Wednesday 4 July 2012

Alternate Best Actor 2008: Michael Fassbender in Hunger

Michael Fassbender did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Bobby Sands in Hunger.

Hunger is an interesting film about the harsh treatment of IRA prisoners by the British, and their attempts to rebel in prison for better treatment.

Michael Fassbender here actually takes quite a bit of time to actually even first appear in this film, and when he first does appear he seems to be just part of the crowd of other men who are brutally treated by the guards. It is not until quite a great deal of time into the film when Fassbender finally takes over the film. Nevertheless early in the film Fassbender is just one of the faces of the men who are facing the cruelty of the prison, and in that he along with the others realistically portrays the pain the men are going through. It is an intense visceral pain they bring to life extremely well, and they make the scenes very difficult to watch.

I will say that in these early scenes Fassbender does not exactly stand as the only man in the crowd. This is not a negative though, as it is the group showing he prevailing horror the men face in the prison as well as their united anger of protest for their treatment as well. Again Fassbender early on does not especially stand on his own, but he is part of the cohesive whole of the men who express their frustrations as one of the brutality they have suffered. This actually is completely fitting for the film as a whole since it is very much about how all of the men who are all IRA prisoners come together to work almost as one against the British forces.

It would almost seem that Fassbender is not even lead, only part of ensemble, until well into the film when it exclusively focuses on Bobby Sands who intends to be the first of an organized many to hunger strike to move for reform of their treatment by the prison staff. This all starts though with a very long scene that includes an almost seventeen minute long single take where an Irish sympathetic priest (Liam Cunningham) who attempts to talk Sands out of his most likely to be fatal hunger strike. Although Fassbender was appropriately part of the group of men before this scene once this scene starts Fassbender leaves no question to who is the lead of the film.

An almost seventeen minute shot is certainly a risky undertaking, but it hardly matters as Fassbender, and Cunnigham as well make the scene truly compelling. Michael Fassbender is an actor who has a distinct natural charisma that is not only about his charm, but as well a raw virility. He is just a fascinating actor to watch, and keeping this very long scene interesting never seems to take any effort at all from Fassbender. He is just incredible as Sands, and it is quite difficult to take your eyes off this scene because of Fassbender. He creates a remarkable force and presence within Bobby Sands that cannot be ignored, and is quite overpowering at times.

Fassbender in this scene makes Sands a force of will his will to no matter what make a statement that cannot be ignored even if it means his own death. Fassbender avoids any pretension with his performance, when Sands is talking it is the absolute truth that comes from the very depth of his soul. There is not a hint of hesitation in Fassbender's performance as Sands. Fassbender makes it always clear that the sentiment of Sands is never a lark but an unshakable drive to stand up and be taken notice no matter what the cost. Fassbender is outstanding in the way he brings this incredible passion so vividly to life.

Interestingly enough Fassbender only becomes more engrossing as he tells a tale of Sands' youth where he puts down a wounded animal showing his strength as well gaining the respect of others. In this moment he shows exactly where Sands whole concept of power really comes from, and Fassbender realizes this marvelously. Fassbender has a determination in his eyes which in his eyes that is unforgettable. Fassbender shows us through this story just how forceful this man's will truly is. Fassbender makes it clear that this hunger strike is not just some afterthought or last ditch effort but rather the realization of Sands's whole moral outlook.

After this scene though Sands goes deep down into his hunger strike, and Fassbender's performance almost becomes silent as he quickly goes through an extreme physical decay. Michael Fassbender still is absolutely compelling as Sands slowly dies from his hunger. Fassbender firstly is almost all too real in showing both the degradation of Sands physically, and mentally as well. He shows the absolutely horrendous strain on Sands, but interestingly he never loses that spirit in his performance. Even when he is at the very end suffering from a horrible amount of ailments, there is still that same force of will in his eyes. This is not exactly an easy performance to watch at times particularly at the of the film but it is a perpetually gripping. This is a great performance by Fassbender that creates a memorable moving portrait of this man who is completely devoted to his cause.

20 comments:

RatedRStar said...

Fassbender = Best in the world right now, Prometheus, Shame, Fish Tank, Hunger, Inglorious Basterds, future Oscar winner definately.

Michael Patison said...

I totally agree. Fassbender's abilities simply dwarf every other current actor (with the possible exception of Day-Lewis). Unquestionably the best actor of his generation.

RatedRStar said...

I love Day Lewis 2, but he is far too serious and a bit too award obsessed with roles I find, Fassbender seems friendly and laidback most of the time =D Id love to buy him a Guinness =)

Michael Patison said...

I think I tend to agree with you about Day-Lewis. He doesn't seem like he would be a very personable guy. Fassbender does indeed seem like he'd be a fun guy. I think evidence of this is the fact that Fassbender has had about the same number of leading roles in 4 years as Day-Lewis has had in about 25 years.

dshultz said...

As much as I love Fassbender as an actor, I'm not sure he will ever top this performance. Of course, he is topping all other actors working today so, whatever. I would give him a beat supporting actor nomination for Prometheus, another fantastic performance. He is simply the best.

dshultz said...

I almost forgot. Winner.

mrripley said...

I did not like him here and think he camped it up in Prometheus.

Michael Patison said...

Well, to each his own though I think your own is ridiculous.

RatedRStar said...

He is so cute too =) helps to have a star that is great at acting but also a great looker too

Michael Patison said...

He is quite handsome indeed.

dshultz said...

I do not mean to gang up on you mrripley, but I am 110% behind Patison, every opinion is as valid as the next, but yours just strikes me as crazy.

RatedRStar said...

to be fair, some people might think that Fassbender played David as a childish slightly gay robot but I thought that was what he was supposed to be anyway, cause he is supposed to have a childlike enthusiasm for science and finding things and thats why I thought Fassbender did so well in Prometheus.

mrripley said...

I just felt like he was winking at the audience in prometheus like we weren't ambivalent toward him from the offset and i did not likehim in hunger or the film,i am most welcome to my opinion and you may disagree but hurtful words are not needed and to dshultz i think you should be careful slanging the word crazy about,i suffer from social anxiety disorder and barely leave the house at moment,these forums are my window into the world,calling things crazy and ridiculous as m patison did is non productive, i always thought this was a nice little blog i actually had not noticed your name m patison before and i think i will avoid you in future.t/you.

RatedRStar said...

I apologise mrripley , I do respect your opinion honest xx, and I'm sure everyone else on this blog does too. =) xxx

Michael Patison said...

I apologize mrripley. I had no way of knowing that you had SAD. If I had known, I wouldn't have even thought about saying anything like ridiculous. We weren't talking about you, just your opinion, and even then I know that we were both joking in a way. You're not crazy and you're not ridiculous, and I'm sorry that your SAD caused you to take our comments so seriously, but exactly for that reason I would recommend that you do your best to not use the Internet, especially blogs, nor go out of your house to movies until you can learn how to take mostly playful comments like the ones dschultz and I posted with a grain of salt.

Michael Patison said...

I'm sorry dshultz, not dschultz

dshultz said...

I apologize mrripley. My comment was made in jest, and meant to be taken as such. Had I known, I would have never, ever used the word crazy, believe me.

mrripley said...

I am very sensitive to criticism,no harm done,i just can't take jokes,t/you.

Michael Patison said...

I'll bear that in mind. Thanks for telling us so that we can all make an effort not to do it anymore.

RatedRStar said...

group hug =) xx