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Friday, December 19, 2014
AWARDS SEASON 2015
Performances That Were Unsung But Priceless In 2014
Top: Gugu
Mbatha-Raw in "Belle", Carmen Ejogo in "Selma",
Michael Kenneth Williams in "The Gambler", Tessa Thompson in "Dear White
People", Chadwick Boseman in "Get On Up", Philip Seymour Hoffman in "A Most
Wanted Man", Rene Russo in "Nightcrawler", Scarlett Johansson in "Under The
Skin", Joaquin Phoenix in "Inherent Vice", Agata Kulesza in "Ida", Brendan
Gleeson in "Calvary".
Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Roadside Attractions,
Universal, Roadside Attractions, Open Road, A24, Warner Brothers, Music Box
Films, Fox Searchlight
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
FOLLOW
Friday,
December 19,
2014
You can't nominate everybody. You just can't. There's will always
someone who won't be happy. When Lesley Manville ("Another Year") wasn't
named in 2011 and Albert Brooks ("Drive") wasn't named in 2012 I screamed blue
murder, but I've come to finally relax and get used to the idea that excellent
work will not be winked at, let alone win in some years. This year
however, in the lead actress category -- yet another awful year -- there are
some unsung heroines.
I look at just a few of the many unsung and unheralded fine works on film in
2014. Sadly, none of these names will be called on Oscar's early morn in
January, but they should.
GUGU MBATHA-RAW
So stately in "Belle" is Gugu Mbatha-Raw that you could say she is purely
aristocratic. In fact that's the character she plays in Amma Assante's
film. You see that Ms. Raw has clearly arrived. Confident, undaunted
she reveals much in silences and glances, more so than when speaking. Her
even-keel, contained demeanor is seared by her character's heartbreak and
heartbeat.
CARMEN EJOGO
Two of the best scenes in Ava DuVernay's "Selma" see Carmen Ejogo in quiet
contemplation as Coretta Scott King. One of them is when she confronts her
onscreen husband (David Oyelowo). The timing she possesses and the
regality she exudes speaks volumes. The other scene is when she walks a
flight of stairs. So much weight is supplied in the moment. Ms.
Ejogo holds her character in fine stead, and never wavers. She's so very
good here.
MICHAEL KENNETH WILLIAMS
The casual cool, charm gives way to a streak of vicious dispatch during "The
Gambler" (Dec. 25), as he stakes out loanee Mark Wahlberg, who's badly in
arrears on his debts. Mr. Williams is an effortless shark and everything
he does in "The Gambler" comes with precision and a tune. He's playing
pianos and drums at the same time but it all looks so easy.
TESSA THOMPSON
Unbeatable in "Dear White People", Tessa Thompson, also in "Selma", is brilliant
here as a campus radio broadcaster and student union leader on a near-all-white
college campus. Her layering of a complex character is remarkably good.
Ms. Thompson's character operates from pain, masked in defiance, denial and at
times defeat. It's the richest, most multifaceted supporting performance
of 2014.
CHADWICK BOSEMAN
If only, only, only "Get On Up" was a much better film. But if ifs and
buts were candy and nuts... Chadwick Boseman would be an Oscar nominee for his
work as James Brown. He executes every manifestation and essence of Mr.
Brown. Mr. Boseman nails every moment. It's not a caricature.
It's an orchestration rendered with a great deal of care, respect and discipline
for the legendary Godfather Of Soul.
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN
In his last lead performances Mr. Hoffman carries the physical heft of his
German private investigator character so utterly convincingly. The accent.
The walk, the trademark dishevelment. Philip Seymour Hoffman is an
absolute institution in "A Most Wanted Man", and it's a fine display of craft,
execution and brilliance.
RENE RUSSO
Suggestion. Rene Russo cannot be bought in "Nightcrawler" but her eyes
dart back and forth in the contemplation of her remaining steadfast as a news
director fielding offers she can refuse. Well, almost. Ms. Russo's
work in her husband Dan Gilroy's noir drama is the best she's done. The
appeal, savvy, toughness, abandon and straight-talking confirmation combines for
an impressive display of power and privilege that endures.
SCARLETT JOHANSSON
"Under The Skin" represents Ms. Johansson's best work to date. She hardly
speaks, and when she does it's a creepy, unsettling robotic cadence, although
the voice sounds ordinary enough. It's as if someone else is doing her talking
and breathing for her. She acts from deep within and keeps such a still
exterior. Something isn't right but for Scarlett Johansson nothing is
off-key in this perfect performance.
JOAQUIN PHOENIX
Mr. Phoenix's work is so intentionally loopy and addled as a trippy dippy hippy
dippy you'd think he was improvising. It's the best work he's done on
film. It's a complete opposite to the fierce intense characters he often
plays ("The Master"). Watching "Inherent Vice" you think Joaquin Phoenix
is floating.
AGATA KULESZA
In a performance that has been so unheralded by many mainstream media you've
never heard of it, Agata Kulesza's supporting turn as a former judge in the
excellent film "Ida", a masterwork from Poland, is the defining part of the
film. You see Ms. Kulesza drink every moment, soak up the spaces of 1960s
Poland with her silences and contemplations. All the while, with fear and
regret permeating the atmosphere, you see a brilliant actress in complete
command.
BRENDAN GLEESON
The crowning achievement of his film career, Brendan Gleeson's work as a marked
priest in "Calvary" is the kind of acting that cements legends and award wins.
Every year work like this is applauded but left on the mantel. Years from
now people will remember this excellent performance, resurrecting it as part of
Mr. Gleeson's lifetime achievement reel. In "Calvary" Brendan Gleeson
truly leaves his mark in the year's best lead male acting performance.
COPYRIGHT 2014. POPCORNREEL.COM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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