I feel this was the category that most people were looking to as the feel good story of the night. People love Murphy and Giamatti and while Murphy started steamrolling through everything, there was a little bit of maybe Giamatti can pull off the upset. Obviously, he didn't but this was probably my favorite moment of Oscar night. Murphy looked so happy and relieved and had a big genuine smile that reminds you that these are people who get pitted against each other but have a ton of respect for each other at the same time. I think that moment of realization that the industry loves him, hit Murphy hard in a good way. None of these five had won previously and I'm always happy to see new winners and nominees in these categories. Excited to watch all of these performances.
2023 Best Actor
Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer
Somehow I forgot to write this review after watching the film. I wrote the 10 other ones for this film, but forgot this one. Damn. It sucks to try to write this literally weeks later because I like to get my immediate reactions into this review where everything is still fresh. I only realized as I went to publish this that it wasn't completed and yelled WTF out loud lol. Whoops. Murphy had this one in the bag all the way through the season and he was the very first Irishman to win Best Actor, which is wild when you think of all the Irish actors there has been in the 96 years of this award. So happy that Murphy won, because he seems like such a genuine dude who would never really campaign for an award like this to try to actually win. Obviously, he is the eponymous Oppenheimer, who helped create the atomic bomb and we see that this was a journey that wasn't quite straightforward. The word that keeps popping into mind when watching and thinking about this performance is captivating. Murphy just has "it" in the role and everything he says and does has us hanging on every word, no matter how scientific, because we know what's at stake. We follow Murphy into the story because we trust where he'll take us and the ride is a fun one. He helps humanize an otherwise mythologized figure (didn't mean to write a bar right there lol) and we can feel the fear and apprehension in creating something that will forever change the world, maybe not necessarily for the better. It's great work from Murphy who gives us that now iconic thousand yard stare that has been gif'd to death. Happy for this win and to say that he has an Oscar which just feels right.
Bradley Cooper - Maestro
If you've kept up with my blog at all (it's ok that you haven't, I know you haven't) you would know I'm a huge Bradley Cooper fan. Not a weird fan boy or anything, but someone who thinks he is one of the best actors currently going (and maybe director, too) to the point where I can't wait to see what he does next. Well, this next one was him playing American composer Leonard Bernstein in a biopic that sort of spans his career and highlights his relationship with wife, Felicia, and his extracurricular homosexual activities. There was a lot of talk about the fact that Cooper wore a big prosthetic nose to appear more like Bernstein, which to me was a lot of nothing. I mean Nicole Kidman did the same thing for The Hours with same sort of ridiculous talk which didn't matter because she still won the Oscar for that performance and didn't matter to me here for Cooper because by the end of the film, I had completely forgotten he was wearing it because he had become Bernstein, which is all that matters. Now, I do get the criticism that this was a very Oscar baity performance and Cooper's behavior while campaigning didn't help things with him saying some ridiculous things about Bernstein and clearly trying to win the Oscar and being a bit over the top. But I found the performance to be very intense and passionate from Cooper, who really wanted to become Bernstein and wanted to really be a composer. Which was a strength to the performance for me, I liked his sincerity in looking and acting like a composer. This is something that Cooper said was that he had learned and practiced for years to nail that six minute plus scene where Bernstein composes fervently, which became that scene that got shown over and over as his Oscar moment. I also liked how Cooper didn't shy away from the gay scenes in the film and embraced them because it was part of who Bernstein was. I think some other actors may have hesitated to do that. I really enjoyed the relationship between Cooper and Carey Mulligan because it's such a bizarre give and take and like a tug of war of emotions between she who loves him but he cheats on her in her face with young men but also showers her with love. It's so interesting to witness in part because how wonderful Mulligan is at handling all of the chaos she endures from Bernstein. Some of the criticisms of Cooper is that everything he does is excessive in the performance but I did say I liked the intensity and passion he displayed. So I guess it's based on how much you like or hate Cooper. I do understand that critique though, as this was definitely a vessel to try and win an acting Oscar and there are some ridiculous scenes and moments in the film. Oh well, I loved it but also know it shouldn't have won the Oscar, either. Still excited to see what he does next.
Colman Domingo - Rustin
This was a film and performance that I had been hearing about for what seemed like a couple years. Filming ended in August 2022 and there was some talk online it could maybe enter that years' Oscar race late, which obviously didn't happen. But Domingo's name kept staying in the discussions and when it moved to 2023, he became a contender for this category. I didn't know anything about Domingo or the film itself at this time. But as the Oscar season ramped up, Domingo did a ton of press and I saw him in one of those Actors Roundtable videos from The Hollywood Reporter and fell in love with him (and realized he had just won an Emmy for Euphoria and was also Tony nominated, so I realized he was hot stuff in Hollywood right now.). Not literally, but his charm and charisma is undeniable and his voice is great and he's a guy that you would love to just sit and talk with for like 10 minutes because he would actually engage with you. Just so full of personality and it actually mirrors his performance in this film. The film is about Bayard Rustin who was a seminal figure in the Civil Rights movement and was a huge reason the March on Washington event was able to be organized to such a great degree. Just one of those unknown Civil Rights figures who finally got their due with a film and is actually worth a biopic. That was one of the main issues with the film, that Domingo was so domineering in a very basic film but I thought it was actually a pretty good biopic. A little heavy on montages and exposition, but brought to life Rustin and gave us Domingo, too. Domingo's performance at first, to me, was so theatrical and overbearing that I was scared this was going to be some falsely heralded amazing work. But he settled into the role which is of an activist who is also a homosexual which permeates the story. Domingo himself is gay and the gay parts of the story never felt exploitative or shoehorned in for some perceived dramatic effect. Domingo does a great job of being a bit larger than life but reigns it in whenever necessary and never lets the character or the idea of the character get away from him. The film doesn't really get too deep into who Rustin is as a person, we only get lines or short scenes explaining he was a Communist or of his arrest for being gay, or much of his history before we first meet him. That's okay, not every biopic needs to go in depth especially when Domingo does what is necessary for the story. Maybe I'd like to see more of his faults and reactions to those, but Domingo is the reason you are watching this film point blank. Without him there is nothing to this film and that's a testament to his acting ability. It's quite possible we see him back in this category for Sing Sing, which is getting great reviews for his role, and that tells me Domingo could be a force for years to come (and this was written months before the 2024 Oscars, so this may age like milk or fine wine, I don't know.).
Paul Giamatti - The Holdovers
The race came down to Giamatti and Murphy and come Oscar night, even though Murphy had taken most of the precursor awards, the vibe was very much can Giamatti upset this and win the Oscar. And it was close because Giamatti's character and performance probably would have won in a weaker year. Giamatti was freaking fantastic in the role of a professor at a boys school who has to oversee the boys leftover during Christmas break (ya know, the Holdovers). Eventually those boys are only Dominic Sessa (who deserved a Supporting Actor nomination) and Giamatti has to look after only him. Giamatti's character is a guy who is reviled because of his wandering eye, his terrible fish odor syndrome, and because he's an asshole of a teacher. If that right there doesn't describe a quintessential Paul Giamatti character, then I don't know what does. I mentioned already that I wasn't the biggest fan of Giamatti's character in Alexander Payne's Sideways but that I think that this was the perfect character for him. He's an odd duck, thrust upon a situation that he is not really able to handle. He handles the holdovers when it's five boys and he can rely on compliance from the kids, but when it's just Sessa, that's when the film takes a turn. And that's when we see Giamatti have to deal with a student intimately and they begin to bond along with Da'Vine Joy Randolph as an unlikely group of friends, I guess you could call it. I'm not mentioning that this is probably a new Christmas classic and that the whole vibe of the film is nice to just take in. But legitimately, I have never seen a Giamatti character fit him so well as this one does. I dare you to watch this film and not think about giving him the Oscar here. That is how good Giamatti is in the role and how perfect it is for him. I can't articulate why I wasn't a fan of Giamatti before this other than he played some smarmy characters and was often a villain and wasn't very likeable because of those things, but Giamatti here has caused me to take another look at his oeuvre and judge it based on the content and not my opinion of him. If this had won on Oscar night, I'd actually be okay with it looking back. I'm now in that camp where I actually hope he does win an acting Oscar. Great film because of Giamatti's great performance, so let's enjoy this one.
Jeffrey Wright - American Fiction
I am a big fan of Jeffrey Wright. I don't know if I have ever seen a bad or mediocre performance from him and I don't know if I've seen him in a film like that, either. This feels so deserving because we have seen, or heard, Wright in so many amazing things starting with Angels in America. From there, just go to his Wikipedia or IMDB page and look at all he has been in as an actor or lent his voice to as a voice actor. James Bond, Batman, Hunger Games, The Last of Us, Marvel, HBO series, Wes Anderson films, Shaft - the list goes on. But you recognize him and certainly recognize the deep, dulcet tones of his smooth, iconic voice. And here he is at last nominated for an Oscar after winning a Tony, an Emmy, and somehow not a Grammy...yet. Just let him read some book and give him the Grammy like Viola Davis did. I kid, but it really points to just how talented Wright is and he is terrific in this film as an author who has been struggling to get his next book published and sees a young, black woman get huge acclaim for writing a stereotypical "black" book. He decides to do the same to point out the absurdity of it all, but the book actually becomes almost a modern classic with mainstream media falling all over themselves to say how much they love it and relate to it and get it. The film is hilarious at times and Wright actually does a lot of subtle physical things that you need to pay attention to fully get all the humor the film has to offer. He is so good at the deadpan or sarcastic delivery and it makes me want to see Wright in some more comedic roles because he nails it here. It also has the dramatic tinges that you would expect in a film that also showcases family issues. We know he's great at eliciting emotions, so when he's confused, we are confused. When he's exasperated, we are exasperated. When he's fed up with the absurdity, we are, too. Wright is a great everyman and a great actor and I am so happy that he finally got a nomination. I just hope he can win one someday.
Another solid group of guys. Just a great group of diverse actors and films, that's all I can ask for year in and year out. Domingo comes in last through no fault of his own, he seems like an amazing person that I'd love to sit down and talk to and just enjoy his presence. He carries Rustin, but it's just not a great script/film for him, unfortunately. I'll see him again soon because he was indeed nominated for Sing Sing like I predicted. Cooper is next up simply because I know most folks don't like how effected the performance is and felt he was trying too hard even though I loved it but recognize it shouldn't probably be a winner. Maybe one day, Bradley. Wright was his usual solid self and I'm glad he finally got recognized for it. The nomination was the reward here, but I hope it isn't the last time. Giamatti surprised me as I wasn't his biggest fan before this one. But this one was terrific and so warm and endearing that if not for Murphy, he'd be an easy winner. Murphy becomes the first Irish man to win Best Actor which is kinda crazy with the number of Irish actors we've seen throughout the years. He was unequivocally the best and I am glad he won, as it was a nice moment. Now let's get to 2024 finally.
Oscar Winner: Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer
My Winner: Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer
Paul Giamatti
Jeffrey Wright
Bradley Cooper
Colman Domingo