If I Picked the Winners: Best Supporting Actor 2010

     Quite often the Best Supporting Actor category is the most competitive race in the Oscars. Not only between the nominees, but even just to get nominated, it takes a lot of talent and buzz, as the deserving list of possible nominees quite often goes into double digits. I'm not sure why this is, maybe it has something to do with the fact that protagonists are more often straight-and-narrow characters that the audience can sympathize, while the supporting characters are allowed to be more colorful and grandiose, but whatever the reason, quite often the most memorable performance of the year is given by a supporting actor. Just looking at the last three years anecdotally, the winners (Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men", Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight", and Chistophe Waltz in "Inglorious Bastards") have all been some of the top performances of the decade. While maybe not quite as impressive as some of the previous years, this year's lineup is nothing to scoff at, featuring a fine field of wide-ranging characters and performances. Particularly, it was nice to see Christian Bale and Mark Ruffalo receive their overdue first Oscar nominations. There is one big absence though that should have made this category, performances from "The Social Network". In fact, I may have been inclined to include three different male performances from the film in the Best Supporting Actor category: Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, Justin Timberlake as Napster founder Sean Parker, and Armie Hammer as the Winklevoss twins. My personal favorite of the three performances is actually Justin Timberlake, who either by his own nature or acting talents perfectly captures the arrogant yet cowardly nature of the geek-chic Sean Parker. The one performance that had the best chance at getting nominated, but unfortunately slipped through the cracks was Andrew Garfield's wonderfully distraught performance as the betrayed friend of Mark Zuckerberg. And it was probably Armie Hammer's spectacular effects-assisted performance as not one, but two human beings, the Harvard gentlemen Winklevi (as Zuckerberg referred to them), that was actually generating the most buzz in the online community. I would have settled for anyone of them, but unfortunately as the  awards season tide began to turn against "The Social Network", these three fine performances were left in the dust. The one other performance that may have made my own personal ballot is Vincent Cassel as the Balanchine-inspired Thomas Leroy, head of protagonist Nina Sayers' ballet company. It's a captivating role and the pressure and tension he puts on Nina is the catalyst for her journey into the dark recesses of her mind. All in all, while I would have left out one or two of the nominees, it is a decent group that the Academy can hold it's head-up for. Now to the rankings.

5. Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech"

     Geoffrey Rush as the amateur speech therapist/psychiatrist to the king does a fine job, but there was no point throughout the film that made me want to stand up and exclaim, "Nominate that man for an Oscar now!". Rush, playing Lionel Logue, the Australian immigrant to England, is King George VI's mentor, partner, and catalyst to become the leader and speaker that is required him as a son of royalty, but for playing such a crucial role, the character feels peculiarly tangential. In fact, this is the main problem I have with the film, the bond between Bertie and Lionel seems tepid and inauthentic, as Lionel rarely becomes more than a tool to the solution of a problem. Now this does have a lot to do with script, but Rush also bares some responsibility for not being able to flesh out his character a bit more. Whether he chose to go with the eccentric but likable route, or maybe a more stern deep-thinker character, I don;t care, but the performance as is creates a character who is mostly just there. The one scene where I felt the audience is allowed to catch a glimpse of a more three-dimensional character, and Rush's most nuanced moment in the film, is the scene in which Lionel fails an acting audition. Here we see a man with aspirations beyond his regular life, dreams of being a Shakespearian thespian, but instead of developing this intriguing aspect of the character, the film uses the scene merely to set up a twist conflict in the film's final act that is resolved in a matter of seconds (literally) because it such a non-issue to begin with. There is nothing particularly wrong with Rush's performance, but there is nothing outstanding about it either. The main word that comes to mind when contemplating the performance is serviceable, which isn't exactly what you think of when you hear the phrase, "Oscar-nominated performance".

4. Jeremy Renner in "The Town"

     If you read my review of the film (and if you haven't you can catch up with it by clicking here), you'll know I was not a fan of "The Town". The one part of the film that I did save some praise for though was the performance of Jeremy Renner, which was the only part of the film that received an Oscar nomination. Renner, who should have won Best Actor last year for his exactly turn as the thrill-seeking leader of a bomb squad during the Iraq War in the Best Picture winner "The Hurt Locker", plays James Coughlin, the gritty "no non-sense" member of a Boston gang of bank-robbers. Renner's presence in the film is always a welcomed sight, and his charisma and energy liven up what is otherwise a melodramatic and forlorn cast. Renner creates a very self-assured person, a man who knows exactly who he is, where he comes from, and what he needs to do to survive. At times Renner does ham it up some, and the "too-cool-for-school" attitude can be a tad grating and helps contribute to the over-the-top action movie vibe the film gives off. Even at these times tough, Renner is at least always entertaining, which is more than I can say for the rest of the cast, and when compared to the terrible ham-and-cheese performance given by John Ham in the film, Renner's performance is as subtle as Pacino's cold glances as Michael Corleone. It's not flawless work, but it is still a very fine performance in an otherwise forgettable film, and if a second Oscar nomination encourages casting directors to consider this great up-and-coming actor for more roles in serious dramas, I'm all for it.

3. Christian Bale in "The Fighter"

     The likely winner come next Oscar Sunday, Christian Bale will finally receive some recognition for his many years of a good body of work. Despite the fact that Bale's fine performance did not quite make it to the top of my list, it is victory that I will have no qualms over. As real life Lowell Massachusetts native Dickey Eklund, Bale portrays a crack-addicted narcissistic ex-boxer (just the type of thing up the Academy's alley), whose lone claim to fame is that in a bout with Sugar Ray Leonard, Ray hit the ground (by tripping), even though Ray pummeled him in the fight. Dickey Eklund is one of those larger than life characters that gives actors a chance to really let their presence be known (in a good way) if their up for the task, and Bale proves he is worthy of the role. Bale doesn't completely steer clear of the dangers of scenery chewing, as some of the goofy moments for his character made me recall the "going tard" speech in "Tropic Thunder" (and will prove prothetic if Bale wins), but for the most part Bale does a convincing job of portraying a crack addict stuck in the past. The strongest moments of Bale's performance are when he is interacting with Mark Wahlberg, who plays his half-brother Mickey Ward, and Melissa Leo, who plays Alice Ward, the mother to both of her sons. In the scenes between Bale and Wahlberg, we see the complicated relationship between the two characters. Both brothers clearly love each other very much, but Dickey is too wrapped up in himself and does not take Mickey seriously until towards the end of the film. Meanwhile, Mickey looks up to his older half-brother despite all his problems, but he knows he must get out of his shadow. In the relationship between Bale and Leo's characters, we see a disturbing mother-son relationship, where a mother who clearly plays favorites and makes excuses for her son's behavior, in essence becoming an enabler to Dickey's crack addiction, is met with equal enthusiasm by a son all too willing to play the part of "mommy's little boy". It is in developing these relationships, the subtler part of Bale's performance, that his talent really shines through. He breaks through into real human insight, and it is for this reason that even though he only ranks third among the nominees in my book, I will understand why he will be up on the podium on February 27.

2. Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are All Right"

     Choosing between Christian Bale and Mark Ruffalo was a tough decision (the toughest yet I have had to make in these rankings), because there are aspects of each performance that I like better than the other, and there are aspects of each performance that dislike more than the other. In the end, I went with Ruffalo's performance over Bale's for two reasons: it's more subtle and it is also humorous (a big plus in my book). Ruffalo plays Paul, the sperm donor who is the biological father of Joni and Laser, two teenage half-siblings who are being raised by a lesbian couple, Nic and Jules. Paul is also the laid back proprietor of au naturel local foods restaurant, and Ruffalo totally nails the New Age, groovy Los Angelenos act. The high point of Ruffalo's performance is his interactions with his newly discovered biological children. Paul is clearly a man who has never even considered being a father, and his well meaning, but somewhat inept attempt to fill the role is probably my favorite part of the film. The scene where the kids first meet their flesh-and-blood dad is especially funny, as Ruffalo's awkward attempts at bonding with the kids (such as an arm around the shoulder of Laser) make "The Kids Are All Right" one of the most hilarious films of the year. The weak part of the performance (and the movie as a whole), comes towards the end of the film. Ruffalo's character acts with an amount of desperation that just doesn't seem viable for some one with such a "go with the flow" attitude. The film will have you believe  that Paul has quickly transformed want-to-be family man, but the idea, and performance to some extent, becomes inauthentic at this point. Overall though, Ruffalo gives a great performance, one that is definitely worthy of being first, of what may be a series of Oscar nominations for Mark Ruffalo.

1. John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone"

     John Hawkes is my number one choice for Best Supporting Actor of 2010, and this would be true regardless of the list of nominees, as I have not seen any performance eligible for this category that was more deserving of the award then his. In "Winter's Bone", Hawkes plays Teardrop, the gruff protective uncle to Jennifer Lawrence's heroine in search of her missing father. At first, Teardrop is very reluctant to help his niece track down the whereabouts of her meth-head father, as he knows better than to dig too deep into his extended families drug-dealing habits. Teardrop is a born-and-bred Ozark man who has clearly come to accept his lot in life, as well as the likely fate of his missing brother, but something in Ree's (Jennifer Lawrence) persistent perseverance awakens a sleeping determined grit in Teardrop, as he ends up risking his neck in order to see Ree's mission through. It is a very emotional performance, even when (or maybe especially when) Hawkes is not saying anything. Teardrop is clearly an individual who has had to stuff a lot of his emotions deep inside his whole life, and to portray this type of human being is no easy task, as it can not be done through dialogue, but by definition must be portrayed through body language and expressive eyes. Hawkes over and over again, throughout the film, proves that he is more than capable of pulling this off. I must confess, I became even more impressed with Hawkes' performance after watching him recently on the great HBO comedy series "Eastbound and Down". Here, he plays a completely different character than Teardrop, a genial working-class family man with nice suburban home. Comparing the disparate roles really illustrated the enormity of a transformation that Hawkes made to become Teardrop, and only confirmed my belief that, if it were up to me, John Hawkes would be this year's Best Supporting Actor.

     Leave any comments you wish to make below and don't forget to vote for your favorite Best Supporting Actor nominee in the poll in the upper-left corner. Next week, in the last edition of this article before the 2010 Oscars, I will be ranking this year's ten Best Picture nominees, so don't forget to check it out before the show.