Friday 19 February 2016

Alternate Best Actor 2015: Jason Segel in The End of the Tour

Jason Segel did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying David Foster Wallace in The End of the Tour.

The End of the Tour is a terrific film about a Rolling Stone writer David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) interviewing novelist David Foster Wallace as he wraps up his tour promoting his highly acclaimed novel Infinite Jest.

Jason Segel is an actor best known for his broad comedic performances, though I'll admit I have seen little of his work in total, so this is rather outside of that comfort zone. The film is a two character piece, though there are other minor players, but it squares specifically on the dynamic between Lipsky and Wallace. Jesse Eisenberg who frequently gives mannered performances actually is surprisingly subdued in that regard here, which works well against Segel's work which must be mannered in order to capture the spirit of Wallace. Any notion that Segel is just a broad comic actor can instantly be forgotten in his realizations of Wallace's idiosyncrasies. The way Segel speaks here is somewhat unusual in his almost airy sound of his voice, the muted timbre as well as the pace of delivery as he almost quickly rushes through what he's saying then has a notable pause before starting again. This is the way Foster spoke, and you'd think this was merely the way Segel spoke as it never feels like an affectation, but rather just the way the man speaks. Segel even captures the unique movements of the man as creates a sense of an almost tug of war in his body language as he goes outgoing one moment, to a shyness the next. Segel makes it all of this seem just as he is, and never allows it to seem like acting for even a moment.

Segel's brilliant realization of Wallace's various tics, without making them seem like acting tics, is essential to the success of the film. When we first meet Wallace it could have been just time to see some caricature of a real person but through Segel we seem to just meet the man. Segel importantly does nothing to prevent us from seeing Wallace as more than just a collection of ideas, which is also important in the film as Lipsky also has to see Wallace as a person rather just as the vague idea he has of some genius novelist. Segel's performance carefully humanizes Wallace from the moment we meet him in the flesh as calmly apologizes for his earlier brief phone conversation with Lipsky, where he sounded as though he might be the egotistical writer sort. His introductory moment further quashes this idea as Segel, even in finding those idiosyncratic behavior of the man, plays him as an approachable enough man, even if there is a certain introverted element in his behavior. Segel and Eisenberg for that matter both do very well in portraying the needed awkwardness of two strangers' meeting. Segel's very good in portraying the courtesy of Wallace as he tries to break the ice with Lipsky, but with a most definite hesitation when the idea of the interview is more fully realized when Lipsky reveals his tape recorder.

The conversations between the two are really the film, and both actors must find their characters in the shifting of topics throughout the interview. Now often times the conversations are quite minor in discussion such as just when they are indulging in some junk food they procured for the night. Segel and Eisenberg manage to make even these minor conversations rather compelling as they so easily find the chemistry between the two, and make the words sound so particularly natural. These scenes are nicely played though in producing a certain warmth, and perhaps alluding to a possible friendship just through the ease in which the two of them can go back and forth on various topics. Segel captures a certain rhythm in Wallace as he covers these simple enough topics as he goes from casual discussion, but set off on a certain point reveals an intellectual intensity of sorts, though not overt. Segel is excellent in these moments as he basically reveals the passion of Wallace's certain beliefs when they come off even in casual conversation. What's special about this is that he avoids making it seem self-indulgent. He naturally comes to these points as just someone talking about something they care about, and even then Segel inserts moments of realization as though Wallace sees what he's doing and pulls back.  

That puts a nice contrast against the moments where Lipsky directly presses Wallace to talk about his personal philosophies and how they relate to Infinite Jest. Segel handles these moments well by showing Wallace very much take upon the role of the proper interviewee as though he's on a talk show. Segel does not portray this as though it is a facade or anything, just rather the adjustment of a man who wants to make sure he gets his ideas across clearly. The passion in these scenes Segel reveals again though in an intriguing alternate way that it is more precise, and in a way less natural, but in no way false. He conveys the earnestness of his beliefs in direct fashion to make it abundantly clear to Lipsky exactly what ge believes without question, though again Segel does this without an obvious smugness rather a confidence of an intelligent man who has given much investment into the development of these concepts. There are moments even in these conversations that Wallace takes a moment to make it clear that all that he says is what he hopes his book accomplished. Segel is great in this as he reveals this to be genuine modesty in Wallace, and suggests the vulnerability of a man who perhaps is still unsure if he's truly succeeded or not.

As the tour goes on Lipsky and Wallace do connect in their moments of mutual appreciation but there is definite push back when Lipsky's questions become more incisive towards Wallace's personal life. This includes questions involving his parents as well as his problems with depression and possibly drug abuse. Segel is fantastic once again in these moments as again he keeps it very much within the setting of a proper interview as he maintains his composure as well as he can. Segel's reactions to these questions show Wallace's resistance to even broach the subject, and finds an understated disgust towards Lipsky for even bringing the subject up. When Wallace does answer Segel finds the right defensiveness in Wallace at all times as he makes every answer have an aggressive quality to it as though he's trying to even attack some of Lipsky's suggestions in his own humble way. However Segel does not have Wallace cover up as he does allude to the pain associated with these memories, and gives a greater understanding to the subtle melancholia that Segel presents as a part of Wallace's natural state of being. The difficulties of the interview are only encouraged by Lipsky's jealousy of Wallace's success, but also Wallace's concerns when Lipsky seems to be becoming a bit too friendly with Wallace's female friends. Segel is quietly moving by creating the sense of Wallace's personal sensitivity, that is not of an egotistical writer, but that of a man with very normal insecurities. The fate of Wallace is known from the introduction, as he eventually committed suicide, and Segel does find that course in his portrayal. Segel never allows that to control the portrait of the man. Segel through every conversations, which are always engaging no matter how slight they may seem, finds the man's sorrow, his brilliance, but also his joys. It's an excellent performance which always feels not as an imitation, but as a true embodiment of this man.

69 comments:

Luke Higham said...

Amazing Performance. :) I hope Fassbender's coming next.

Louis: Your Top 5 Child Performances.

Anonymous said...

Louis: He was great. By the way, which performance of Grapes of Wrath is your favorite? Carradine or Darwell?

Alex Marqués said...

Terrific performance, he would have been a very deserving nominee. Awesome review as always sir.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

Can't give you an exact ranking at the moment, but I'll say Tremblay would be in the top three no matter what.

Anonymous:

Darwell but it is close.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Great review, your thoughts and rating on Eisenberg?

RatedRStar: What is your next spreadsheet after the 63/70 one?

Anonymous said...

Louis: Do you think Carradine was close to getting nominated?

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

You can find my thoughts on Eisenberg in Mel Gibson's review for Braveheart.

Anonymous:

Hard to say as those categories could be so strange. Who knows he could have been one vote from taking William Gargan's spot. Then again with Albert Bassermann being nominated for Foreign Correspondent instead instead of George Sanders or Herbert Marshall, maybe Russell Simpson or John Qualen received more votes for the very same film.

Robert MacFarlane said...

On the topic of Segel, has anyone seen him and NPH do Les Mis on James Lipton's show?

Anonymous said...

Louis: What about Massey in East of Eden? Do you think he was close to get a nomination? And also, was he close to a 5?

Matt Mustin said...

Robert: Yes, and it was awesome.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Can I have your thoughts on Everest and ratings & thoughts on the cast.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Matt: Not even kidding, I kind of wish Segel played Valjean after seeing that.

Alex Marqués said...

Louis which would you say that are the best scenes from the performances of:
Choi Min-Sik in Oldboy and I Saw The Devil
Ryan Gosling in Drive
David Thewlis in Naked
Peter Dinklage in The Station Agent
Ray Winstone in The Proposition
Ben Mendelsohn in Animal Kingdom
Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises



Calvin Law said...

This review pleases me, length doesn't quite seem that of a winning review but suffice to say I loved Segel here. Just such brilliant work, and hoping that Bateman and he can build upon this with more daring turns like their work this year.

GM said...

Didn't like him, meh.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: Who do you think's gonna win at this point. If McKellen's reviewed last, then I'd say he'll probably win.

RatedRStar said...

Anonymous: 1971 - 1978, its not quite finished, and 1977 will most likely change.

http://snag.gy/DXwUV.jpg

RatedRStar said...

This is the kind of film that has the relaxed sort of atmosphere of reading a book in a quiet room which is filled with darkness.

Anonymous said...

RatedRStar: I don't know if Louis is going to like Mitchum in The Yakuza and Farewell, My Lovely.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: Please suggest Nicol Williamson's turn in Excalibur for 1981 Supporting.

Calvin Law said...

RatedRStar: Exactly.

Anoymous: Mitchum is fantastic in The Yakuza as is Ken Takakura and it's the sort of film Louis might just love. Agree about Farewell, My Lovely though.

Luke: Hm. Tremblay, Bateman and Segel all look like prospective winners through their reviews. I'm not entirely sure Fassbender will be up there since Macbeth is so director-heavy in many peoples' opinion, though I myself think that his performance completely overshadows all the stylistic flourishes which I was personally very indifferent to. Hardy won't win simply because I don't think Louis has ever given two wins to the same actor in one year, closest he came to doing that was in 1960 for Olivier.

I'm thinking it'll go down to Segel, Bateman, McKellen, though don't count out DiCaprio taking the win too (I feel Robert's wrath already) since Louis' review for him was incredibly positive.

Michael Patison said...

Louis: 2 questions. 1) Has you opinion of Quvenzhane Wallis' work in Beasts of the Southern Wild changed at all? and 2) Have you read/What's your opinion of David Foster Wallace?

Anonymous said...

Calvin: I saw Mitchum in both films and I liked both of his performances (even though if he was too old). He would have been perfect as Marlowe when he was younger.

Anonymous said...

*too old for Marlowe.

Anonymous said...

Calvin: What ratings would you give to Mitchum in those performances? And Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison as well.

Calvin Law said...

I have Infinite Jest on my desk just begging me to read it.

The Yakuza: 4.5
Farewell, My Lovely: 3.5 (he kind of coasts on his presence which isn't a bad thing, he's still compelling, but nothing too nomination-worthy)
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison: 5 (he and Kerr are just perfect together, I can't wait for his review, it's a performance and film that's grown on me more and more)

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: If Fassbender does get a five and his performance is considered a career best, I'll be more than happy with it. :)

Calvin Law said...

I should note that (travesty, travesty) I give him a strong 4.5 for Night of the Hunter (although again I'm not a big fan of the film). Although a re-watch might prove me wrong. He's an unquestionable 5 for Cape Fear though.

Calvin Law said...

Luke: Oh he'll get a 5, if I gave him a 5 being not a particularly big fan of him, then Louis who loves him in general will definitely grant him one.

Anonymous said...

Calvin: What ratings do you predict for Mitchum in those films?

Calvin Law said...

I should note that my view of his performance in Twelve Years a Slave has begun to wane to the point I might bump him down to a 4. I kind of see what Psifonian meant now when he said Dano was better than Fassbender, the latter was good at being very reprehensible but it did get a bit repetitive after a while, whereas Dano managed to within very limited screentime show both the blunt and horrible nature of the racist and the weak side of the coward.

Calvin Law said...

Anonymous: 4.5's for Yakuza and Mr Allison, 4 for Farewell My Lovely.

Anonymous said...

Calvin: I have to say that Mitchum is definitely a 5 for me as well in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison. Louis is going to like that film more than The African Queen.

Calvin Law said...

Anonymous: For sure. Speaking of The African Queen it's a shame Bogart and Mitchum never got a chance to work together.

Anonymous said...

Calvin: It would have been awesome to watch Bogart and Mitchum together for sure.

Calvin Law said...

Michael Patison: I might be mistaken but were you the one who gave Beasts of the Southern Wild your 2012 win for Best Picture? 'Cause it's mine by far.

RatedRStar said...

Luke: Well, here is the 1979 to 1986 list so you better look and find out =D it isnt quite finished yet, really struggling with 1980 lead.

http://snag.gy/0g2CK.jpg



Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: :)

Anonymous said...

RatedRStar: For 1988 Lead, I suggest Michael Keaton in Clean & Sober.

Calvin Law said...

RatedRStar:For 1980 lead may I suggest Art Garfunkel, yes that Art Garfunkel, for Bad Timing.

Also John Lone for Iceman (1984).

RatedRStar said...

Anonymous: He was already in =D hehe.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Truth be told I've always thought Fassbender was overpraised for 12 Years a Slave. Unlike Psifonian I don't think he's bad. For the most part I like his work, but for some reason he just never had the effect on me that I thought he would. In fact, Sarah Paulson was a better villain for me (the missus was more evil as written anyway).

JackiBoyz said...

RatedRStar: I am very happy that Jonathan Pryce for Something Wicked managed to get in, and wow that 1985 Best Actor lineup looks great.

Calvin Law said...

I've gone a complete reversal between his work and Abdi's in the same year. At first I thought Abdi was a menacing enough villain but not particularly complex whereas Fassbender made a great first impression on me. Over time though, though I still like both films a great deal, Abdi's work has stayed with me even more to the point he's now a 5, having picked up so much of the subtle work he does in it. He and Farrell are my joint winners for the year.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Abdi is easily my win for that year. Not even close.

Calvin Law said...

RatedRStar: Steve Buscemi in Parting Glances is very intriguing.

RatedRStar said...

Calvin Law: Even though I saw Garfunkel in his Globe nominated Carnal Knowledge and was rather underwhelmed, I would happily put him in, especially since 1980 is a weak one and the fact I had to originally rely on Al Pacino in Cruising for a nom shows how desperate I was. As for John Lone, I do like Lone quite a lot in general hence that Year Of The Dragon nomination and that I liked him in Rush Hour 2, have you seen him in Iceman because I havent and I am curious about that because Lone is a very good actor but I am not sure.

JackiBoyz: Keep in mind these are not final decisions, but ill admit I will unlikely get rid of Pryce.

RatedRStar said...

Calvin Law: Its a quite good performance, certainly in terms of his rather gaunt appearance.

Calvin Law said...

RatedRStar: He's pretty good. I won't say he should definitely get in because it's quite a simple, minimalist role but his character creation of the titular Iceman is pretty darn brilliant.

Garfunkel is great in Bad Timing, don't worry :)

Anonymous said...

RatedRStar: Haven't seen this performance, but I'll suggest Holden in The Executive Suite for 1954 Lead.

RatedRStar said...

Calvin Law: I trust you lol, he is in =D.

Anonymous: Yes I may need to see The Executive Suite at some point because it did get awards attention and a Bafta nom for Fredric March, and Holden is usually a good actor, its that premise I have a problem with, it looks very, very soap operaish.

Anonymous said...

RatedRStar: I know that Louis isn't a fan of Garfield, but I would suggest him to be reviewed for Force of Evil, to see if he's truly that great in that film. And another suggestion for 1948 Lead: Gable in Command Decision.

Michael McCarthy said...

The two best lead actor performance getting back-to-back glowing reviews...good day :)

Anonymous said...

Louis what are your thoughts and ratings on the strange but interesting " The Crying Game"

Calvin Law said...

Emory Cohen as young Napoleon Bonaparte.

Discuss.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Well he looks the part. I'm curious if he can do accents that aren't from New York or New Jersey.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Yes to the second question. Looking at the nominees Lemmon, O'Connell, and Mantell had best picture support. Kennedy seemed like a name maybe some voters always checked off if it was a weak year in terms of passion and he could easily get in. That leaves the two James Dean co-stars.

Mineo seems like there was some passion behind him for a few years evidenced by his two nominations, and I believe he may have been the favorite to win for Exodus. Massey probably was in the running, but I wonder if his chilly on-set relationship with Dean was known. If it was that could've hurt his chances.

Luke:

I actually liked how Everest built up in kind of showing the flimsy state it was in as basically a tourist attraction. Some of the early scenes, before the disaster, I found pretty thrilling such as the ladder climbing sequence. Once the disaster began I found it oddly seemed a bit detached, though that may have been the characters for the most part were poorly developed. There are good emotional moments in there, involving Clarke mostly, but the disaster itself seemed a bit slight for whatever reason. It oddly ends on a whimper as the death of the characters seem oddly matter of fact, and there is a strange lack of passion in all of it.

Clarke - 4(Found him rather good in portraying just his frustrations and difficulty in dealing with the different egos of the men. Then he was rather moving in portraying his character's final scenes in portraying both the physical and mental exhaustion that keeps him from getting up)

Brolin - 3(Given too little to do, but I felt he was a nice jerk for the majority of the film particularly when he lashes out again Clarke. Then he does well in just realizing the state of his character at the end when's he's just barely holding onto life)

Gyllenhall - 3(Given far too little to do, but was an appropriate hot shot. It's a shame that he really had nothing past that)

Hawkes - 3(He brings the right earnestness to his character's small personal journey, and finds the man with the best story on why he's climbing the mountain. However he also seems to get lost in the shuffle at the end)

Watson - 3.5(She deserves a great deal of credit considering she has no character at all. She just is there to look concerned at each new development, but boy does she does her absolute best to get the most out of them emotionally speaking)

Robert:

Segel as Valjean? I'd take it.

Alex:

Min-Sik in Oldboy - (Looking over the photo album)

I Saw The Devil - (When he figures out he's being recorded)

Gosling - (The driver asks where Irene's son got the bullet)

Thewlis - (Discussing the sign of the beast)

Dinklage - (Any scene between him and Cannavale)

Winstone - (The Proposition)

Mendelsohn - (The drug overdose)

Mortensen - (With Anna and her uncle)

Michael:

1. No.

2. I've seen interviews and such, but I haven't read his work so I wouldn't say I have an exact opinion on him.

Michael Patison said...

Luke: Beasts is undoubtedly my Picture win for 2012. No contest. Wallis is also my win for Actress with Henry as my #6 for Supporting Actor and Zeitlin coming in 4th behind PTA, Mendes, and Bigelow. #3 in Adapted Screenplay too. It's also my win for Score and Cinematography. Top 5s for Editing and Production Design, too.

Michael Patison said...

On a side note my 2012 Adapted Screenplay category is probably my most eclectic.

Calvin Law said...

Michael: It was I who asked about Beasts but no matter :) Anyway Wallis is my win as well, Henry is a nominee for Supporting Actor in an incredibly competitive year for me (Whishaw, Bardem, Walken and Jackson being my other nominees). It's my winner for Score and Cinematography too, and lots of other technical cateogires.

What's your 2012 Adapted Screenplay choices? For me it'd be:
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Perks of Being a Wallflower
Cloud Atlas
Rust and Bone
Lincoln/Quartet

Calvin Law said...

Robert: I'm interested in that too.

Louis: In case you don't see my reply on my blog, what 8 actors would you like to seen in an ensemble for that Bond film proposition.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: I've thought if just copying Hateful Eight then the following lineup would be swell:

H8
With Bond (Idris Elba) as the Marquis Warren figure
Gary Oldman in the John Ruth role (a George Smiley type, jaded spy at the end of his rope bringing in one of his final targets in)
Rooney Mara in the Daisy Dormegue role (a twisted turn on Lisbeth Salander)
Daniel Bruhl in the Chris Mannix role (racist German spy who's on his way to take over Spectre...so he says)
David Bautista in the Bob role (crossover from the Craig series, Mr Hinx reimagined as a devious mumbling caretaker of the inn)
Christoph Waltz in the Oswaldo role (turns out Franz Obenhauser wasn't Blofeld after all)
Michael Madsen as Joe Gage role again (for some reason I can't imagine anyone else doing this role)
Donald Sutherland in the Smithers role (bitter demoted spy who harbours a hatred towards new agents like Bond)
Viggo Mortensen as Blofeld, in the Channing Tatum role (last minute reveal villain)

L Rime said...

Segel is so great. Although I might view Eisenberg's performance slightly higher. But it would be so small, it's imperceptible. So they might as well be tied. Both are really fantastic.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Aside from Kelly's miscasting in High Noon (you said Wright would have been your choice instead of her), what other things you think the film needed to be better?

Anonymous said...

*Aside for a better actress for Kelly's role in High Noon

Anonymous said...

Louis: Who would be your cast and director for:
To Live and Die in LA (1930's and 1940's version)
Falling Down (1950's version)
Unforgiven (1970's version)

Michael Patison said...

Calvin: haha oops. Mine would be:
Silver Linings Playbook
Skyfall
Beasts of the Southern Wild
21 Jump Street
Perks of Being a Wallflower

Robert MacFarlane said...

I approve of Perks and Jump Street, more iffy on Skyfall on SLP.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Honestly if the film felt a bit less conducted in terms of its creation of allegory, as the scenes become far too repetitive, and sometimes almost oddly function in order to keep Kane alone. Such as the church scene where Kane is offered help, yet he just kind of allows Thomas Mitchell's character to show him the way out. He's only assertive in the slightest with Lon Chaney's character, and because of that it makes the rest make little sense. Past that the whole Katy Jurado feels like complete filler that feels oddly detached from the the rest of the story.

Anonymous:

To Live and Die in LA (1930's directed by Michael Curtiz)

Chance: Humphrey Bogart
Masters: Ray Milland
Vukovich: Dan Duryea
Bianca: Paulette Goddard
Cody: Burgess Meredith
Grimes: Leo G. Carroll

40's directed by Samuel Fuller

Chance: Kirk Douglas
Masters: Edmond O'Brien
Vukovich: Robert Walker
Bianca: Jocelyn Brando
Cody: Brad Dexter
Grimes: Raymond Massey

Falling Down (1950's directed by Raoul Walsh)

D-Fens Foster: Henry Fonda
Prendergast: James Cagney

Unforgiven (1970's directed by Sergio Leone):

William Munny: Henry Fonda
Little Bill Daggett: Lee J. Cobb
Ned Logan: Ossie Davis
English Bob: James Mason
Schofield Kid: Richard Jordan
W.W. Beauchamp: Dick Van Patten
Strawberry Alice: Piper Laurie