Movie Time!

The last couple of years, I've made an effort to see the five movies that were nominated for Best Picture. This year, I upped the stakes and made a point to see the movies that included the nominees for the acting categories, as well. The following is my thoughts on each of the acting performances and the movies up for Best Picture. I've included the winner of each category along with my favorite.



ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor -- Richard Jenkins was excellent in The Visitor. Unfortunately, his character was a very understated, subtle man, which didn't bode well for his chances at winning an Oscar. The movie was an interesting look at unlikely friendships with a sprinkling of political/immigration/racism commentary. It's a movie that makes you think, but it's not boring.

Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon -- I was born the year Nixon resigned, so I'm not really familiar with Richard Nixon's mannerisms outside of the handful of news clips and comedy impressions I've seen. But from what I HAVE seen, Frank Langella is nearly perfect. It's easy to get lost in his portrayal and convince yourself that he really is Nixon. My favorite part of this movie was the look into what drove Nixon. He seemed to be an intensely competitive individual. It certainly doesn't excuse what he did, but it sure made him more compelling in my eyes.

Sean Penn, Milk -- I had no idea how influential Harvey Milk was in initializing the gay rights movement. Milk is basically an underdog tale about a likable (though flawed) guy who makes a big difference in the world and in the lives of thousands of people. And Sean Penn does a typically brilliant job of embodying his subject, the good, the bad and the ugly. I think he really humanizes Harvey Milk to those who may not be sympathetic or tolerant of gay people. I think Penn's performance is definitely Oscar-worthy.

Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button -- I really like Brad Pitt as an actor, but I don't really think he's deserving of this nomination. The movie was decent and he was fine but I think the best thing about Benjamin Button is the special effects. From what I understand, they took Brad Pitt's face and digitally overlaid it onto the body of the little person who played Benjamin as a wheelchair-bound adolescent. Which was really amazing. And deserves an Oscar for effects, but not for the acting.

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler -- This was my favorite performance. I think the role significantly parallels Mickey Rourke's career, making it easier for him to play this part so wonderfully. He's a guy who is extremely gifted and self-centered but watches everything crash around him. He makes a valiant comeback in both his career and his personal life, but continues to make egregious-yet-understandable mistakes. I think this was the best performance in this category.


WINNER: Sean Penn
MY FAVORITE: Mickey Rourke




ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Josh Brolin, Milk -- Josh Brolin did a fantastic job in this movie, but the lack of screen time for his character left me wanting more. He is definitely compelling as the tortured adversary to Harvey Milk, but there just doesn't seem to be enough there. He definitely gets more screen time than Viola Davis, a nominee for Best Supporting Actress in Doubt, but his performance isn't as striking as Davis's. Of course, in this field, his chances of winning were miniscule to begin with.

Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder -- If it weren't for Heath Ledger, Robert Downey, Jr. would be the runaway favorite in the category. The movie is a good-but-not-great comedy, but Downey, Jr. is outstanding. His character is a world-renowned Australian method actor who decides to undergo skin treatments to play an African-American character. This is another role where the actor completely absorbs you into his character and makes your forget his real identity. This movie just had the unfortunate timing of coming out in the same year as The Dark Knight.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt -- This was yeoman's work for Philip Seymour Hoffman. You get used to his excellence every time you see him, so I probably took this performance for granted. Plus, he was working with three other actors who were nominated this year, so he kind of gets lost in all the outstanding work.

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight -- The Dark Knight is far and away the best comic book movie made to date. A lot of the reason for that is the gripping performance of Heath Ledger. He turns the Joker into a car wreck--in a good way. He is such an abhorrent creature that it is frightening. Yet it is impossible to look away and, actually, you end up wanting to see more of him.

Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road -- In a movie filled with characters who work as hard as they can to put up a facade, Michael Shannon's character is a stunning and refreshing lunatic. He is the voice of hope and logic and reason that everyone else tries to quell. And as nutty as he seems at first glance, he makes more sense than anyone else.


WINNER: Heath Ledger
MY FAVORITE: Heath Ledger



ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE


Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married -- Anne Hathaway shed her princess roles well and really got into this role. She's the hub of a dysfunctional family and a character who you can love and loathe all at the same time. She does a great job of invoking sympathy for a person who would be really tough to deal with in real life.

Angelina Jolie, Changeling -- The most amazing thing about this movie is that it's a true story. Angelina Jolie's character's son goes missing and she stops at nothing in her search for him. I don't think it was an Oscar-winning performance, but it was solid. She did well in portraying the range of emotions that any mother would experience when a child goes missing: grief, determination, anger, fear. But mostly she cried a lot and I don't think that was going to cut it in this category.

Melissa Leo, Frozen River -- An unfamiliar actress in an unfamiliar movie, Melissa Leo takes you into the world that not many of us care to think about. As a struggling mother whose husband left her right before the down payment is due on their new trailer home, she has to do the best she can to provide a home for herself and her two children. She ends up in a situation she never would have expected and things go awry. It was an excellent performance, but in a field filled with more familiar faces, she was going to have a hard time sticking out.

Meryl Streep, Doubt -- Meryl Streep plays a strict, New England nun in a gripping morality tale. As a stubborn foil to the other nominated actors from this movie (Amy Adams, Viola Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman), she manages to stay true to her convictions in the face of many persuasive arguments. She has a record 15 Oscar nominations and this role was certainly a worthy one.

Kate Winslet, The Reader -- Kate Winslet could have been nominated just as easily for her role in Revolutionary Road, which just goes to show what an incredible year she had. In The Reader, she plays a woman who has an affair with a teenage boy. While their affair is filled with passion, she turns out to be emotionally stunted, much to her detriment later in life. It was a very nuanced performance that I felt was worthy of an Oscar win.


WINNER: Kate Winslet
MY FAVORITE: Kate Winslet


ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams, Doubt -- Amy Adams is the young, inexperienced nun opposite Meryl Streep in Doubt. Her character, while idealistic and naive, holds firm in her convictions and stands up to the stronger nun. Upon first glance, it doesn't seem like Adams is really stretching much in this role, but she definitely holds her own in a movie filled with excellent performances.

Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona -- Personally, I didn't see what the big deal was about Penelope Cruz's portrayal of an eccentric ex in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Maybe I just can't past her accent, but she seems like the same person in every movie I've seen her in. Maybe my eyes just glaze over because she's Penelope Cruz, but I still didn't think this was anything other than just a solid piece of work.

Viola Davis, Doubt -- She didn't have much time to make an impression, but Viola Davis made the most of her opportunity. As the black mother of a child who has possibly been molested by a white priest in 1960's New England, Davis does a masterful job of showing restrained but passionate emotion in trying to do what's best for her son. Her performance may have been the most gripping performance out of all those nominated in the acting categories.

Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button -- It probably doesn't bode well for her chances that I hardly remember Taraji P. Henson's character in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. She plays the mother of a child who ages in reverse, but to me, she gets lost in the novelty of her son's condition. It's not that she does a poor job, it's just that I found it easily forgettable.

Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler -- Marisa Tomei got the assignment of adding a little depth to the "Stripper With a Heart of Gold" character. She did a decent job considering that her story somewhat parallels Mickey Rourke's character's. It's just that since the characters are fairly similar, she doesn't get the same sympathy that Randy "The Ram" receives. You can understand a big, egotistical, burned-out wrestler being emotionally withdrawn; it's harder to like a stripper at the tail end of her career who doesn't quite fill in the gaps in Randy's emotional landscape.


WINNER: Penelope Cruz
MY FAVORITE: Viola Davis



BEST PICTURE

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button -- I realize it's been said a hundred times that Benjamin Button resembles Forrest Gump a little too closely, but I can't help but agree. The concept is certainly intriguing and the love story is sufficiently agonizing, but I just felt like I had seen this story before. The special effects were outstanding, though. And I thought Cate Blanchet's performance as Benjamin's love interest was underrated. But I just didn't think it was Oscar-worthy material.

Frost/Nixon -- For me, this was the runner-up for Best Picture. I didn't have high expectations given that I thought I knew how it would play out, but I was pleasantly surprised. As I mentioned earlier, Nixon's competitive streak was compelling, but David Frost really turned out to be a worthy opponent. What is equally interesting is that I had never heard of David Frost before this movie and he didn't seem to parlay his successful interview with Nixon into anything substantial in the United States. Supporting roles by Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt and Kevin Bacon were all highly entertaining, as well.

Milk -- I really like this story, but felt like I had seen this movie before. I didn't know anything about Harvey Milk and his role in the Gay Rights movement and I'm glad this story has now been told. But the movie felt like a typical underdog story with a hint of foreboding. It was very enjoyable, I just felt like it was presented in a fairly straightforward way. Of course, I couldn't tell you how else it should have been presented.

The Reader -- The Reader is an unusual story about a teenage boy's first love and how it affects the rest of his life. I enjoyed the insights into the main characters' emotional maturity through the lens of a brief-but-steamy affair and a highly-revealing court case. Kate Winslet's performance is really the main event here. She embodies the passion, pride, stubbornness and determination of Hannah Schmitz to a "T".

Slumdog Millionaire -- After hearing nothing but rave reviews about this movie, I was skeptical. But the originality of the story won me over. This was one of the more original love stories I've ever seen, but it was way more than just a love story. There is plenty of action and intrigue and, being set in India, it is fairly exotic. It is also a fairly uplifting movie, and while I don't mind supposed "downer" movies, it was nice to have one movie that wasn't mostly somber.

WINNER: Slumdog Millionaire
MY FAVORITE: Slumdog Millionaire