Tuesday 1 February 2011

Best Supporting Actor 2000: Results

5. Jeff Bridges in The Contender- Bridges is fine in this film but he really is never anything special or memorable. He has his nice charisma but  besides that his performance really brings nothing that any competent actor could have done.
4. Albert Finney in Erin Brockovich- Finney is better than the main star Julia Roberts in both being more likable, less annoying, and far more believable in his role. In fact if the film had to have the same roles I would have preferred Finney in the lead. Having said all that though his role is still very limited, and unfortunately his character takes a backseat to Roberts' limiting his performance potential. 
3. Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator- Phoenix takes most of his ideas for his portrayal of an evil emperor from those who have played similar parts before him. He is too over the top, although Phoenix does have an interesting screen presence.
2. Benicio Del Toro in Traffic- Del Toro gives a subtle but very effective performance as the lone man trying to do something right. He finds a way to get empathy without ever pleading for it, and finds some emotional powerful moments through some very quiet scenes.
1. Willem Dafoe in Shadow of the Vampire- Dafoe stands head and shoulders above the rest here in my book. His imitation of the original Max Schreck is uncanny. Dafoe though utilizes his incredible imitation though also to create an odd, and original villain with the right amount of evil delight, but also oddly some sorrow. Simply a terrific performance.

Deserving Performances:
Takeshi Kitano in Battle Royale

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love Nosferatu - Dafoe easily fits everything you could want in a performance.

dshultz said...

DAFOE!!!!!!! By the way, you really sped through this, 5 reviews in 2 days!?!?!?!? Wow, that ought to be some sort of record.

Louis Morgan said...

Sage: Nosferatu is great.

Dshultz: Yeah its a personal record anyways. Supporting reviews though are a lot easier to write, and I happened to be in a situation today that all I could really do was write the reviews.

dinasztie said...

Dafoe is a great pick. I'm a bit sad that Brdiges is quite low, though.

Fritz said...

Very interesting year. I actually thought it would be very strong but it looks like rather the opposite.
Great work!

Michael Patison said...

I preferred to Oldman to Bridges in The Contender. What do you think?

Louis Morgan said...

I did find Oldman better than Bridges, but I did not find him amazing either.

Michael Patison said...

What did you thing of the supporting men in Almost Famous?

Louis Morgan said...

Almost Famous is one I need to see.

Anonymous said...

Here's my personal reference:

1.) Benicio Del Toro -- Traffic, 100 / 100 (A+)
3.) Willem Dafoe -- Shadow of the Vampire, 95 / 100 (A)
3.) Joaquin Phoenix -- Gladiator, 95 / 100 (A)
4.) Albert Finney -- Erin Brockovich, 80 / 100 (B-)
5.) Jeff Bridges -- The Contender, 70 / 100 (C-)