Wednesday 5 February 2014

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2013: Sharlto Copley in Elysium

Sharlto Copley despite giving the greatest performance of all time was not nominated for playing Kruger in Elysium.

What can one say with such subtle work as displayed by the greatest actor of all time Sharlto Copley. Ahh true greatness in every brilliant moment in that he basically sums up all of humanity in this single performance. You can see every decade of history in what he wears, and the way he wears it. From his beard, no doubt a sly reference to the time of the cave man, his disheveled hair no doubt a reference to the entirety of the 60's, and it is topped off with that samurai sword which I don't need to explain to use what that obviously alludes to. Even his face exploding is clearly the one scene in any film ever where one can unlock all the secrets of the universe, that's how good Copley is here.

Although one does have to ask why Matt Damon's Max thinks he can even take on Kruger in the film. I mean in video game rules Max has a super model exoskeleton, a hand gun, and a machine gun that shoots bullets which explode on impact. Now that suggests that perhaps he's level five at best, but I mean Kruger's got it all. He gets his own better looking exoskeleton, exploding ninja stars, disks that stick to people then explode, a Taser, that kickin' energy shield, his samurai sword of course which must have been some special unlockable from beating the game once or something. I mean Kruger's gotta be like level 50 or something close to that so that whole ending is unbelievable.

Anyway I really should stop being a jerk, and finally become serious in regards to this performance, although probably is best not to be as the best way to enjoy Elysium as a film is to look at it as the way Sharlto Copley clearly did. Where the film wants to be a statement on society and in turn makes some of the most ham-handed films by Oliver Stone seem subtle in comparison, Copley obviously believes it probably should be Mad Max 4: Wraith of the Crazy South African, hey Matt Damon's character name even is Max, coincidence?, seems like it is. Although Copley's performance seems in a different movie and for me its a better movie that is completely fitting of his absurd performance.

Copley's performance is that of a VILLAIN, who is there purely to be evil, inf act he is so evil that the evil sky people believe that he is a bit too evil. All I can really say is Copley is having the time of his life here, and I actually had it right along with him. Copley delivers all of his lines as if he was the most vicious troll known to man as he smiles with such a big smile right before he blows up a guy, or he uses a ninja star and has a one liner that is giving his victim and even harder time for just the sake of it. Copley plays Kruger as a man who just loves messing with people and having an absurdly good time while he does it. Well I had that good time right along Copley, and any time he came on the screen he helped me forget about the unneeded heavy handedness of the rest of the film.

In a more down to earth actorly sense I think there is an accomplishment to be seen in Copley's portrayal of the menacing Kruger. This honestly does not seem like an obvious role for him to play by any measure as his first role was as a very mild mannered fellow in District 9. Copley is quite the opposite being a fierce wild dog, and I think he carries himself across pretty effectively. It might be something that could be easily overlooked, but Copley's ability to play the psychotic Kruger should not be overlooked. There are often many cases of actor's noted for weaker characters attempting to play a villain and failing especially miserably. That is not the case for Copley who uses all of himself to be the seemingly unstoppable force that Kruger should be.

The idea of overacting or flamboyant acting anyway is a tricky prospect, and in Elysium you can see several performances of this type in the film. The problem with say Wagner Moura's performance for example and Jodie Foster's performance is that they are acting in two worlds and doing it poorly. Wagner Moura yells everyone of his lines, I would say Copley has more quiet moments than him even since there is the scene where he sings his lullaby, and stomps around with bizarre gestures. Moura wants to be serious still in some way yet he fails miserably because of his acting. Copley on the other hand has no such nonsensical notions and instead knows he should bring the insanity, and brings it by the ton.

Although I can easily see why this performance would not work for some, as Copley takes a particularly take or leave stance with this performance, but I will gladly take as much as he has to offer. For me Elysium without Copley contains a fine lead performance by Matt Damon but most part it is just a film bogged down by shaky camera, some ludicrously underdeveloped ideas, and a performance by an Oscar winning robot,  with Copley on the other hand there is this crazy South African who shows up every so often to bring some energy and fun to the film and every scene he is in with his villainous antics. I will gladly take the version with the mad man any day.
(Kinda a low rating for the greatest performance of all time I think)

31 comments:

RatedRStar said...

Nope Louis lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A85xpFFxd9Y

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Best Review in a while, what were your ratings for the rest of the cast.

Also, was Copley's performance for you similar to Christian Bale in American Psycho.

Matt Mustin said...

Oh, I thought he was a blast. Great review.

RatedRStar said...

So what you are telling me Louis, is that Sharlito Copout in this film, gives a better performance than Daniel Bruhl does in Rush this is mega trollage lol, you are drunk monk.

Michael McCarthy said...

Loved the trolliness in this review, and I agree that Copley brought a lot of much-needed energy to the film.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke: He is similar in terms of the way he works within the film.

Foster - 1
Moura - 1
Braga - 2
Luna - 2
Fichtner - 2
Damon- 4

RatedRStar: Whhattionng yaaanhg;oihe taaaalkiingng abobuotajoit.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: what were your thoughts on Damon.

Louis Morgan said...

I thought he gave a fine any man performance and reminded me a bit of Edmond O'Brien in D.O.A.

RatedRStar said...

Daniel Bruhl gets 4, the world has ended lol, and you didnt answer my question before Louuiss lol (I was on about my winning requests not anyone elses lol)

Luke Higham said...

Louis: What is your ranking & thoughts for Ridley Scott Films.

Michael McCarthy said...

Off-topic, does anyone here live in the London area? I have an acquaintance who recently went missing in London and was wondering if I should post a link with some info.

Psifonian said...

Even though this is obviously a troll, I still nominate him and think he was a grand delight.

houndtang said...

yeah i live in London, it's a big place alas. Hope your friend turns up.

Michael McCarthy said...

Well, I suppose this can't hurt.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/family-appeals-for-help-in-search-for-missing-teenager-patrick-halpin-29984358.html

Louis Morgan said...

Psifonian: I'm not trolling in that I really did like him, and the rating is genuine.

RatedRStar said...

=D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FBtwBAuyE8

RatedRStar said...

@Psifonian and Louis Morgan:
Did Sharlto Copley give you a striptease or something, an autograph perhaps lol.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke: Still have a lot of his that I need to see.

1. Alien(Excellent Horror film in all regards)

2. Blade Runner (Brilliant visuals and great atmosphere but it could have delved far more into its world than it does)

3. Gladiator (Imperfect for sure, but an entertaining epic.)

4. Black Hawk Down (In terms of direction it's astonishing, although some more character development would not have hurt. Scott would have been the perfect director for Lone Survivor though)

5. Thelma and Louis (Scott's direction takes the back seat to the strong lead performances, which create an effective film)

6. Prometheus (Filled with holes, but very watchable with two strong performances)

7. American Gangster (Good, but could have been great. A stronger dynamic needed to be established between Washington's and Crowe's characters)

8. Matchstick Men (More of a showcase for Nicolas Cage, but its a enjoyable enough showcase)

9. Legend(I suppose I have a bit of a soft spot for these weird 80's fantasy films. It is not anything special but its definitely something to behold)

10. Body of Lies (Bizarrely low key thriller that really doesn't distinguish itself in anyway.)

RatedRStar: We were hanging out havin' some brewskis that's how I got so drunk.

Anyway I'm looking forward to Tony Leung.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: what are your ratings for the casts of Gladiator, Prometheus, also for Davis & Sarandon in Thelma and Louise.

I would recommend seeing the Directors cut for Kingdom of Heaven.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Also, The Duellists.

RatedRStar said...

=D, speaking of Leung, I remember a while back you mentioning of actors who you would need to see more of before they became among your favorites (being that Leung plays a corrupted policeman in The Longest Nite).

One of the actors I remember you mentioning was the great Tom Courtenay, I highly recommend you see him in A Dandy In Aspic as a disturbed sociopath, think of that Louis, Tom Courtenay playing a disturbed villain.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

Gladiator:

Harris - 3
Nielsen - 3
Hemmings - 2.5
Honsou - 2.5
Jacobi - 2.5

Prometheus:

Fassbender - 4
Rapace - 4.5
Theron - 2.5
Elba - 2.5
Logan Marshall-Green - 1.5
Rafe Spall - 1.5
Guy Pearce - 1.5 (although he was good in the Ted talk)

Thelma and Louise:

Davis - 4.5
Sarandon - 5

RatedRStar: I definitely need to watch that one then.

RatedRStar said...

Do you play any video games Louis?

Louis Morgan said...

Not currently but I have in the past.

Matt Mustin said...

I was amazed by Jodie Foster's performance. By which I mean, how can such a great actress screw up so MASSIVELY? Just awful.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: What is your ranking & thoughts on Quentin Tarantino Films.

Louis Morgan said...

1. Inglorious Basterds(Tarantino's epic film and he delivers, even if a few scenes could have been trimmed)

2. Pulp Fiction(Probably the best use of his conversations as the film is an enjoyable and stylized anthology. Although that one scene where Bruce Willis goes home after the fight is intolerable)

3. Reservoir Dogs(This is a very solid crime thriller even if there are definitely a few of the wrong type of dated moments in it)

4. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (Closest he has come to just fully making one of the movies he likes to reference, and it is an entertaining one)

5. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (The quieter part 2 is also effective with some very good performances)

6. Jackie Brown (I like Jackie Brown and Max Cherry, but the other characters are not all that memorable and the story is fine but never becomes that exciting)

7. Django Unchained (Some great performances and some great scenes, but its last thirty minutes is a mess)

8. Death Proof (Kurt Russell and a solid car chase can't make up for the tedium of listening to the conversations in this film)

Luke Higham said...

Louis: what are your top 5 most anticipated blockbusters for 2014.

Louis Morgan said...

Godzilla is the only one I'm really anticipating all that much.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Funny, I always preferred Vol. 2 to Vol. 1 by a GREAT magnitude. Mostly because it has one of my all time favorite Supporting performances in it.

Louis Morgan said...

They are really on the same level for me.