MOVIE REVIEWS | INTERVIEWS | YOUTUBE |  NEWS |  EDITORIALS | EVENTS | AUDIO | ESSAYS | ARCHIVES | CONTACT |
 PHOTOS | COMING SOON| EXAMINER.COM FILM ARTICLES ||HOME

                                                          
Sunday, August 19, 2012

FILM
Months Away, But Never Too Early To Look At Serious Oscar Candidates


Ann Dowd as Sandra From in Craig Zobel's psychodrama "Compliance".  Adam Stone/Magnolia Pictures
    
by Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com        FOLLOW                                            TWEET
Sunday, August 19, 2012

The phrase "and the Oscar goes to" won't be heard until next February but the dog days of August, and in all respects (save three or four films) a poor movie summer -- marred by the tragic and fatal shootings in Colorado -- compel this writer to jump ahead to mid-winter to film awards season 2013.  With four calendar months to go before 2012 is history it is worth looking at some great Oscar-worthy or nominee-merited work in the acting categories.  (Note: the list starts with my personal choice for Oscar in each category, followed by other acting contenders, which are listed in alphabetical order.  Some categories are uneven.)

Best Actress
ANN DOWD, "Compliance"

At the top of the list comes the best performance on screen this year, man or woman, and veteran actress Ann Dowd may well find herself on Oscar's radar.  An Academy Award is a well-deserved accolade for Ms. Dowd who plays Sandra From, the harried manager at the ChickWich fast-food restaurant in Craig Zobel's true-events drama "Compliance".  I was immediately struck by the balance and authenticity Ms. Dowd gives Sandra, a complex character who executes deputized duties conferred by a voice on a telephone without asking critical questions.  Sandra is plaintively empathetic even as her group-thinking mentality, fueled by the regimented fast-food industry she works in, gets the better of her.  Ms. Dowd makes Sandra scary, notably in a scene late on.  Villain and victim, Sandra is both pliable tool and perpetrator.  It's an excellent bit of acting, and Ms. Dowd's brilliance in "Compliance" never wavers.
 

MICHELLE WILLIAMS, "Take This Waltz"

Open-hearted, vulnerable and ambitious as Margo, Michelle Williams explores the character in "Take This Waltz" with a depth and honestly typical of the work Ms. Williams does in other smaller, independent fare.  The actress digs deep to portray a palpable individual who struggles to stay faithful to her loyal but limited husband.  Her Margo is searching for peace and satisfaction, and several scenes show Ms. Williams, a perennial Oscars bridesmaid, absorbing silences and issuing facial expressions.  The performance is internalized.  Watching Michelle Williams listening to a speech another character (Luke Kirby) delivers is a riveting experience.  She should expect to be nominated.



Quvenzhane Wallis as Hushpuppy in "Beasts Of The Southern Wild".  Fox Searchlight Pictures

QUVENZHANE WALLIS, "Beasts Of The Southern Wild"

In her debut on the big screen -- and she was just six at the time -- Quvenzhane Wallis was a stunning presence bringing charm, mystery and visceral punch as Hushpuppy in Benh Zeitlin's drama.  Miss Wallace never acted before on the big screen yet possesses immense confidence, awareness and energy to galvanize "Beasts Of The Southern Wild".  Onscreen for more than 80% of the film Miss Wallace, who's now all of eight years of age, carries the film, making it more memorable than it has any right to be.  Oscar nomination chances are strong.


RACHEL WEISZ, "The Deep Blue Sea"

She's been in some good films ("The Constant Gardener"), some bad films ("Dream House") and some in-between films ("The Bourne Legacy") but since her "Constant" Oscar Rachel Weisz has been a constant on the big screen with good, interesting performances.  In Terence Davies' drama "The Deep Blue Sea" Ms. Weisz is great as Hester Collyer, a woman swimming in melancholy in 1950's London.  Hester is trapped between a father-figure husband and a young Royal Air Force boozer she falls for.  Unlike Michelle Williams in "Take This Waltz", Ms. Weisz's character has already explored both sides of the coin and her performance captures Hester in tragedy and stasis, suffocating.  The opening minutes of the film alone are worth watching for Ms. Weisz's physical performance, which is so good throughout.


Best Actor
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, "Killer Joe"

Matthew McConaughey does the best work of his career in William Friedkin's wicked NC-17 comedy-drama "Killer Joe" as the title character Joe Cooper, a Dallas police officer who moonlights as a contract killer.  Mr. McConaughey makes this killer an appealing human being: charming, ritualistic and oddly sweet and caring -- the kind of man you'd love your daughter to bring home.  Joe has lots of baggage however, and in the Texas-born actor's hands, Joe is played as a seductive and romantic type, never breaking protocol unless he has to.  He's a hand-holder to the hapless, selfish and gluttonous family who has procured his killing services.  Mr. McConaughey's very presence flickers with tension, suspense and a deliberation that is unsettling and darn brilliant.  A sure-fire nominee for Oscar and a likely bet to take it home.



Jack Black as Bernie Tiede in "Bernie", directed by Richard Linklater.  Millennium Entertainment

JACK BLACK, "Bernie"

This is possibly the best -- no -- it is the best work Jack Black has ever done, playing Bernie Tiede, the real-life murderer of a woman who emotionally abused him under his care in the 1990s.  Richard Linklater's "Bernie" is one of the year's most entertaining showcases, and Mr. Black launches into a witty, sharply refined display as the title character.  Despite Bernie's flamboyance and exacting mannerisms Mr. Black never breaks the facade and never winks at the camera as he has in past portrayals.  He makes Bernie annoying, sympathetic, heartbreaking and a thoroughly likable murdering kind.  Expect Mr. Black to receive his first Oscar nomination in January.


DWIGHT HENRY, "Beasts Of The Southern Wild"

Dwight Henry, who has never acted on the big screen, brings a fiery passion and energy to Wink, the protective and beleaguered father of Hushpuppy in Benh Zeitlin's drama.  He embodies a battling man teetering on extinction, and Mr. Henry, who rescued many during Hurricane Katrina, oozes physicality throughout.  He's literally like a wounded lion, passing on words of wisdom to his offspring before his own species dies out.  Mr. Henry throws everything on the line with raw energy that sears the screen and manages to be an inspirational figure at the same time both on and off it.



Clarke Peters as Da Good Bishop Enoch Rouse in Spike Lee's "Red Hook Summer".  David Lee/Variance Films

CLARKE PETERS, "Red Hook Summer"

A veteran actor of stage and screen, Clarke Peters (in HBO's "Treme" and "The Wire") hits a grand slam home run in Spike Lee's "Red Hook Summer" as Da Good Bishop Enoch Rouse, a gregarious preacher at the Lil' Piece Of Heaven Baptist Church in Red Hook, Brooklyn.  It's a magnetic, multi-faceted performance: volcanic, pained, riveting, soulful and rich with pathos.  Mr. Peters is relentless with his fine, effective and affecting work but allows his character to contemplate and send signals in quiet unguarded moments, particularly in the film's first half.  Mr. Peters is the single greatest reason to see Mr. Lee's new film, and in several long sermons he carries the film and its raison d'être on his back.  Galvanizing, searing work well deserving of accolades, and an Oscar nomination -- at worst.


Best Supporting Actress
DREAMA WALKER, "Compliance"

Thoroughly deserving of an Oscar nomination for such a difficult role, Dreama Walker transforms from a happy, likable teenager with boy crushes and smiles into a ragged, humiliated and objectified being.  It's a powerful, devastating performance Ms. Walker gives as Becky, a fast-food employee accused of something she hasn't done.  Ms. Walker gives Becky intelligence and poise even under fire but what is impressive about her work in Craig Zobel's "Compliance" is her adaptability without any hint of change in her performance.  You never sense that Ms. Walker has to outwardly exert herself in what is such an incredibly vulnerable and physical role; it all comes from within, even when she appears naked in a nauseating way.  Her physical predicament doesn't swamp the character or the performance, and that is generally almost never the case when actors are naked in the movies.  Ms. Walker is naturalistic without being forced, and lets the situations Becky endures wear on her face and in her eyes.  Amazing work.


DONNA MURPHY, "Dark Horse"

The emotional lynchpin of Todd Solondz's well-crafted film, Donna Murphy (who has appeared in the "Bourne" film series including the latest film) expertly secretes longings and desires playing a character borne out of romanticism and maybe fantasy.  She appears to do little but she is doing a lot more in a spare performance.  Sometimes Ms. Murphy holds back and even in those moments the power of her suggestion runs deep.  It's a great supporting turn that stands out yet calls little attention to itself.



Omar Sy as Driss in the French comedy-drama "The Intouchables".  The Weinstein Company/Gaumont

Best Supporting Actor
OMAR SY, "The Intouchables"

Without Omar Sy's charisma, comic timing and skillful execution "The Intouchables" would be just another black-white male buddy film that lacks strength.  This film is great, not for its central relationship between two very different men but for the endeavor its actors take on.  The relative newcomer Mr. Sy revels as Driss, and though he is often sanguine and satirically caricatured (by design of the filmmakers) the inner depths of his being are projected and propelled by pain.  We get this in one scene (and I wished for more) where we see the core of Driss and get a glimpse of Mr. Sy's hidden dramatic talents as an actor.


MICHAEL CAINE, "The Dark Knight Rises"

The best he's been since "The Cider House Rules", in "The Dark Knight Rises" Michael Caine adds such depth and poignancy to his role as Alfred the butler that we ache for him as he expresses his concerns.  Mr. Caine hits high notes that most of the other performers (and especially the film itself) do not reach.  Alfred is a palpable soul, and the emotive force Mr. Caine breathes into him spells as much a hint or worry about Alfred's own mortality and fears surrounding it as his care and concern for Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne character.  Stellar, memorable work from Mr. Caine.


PAT HEALY, "Compliance"

Creepy, disturbing and utterly anti-social, Officer Daniels is an authority figure who convinces Sandra to order some distressing things to happen to her subordinate Becky during "Compliance".  Pat Healy has to spend hours (and in shooting days weeks) on the telephone, and his voice has to be convincing enough to make this true-life horror real on the big screen.  The bigger challenge is to have the demeanor and physical comportment to match the voice the audience hears at first, and Mr. Healy makes it work exceedingly well.  It's a performance that is unnerving, and that is its strength.  At the same time deep within this sickening, loathsome character Mr. Healy offers a sadness and pathetic sense of power that is devastating.


MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, "Magic Mike"

Irresistibly infectious, outgoing and sad, Dallas (played by Mr. McConaughey) has ambition beyond his own realization at a strip club he intends to take on the road to Miami in "Magic Mike".  With all the fervor, confidence and relentlessness of a coach like Gene Hackman in "Hoosiers", Mr. McConaughey makes Dallas a wide-eyed and naive optimist who perhaps has long since talked himself out of the truth about his circumstances.  It's an entertaining and live-wired turn, one that the Academy will likely remember.


MARK RUFFALO, "The Avengers"

Operating on economy and quick-thinking, Mark Ruffalo superbly creates an authentic and perhaps the best Bruce Banner that the big screen has ever graced during "The Avengers".  Mr. Ruffalo strikes a deft balance between intellectual strength and physical strength, and because his alter ego is computer-generated I felt Mr. Ruffalo presumably had to work backwards from his character's post-altered state to get the underpinnings of Bruce Banner correct.  When you watch Mr. Ruffalo you can see where his "darker", or rather, greener moments might originate.  He is so good here, and effortless, whether bantering with others or going one on one in quiet moments.  Mr. Ruffalo was outstanding in "The Avengers" as Dr. Banner, operating as a welcome presence who inhabited Banner and made him thoroughly his own.



Dreama Walker as Becky in Craig Zobel's psychodrama "Compliance".  Adam Stone/Magnolia Pictures

COPYRIGHT 2012.  POPCORNREEL.COM.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.                 FOLLOW

MOVIE REVIEWS | INTERVIEWS | YOUTUBE |  NEWS |  EDITORIALS | EVENTS | AUDIO | ESSAYS | ARCHIVES | CONTACT | PHOTOS | COMING SOON| EXAMINER.COM FILM ARTICLES ||HOME