance. Happy with the win and it was a great moment on an Oscar night that was chock full of them.
Austin Butler - Elvis
There was a very real possibility that Butler was going to win come Oscar night. It was mostly decided that Fraser had it in the bag, but Oscar is Oscar and likes to throw us some eephus pitches at times (if you know, you know). Out of the three headed race, Butler seemed like a lock playing Elvis but of course Frase had the comeback story in his favor. But Butler was transcendent as Elvis. He had the appropriate gravitas and look and accent to pull off being the King during all phases of his life. Butler lived in this character from almost three years because of Covid and delays, so he got immersed in the accent. It's so good and is honestly key to a good Elvis performance. It's a fine line between impersonation and embodiment and Butler knocks it out of the park. He said that he lived in that accent for so long that he had trouble getting rid of it and had to get a dialect coach to find his original voice. Don't know how true that is but if you watch the Masters of the Air series he did right after this film, you can still hear that Elvis voice in some episodes. So it makes since he got the voice down pat. And Butler looks like Elvis. Yes, prosthetics were used in the film to make him look more like the singer in the cheeks and chin, but Butler has the look of Elvis and that helps with fully believing in his performance. Once you get the looks and voice out of the way, Butler has the gravitas and charisma to pull off Elvis. He can dance and sing and damn if he doesn't look cool doing all of that. It's really great stuff and Butler was a Disney kid actor coming up, but I guess transitioned to Broadway and worked with Denzel who recommended Baz Lurhmann to hire him even though Denzel had never met Baz. I mean, that's a ringing endorsement if there ever was one. It's just a matter of time before Butler is back and winning this award. He is currently in the new Dune 2 film and is getting buzz for his character in that, so guy is going to be around for a while and I look forward to what he can do on his own cognition without the spectre of Elvis hanging over him. This is a great performance that would have won in the previous years, but ran into a sob story for voters. Hoping we see him here again soon.
Colin Farrell - The Banshees of Inisherin
I would have loved a win here for Farrell as this is hard to believe is his only nomination by the Academy. It feels like he should have more as he has long been a hearthrob and box office success who has churned out some really great performances in smaller or more dramatic roles. Farrell and writer/director Martin McDonagh have hooked up a few times to great effect. Farrell was fantastic in In Bruges and lots of fun in Seven Psychopaths. It's fitting that he gets nominated for his fellow Irishman with his fellow Irishman in Brendan Gleeson. The story is about Gleeson very suddenly ending his friendship with Farrell. Farrell does a great job at being incredulous, frustrated, motivated, desperate, and eventually violent. All those emotions we feel right alongside Farrell as we try to suss out what's up with Gleeson as Farrell does the same. His character is rather simple, though not village idiot simple. Just a guy who lives a simple life on a remote island with a small community who loves his donkey and his sister and his friend. Part of that has unraveled and we feel for Farrell as he increasingly becomes desperate to fix the friendship that he has no idea what he did wrong with. Even when Gleeson threatens to cut off his fingers whenever Farrell next talks to him, Farrell still tries to see the best in the situation to snap his friend out of it and get back to normal. We feel Farrell's exasperation of the moment and feel his burgeoning loneliness and depression. That's what the film seems what it may truly be about deep down and it's all these characters dealing with loneliness and despair. We also feel the turn when Farrell decides to reciprocate the hardness of Gleeson and attack him and it feels earned. I think Farrell does a great job at just playing this character who is overwhelmed with not knowing how to fix his friendship because he is good guy at his core and can't just let that go. The performance is also hilarious at times, though it's a very dry, understated comedy that Farrell pulls off. Some of his offhand comments absolutely sent me and I imagine that's a result of his great comedic talent and McDonagh writing great material. This is also just a sad performance from Farrell. This dude wakes up one day and his best friend won't even acknowledge him and he spends a whole film trying to figure out why and trying to win him back, so to speak. It's devastating in that regard and Farrell does a great job of balancing all of those aspects of the performance into one cohesive piece of work. I think we all have had friendships end in various ways, but I can't imagine one as brutal as this one. It is incredible work and I do hope the Academy is able to reward him in the future.
Paul Mescal - Aftersun
To start off, if you haven't seen this film yet, do yourself a favor and go watch it without knowing anything about it. I think knowing what happens and what the film is about may temper some feelings and emotions this film elicits from the viewer. Having said that, Mescal is phenomenal and perfectly cast. Mescal has quickly become the newest hot actor that seemingly has come out of nowhere to being Oscar nominated and with lots of people online singing his praises and eagerly waiting for his next role. He was in last year's Olivia Colman nominated film The Lost Daughter and he was charming in that one. I started hearing his name super early in the awards race, even before it began, and he just picked up steam on his way to a nom. And I have to give credit to the Academy because this is not your typical Oscar fare and doesn't have any big, showy moments. This is very much a subtle, understated performance that is mostly internalized and filtered through the memory of a little girl. The story is about a woman remembering a holiday to Turkey she took with her dad like twenty years ago. A simple enough story until you realize that she is watching the videos she took on a camcorder trying to see any reason as to why her dad was the way he was and did what he did. We presume at the end that Mescal takes his life and this trip was a last time thing where he could bond with his daughter and leave her with good memories of their time together. None of this is shown or stated in the film, but it's what I think happens. We see the glimpses of pain and sadness in Mescal throughout the film. A lot of it so subtle that it may be interpreted another way at first. It seems in the beginning, Mescal is a normal dad who gets to take his daughter on a holiday, but the little things we notice start to add up. When he can't sleep at night, when he perks up a bit when his daughter says she feels down after an amazing day, his starting to drink more, not going on stage to sing karaoke with his daughter, not wanting to answer his daughter about what he thought he'd be doing at his age when he was young. There's a lot of other moments even smaller than those that allow Mescal to show this internalized sadness and depression. We can see the pain behind his eyes and know there is something else going on inside him, though we never learn any reason as to what or why. Often in the film, Mescal is half out of frame or the lighting is bad from the camcorder and it's like he lets his guard down at times. I love when someone can quietly express emotions or change them up with the smallest of details and Mescal shines at doing that in this performance. He's a father hiding his true self from his daughter but some of that truth slips out. This is a performance that demands to be watched instead of just reading reviews about it because it can be hard to fully describe how great the performance is when it's so low key. I am excited to see more from Mescal in the future and I hope this is the start of many more great performances to come and not a flash in the pan.
Bill Nighy - Living
This is an incredible film. I am very disappointed that this didn't make the Best Picture group and didn't get more love overall during the Awards season. The film comes from a great pedigree that includes a story by Leo Tolstoy and is based off the film Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa. This one was written by Kazuo Ishiguro who himself is a Nobel Prize winner in Literature and was nominated for Adapted Screenplay. That's how you know this film was in good hands and it shows. Story and direction and all that is superb, but Nighy is the one who brings it all together and makes this a must watch performance. Yes, this is essentially a career nomination for Nighy, but the performance is deserving enough on its own merit. The best review I read for this film and performance was that it is exquisitely sad, and that simple description nails the entire feel of both film and performance. I have enjoyed Nighy's performances through the years and Love, Actually is one of my all-time favorite films. This is a whole other side to Nighy that we have had glimpses of before, or at least I have in what I've seen of his work, but he plays this character who finds out he is dying of a terminal illness and decides to start living his life with such beautiful restraint and subtlety. In the beginning, he is rather cold and a man that doesn't say much and is very economical with his words, but eventually grows into a man with a purpose and newfound happiness in life. The journey from the start to the end is profoundly engaging to me. Watching Nighy contemplate his diagnosis or go to the beach and sing in a bar until he breaks down or lights up when he meets one of his female underlings who moved on to a new job is so touching because all of those moments are littered with nuanced acting that we start feeling his despair and hopelessness turn into joy and determination. It really is something to watch because I was just expecting a curmudgeonly old man who maybe lashes out before changing for the better in the blink of an eye. But no, Nighy's character runs through a whole gamut of emotions and it doesn't always pay off in a neatly wrapped up moment. So yes, this is an exquisitely sad performance and just may be the best thing Nighy has ever done. Highly recommend not skipping over this one as it might just contend for a win for me.
I honestly don't know what to do with this group. I'll Start with Fraser being my bottom five. I love his comeback and his whole story and all that, but I didn't quite enjoy the performance as much as the others. The Academy loves the fat suit and uglifying yourself, so Fraser had it all right there. I just didn't really get into this narrative as so many others did. Farrell was good and it is surprising that this was his first ever nomination. Enjoyed the back and forth with Brendan Gleeson but didn't see enough to vote for. The remaining three really have me scratching my head. Butler was so freaking good as Elvis. I don't think many other people could have pulled off that performance and made you believe he was Elvis. In a weak year going up against a Rami Malek, Butler would win easily. No question. But there was Nighy and Mescal. Both had some very understated performances that really blew me away. I cannot believe we got that performance from Nighy. I never knew he was capable of that! I keep thinking about Mescal's performance, though. Like I want to watch it ten more times to see all that he does. I want it as a Criterion offer with awesome features. I was wrestling in my mind about giving Nighy the win because that's probably it for him versus Mescal who could legit win one or two in the future. That's why right now, I'm giving it to Nighy. He deserves it and Mescal may actually win another one in the future. Ask me tomorrow and I'll give to Mescal because he was incredible. I'm finishing this just before the 2024 Oscars and know that it, too, is kinda set in stone with Cillian Murphy. He would be the first Irishman ever to win Best Actor, so maybe I don't feel as bad keeping fellow Irishman Mescal out of the win column. A phenomenal group though. No one here is bad at all and all have a case to be made for a win. Let's get to Murphy's win, now.
Oscar Winner: Brendan Fraser - The Whale
My Winner: Bill Nighy - Living
Paul Mescal
Austin Butler
Colin Farrell
Brendan Fraser
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