Wednesday 18 May 2016

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1971: Ian McShane in Villain

Ian McShane did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Wolfe Lissner in Villain.

Villain tells the story of a violent cockney gangster Vic Dakin (Richard Burton), it probably would be a decent enough crime film if it were not for its rather atrocious central performance.

Well even though the film stands as yet another example of the cinematic law of the more performances you see from Richard Burton the worse actor he becomes. This is one horrible example of this as any scene with Burton is tainted despite there being a saving grace often around him in the form of one Ian McShane. McShane is one of those actors whose been around for a long time while only having a pseudo breakout later in his career via the television series Deadwood (which I've yet to see). McShane's abilities as an actor though were evident early on such as here where he plays Wolfe Lissner one of the members of Vic's criminal organization. Wolfe's unique within the organization though not only in terms of his actual activities, which involves handling a prostitution ring which he also uses to garner blackmail material against powerful officials, but also in terms of his relationship with Vic, since he just happens to be his lover as well.

McShane owns the role in a way that is very much needed for the film. McShane carries himself with a certain style, which while realistic gives Wolfe's the right flair as a character. McShane is rather smooth in the role in that he so well realizes the distinct sort of charm that Wolfe's possesses. McShane utilizes this to portray Wolfe's methods particularly well at every front. This includes convincing women to do "favors" for him, which McShane carries this quiet elegant warmth in his statement that makes his way of swaying them to sell themselves believable. The same is true for Wolfe as he paints the men of power into a corner as well. McShane so delicately plays these scenes as he always makes Wolfe seem so earnest as he tells the women, or the men that the arrangement that he has made is mutually beneficial for all. McShane's approach is to project this innocence of sorts that understandably puts all at ease, despite the fact that Wolfe is anything but.

Now the main crux of the film probably should be the relationship between Vic and Wolfe. The film always comes back to them, and it is quite possible that this is properly set up on the directing and writing fronts. The problem is found in Burton's performance which is so hammy in the worst possible way that Vic never is more than a one dimensional caricature. Again though McShane comes in to pick up the slack left by Burton. McShane is brilliant in his depiction of the various scenes where Wolfe interacts with Vic, since he never leaves it as simple as it could have been. McShane instead finds a definite complexity in this relationship. On the surface McShane expresses the certain manipulative side of Wolfe in his interactions towards Vic, as he does not shy away of showing the blunt pleasure he seems to get from colluding in Vic's schemes. He still conveys certain limits to this as Vic becomes more possessive. McShane's excellent as he presents Wolfe as not having the same singular obsession, especially in one moment where the bi-sexual Wolfe is interrupted with his girlfriend by a desperate Vic. However McShane does not leave it a wholly shallow relationship despite some questionable elements within it. McShane subtly alludes in pivotal moments a genuine side to Wolfe, that is particularly striking against his false earnest side, when Wolfe shows actual concern for Vic's mental state. McShane finds this never to be a contradiction, instead even allowing a real complexity in the relationship between Wolfe and Vic. This is wasted in terms of the film due to Burton, but on McShane's end it's there. McShane's performance is rather wonderful here as any scene in which he appears has at the very least a spark of energy to them. In the scenes without Burton, McShane only excels all the more, and there was quite possibly a great film if it had been all from Wolfe's perspective or at the very least Vic had been played well.

49 comments:

Calvin Law said...

Oh dear, did not realise you'd hate Burton's performance that much lol. But I'm very glad you liked McShane.

Michael McCarthy said...

Really, only a 4? Usually when you use words like excellent and wonderful, that connotes a higher rating, especially in a performance like this which (in my opinion) borders on being lead.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Are you reviewing Rylance and Isaac in the near future.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Rating and thoughts on Burton?

Calvin Law said...

Saw Florence Foster Jenkins. Okay in terms of direction and with an average script, and the first half is a bit standard, but performances turn the second half into quite a unique sort of 'feelgood' picture. Ends all too abruptly though.

Streep: 4
Grant: 4 (verging on a 4.5)
Helberg: 3
Ferguson: 2.5

Louis Morgan said...

Michael McCarthy: I'll admit my view of Burton's performance was clouding my sight in terms of the rating.

Luke:

We'll see.

Anonymous:

Burton - 1(Burton seems particularly ill at ease in the role. His attempts at the cockney accent comes off as almost painful in the Burton seems to be actively trying to hide his more refined voice with every word that he utters. This is not helped by the rest of his performance though where he chooses to play Vic at the note of extreme anger in almost every scene except for the two with his mother, not that Burton really makes anything out of those scenes either. Now the extremely angry gangster can work, Bob Hoskins in The Long Good Friday. Of course the gulf between the two could not be more vast. One being Hoskins actually comes off as authentic, another being he finds some needed nuance, and most importantly the anger does not come off as some goofy ham, which is the case for Burton)

Anonymous said...

Louis: You forgot to answer my question about O'Brien in Barefoot Contessa in the previously. What actors do you feel could have done much more with his character?

Anonymous said...

*previous review

Calvin Law said...

Anonymous: I don't want to answer for Louis but I think O'brien did as well as anyone could in the role.

Anonymous said...

Calvin: I suppose you liked him more than Louis?

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

I said perhaps, and that was awhile ago. Really O'Brien was well cast, it just wasn't a great part.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Since you like Beast Wars (I like it also), what are the best voices and episodes in your opinion?

Robert MacFarlane said...

Louis, can I hear your exact thoughts on Isaac in Show Me a Hero?

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Top five Voices:

1. Scott McNeil
2. David Kaye
3. David Sobolov
4. Venus Terzo
5. Richard Newman

Top Five Episodes:

1. Code of Hero
2. The Agenda Part 3
3. Nemesis Part 2
4. Other Voices Part 2
5. Bad Spark

Calvin Law said...

X-Men: Apocalypse

Better than I expected. Messy as hell and overly repetitive, underwritten/overwritten characters, but entertaining enough and on the heroes side gives each X-Man time to shine (albeit briefly for some)

McAvoy: 4 (given a less dramatic arc than Days of Future Past, but again he gave his all in the role, and effectively showed a changed Professor X closer to the inspirational figure of Patrick Stewart, but with still plenty of demons plaguing him)

Fassbender: 4 (he's actually brilliant in his first few scenes, in showing a happier and more content Magneto who jarringly switches to a hollow shell in a truly harrowing sequence. Unfortunately afterwards he becomes more or less a henchman to Apocalypse which works for the film but limits his performance)

Isaac: 3 (I need a bit more time to think about this, he could go up or down. I actually did not mind Apocalypse as a villain. Isaac's voice work is pretty good and he's apropriately menacing, however, the makeup does limit his performance a great deal, and there seemed to be more potential, but I'll get onto that at some point about the villains in this film in general)

Lawrence: 3 (perhaps it benefits her performance that she isn't a villain, it kind of goes against Mystique as a character. Anyway, Lawrence manages to avoid the pitfalls of her overwritten arc mostly by just playing the character with consistency, and some humour)

Hoult: 3 (shame they did not give him more to do, Lawrence-style, after Mad Max: Fury Road, I must say it was extremely weird to see both him and Helman with such 'normal' appearances, at least initially. Anyway Hoult is likable as always, and has a few extremely good moments when he is in Beast mode, one could only wish they'd explored more of the Beast psyche since Fury Road proved he could play crazy like the very best)

Byrne: 2.5 (given absolutely NOTHING to do it's almost hilarious but she is good in her final scene with McAvoy)

Sheridan: 3.5 (I thought he absolutely nailed the character's insecurities and frustrations. He's not even written all that more complex a manner than Marsden but he's a huge upgrade by being so raw in his emotional portrayal, as well as being appropriately badass when needed. I'm looking forward to seeing him in the sequels)

Turner: 3.5 (she actually gets a little less to do than expected, but she's very charming, has some good chemistry with Sheridan, and when the third act comes her time to shine she earns it)

Smit-McPhee: 3.5 (I basically feel the same about his performance as I do with Cumming's, he does the accent well, he's fairly endearing, he just feels right as Nightcrawler which actually is a lot harder than it might seem)

Munn: 2 (no idea why she was taking the mickey out of Morena Baccarin's role in Deadpool when hers is even more thankless. You could count her number of lines on one hand, and anything memorable about her character is really down to the costume and direction)

Hardy: 2 (equally thankless role, he was quite hateable I guess and I enjoyed his character's final fate but really he was just villain fodder. Massive downgrade from Foster though who didn't even have that much more material to begin with)

Shipp: 2.5 (compared to Hardy and Munn she fares much better mainly because she has a very small arc, and just seems more convincing overall in her also limited line deliveries. Also gets nothing to do though)

Helman: 2.5 (nothing wrong with his performance as the strict military man but wouldn't have minded a bit of Slit)

Peters: 4 (possibly the MVP, he's once again so effortlessly humorous and charming, but in addition to that has a little emotional arc to handle which he does quite well, I wouldn't actually mind a standalone Quicksilver film but the only problem would be that he's almost too invincible in so many regards. Also his standout scene, is essentially a reprise of his standout scene in Days of Future Past. Doesn't matter because it's even more awesome)

Calvin Law said...

Everyone is supporting, in my opinion. If I had to name someone lead I would actually say Lawrence and McAvoy are co-leads.

Calvin Law said...

And actually, no, McAvoy is still MVP. Even with the limitations he was excellent within them.

Louis Morgan said...

Robert:

I feel to do the performance justice I should write a full review for him.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Oh good. He really hit home with that character.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Is Dinobot your favorite character in the show? McNeil is one hell of a VA.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your thoughts on Fukunaga directing a Napoleon Bonaparte Miniseries for HBO.

Anonymous said...

Louis, I'm actually surprised that Matthew McConaughey's performance in True Detective is not in your top 15 TV performances.

Michael McCarthy said...

I still maintain that McConaughey and Harrelson were equal in that show.

Alex Marqués said...

Everyone: What are your choices for best actress and best supporting actress nominees of 2011? I'm interested in that year.

Anonymous said...

Alex: Swinton and Chastain.

Robert MacFarlane said...

@Alex: Mara and McCarthy

Luke Higham said...

Alex: With the actual nominees, my choices are Mara and Bejo.

Alex Marqués said...

Oh I was referring to your personal choices, not the actual nominees ;)

Luke Higham said...

Alex: Colman and Chastain

Calvin Law said...

1. Swinton
2. Mara
3. Colman
4. Bejo
5. Ronan/Wasikowska/Blunt (very strong year)

1. Chastain (Tree of Life)
2. Chastain (Take Shelter)
3. Cotillard
4. Mulligan (Drive)
5. Monaghan

Still haven't seen Melancholia.

Anonymous said...

Saw X-Men Apocalypse. It's kind of disappointing IMO, but there's some entertaining moments.

Anonymous said...

John Smith:

Louis, ratings and thoughts on Peter MacNicol In Sophie's Choice and Kevin Kline in the same movie. I thought Kline was horrible.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Just saw The Nice Guys. I have some gripes, but I mostly enjoyed the hell out of it. Both Crowe and Gosling are fantastic.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: Your ratings for the cast and thoughts on McAvoy, Fassbender, Peters and Isaac.

Saw Richard III. Cumberbatch is once again, terrific. :)

Anonymous said...

Luke:
Fassbender- 4 (Very good as a content Magneto and then a hollow shell)
McAvoy- 4 (Very good as a changed Professor X that is close to Stewart's)
Peters- 4 (Very good as Quicksilver, being effortlessly humorous and charming)
Isaac- 3 (Fine enough, but the role had much more potential)
Rest of the Cast
Lawrence: 2,5
Sheridan: 3
Hoult: 2,5
Smith-McPhee: 3
Byrne: 2,5
Munn: 2
Hardy: 2
Shipp: 2,5
Helman: 2,5
Turner: 3

Anonymous said...

Luke: So, what rating do you give to Cumberbatch?

Matt Mustin said...

Finally saw Civil War, and I absolutely loved it. I particularly thought the screenplay was really excellent, in that not only did it build on the previous films well, but it made every character's motivations completely clear and convincing.
The cast
Evans-4.5(He is Captain America. He delivers once again in being the hero Cap should be, but digs deeper and reveals some real emotion.)
Downey-5(His best performance as the character. He's still a master of the whole sardonic Tony Stark routine, but here more than ever he shows that this is a coping mechanism, and his portrayal of Stark as a broken man is very moving and actually quite haunting. I should also quickly mention that I consider him co-lead, mostly because of the third act.)
Stan-3.5(I liked him well enough, but I feel like he should've made a bigger impact than he did. He has great chemistry with Evans, though.)
Johanssen-3.5(More than solid once again, and I thought she handled her character's sort of middle-ground between the sides very well.)
Mackie-3.5(Once again very entertaining, with great chemistry with Evans and Stan.)
Bettany-3.5(A welcome presence like always, and I liked the way he showed Vision gaining some sense of humanity.)
Boseman-4(Loved the accent, first off, but more than that he make T'Challa a very compelling character and his portayal of grief is very moving.)
Olsen-3.5(Major upgrade from Ultron. Good choice to not focus on the accent so much. Like all of the characters, I thought she was a welcome presence whenever she was onscreen and when given the chance to do more, she does that well.)
Holland-4(Absolutely wonderful. First actor in live-action to succesfully be both an endearingly awkward Peter Parker and a perfect Spider-Man. He also has exceptional chemistry with Downey. I very much look forward to his solo film, now even more so than I had before.)
Rudd-3.5(Liked him more here than in his own movie. Adds a nice bit of humour to the film, and I thought the scene where he meets Cap was particularly hilarious.)
Renner-3.5(His introductory scene is very rushed, but he never makes it seem that way. Also once again, he's just a very welcome presence.)
Cheadle-3(He does the best with what he has. His final scene is very good in particular)
Hurt-2.5(All he really has to do is be the government official who spouts exposition. He does it well, but it's really not much of a part.)
Freeman-3(Same thing as Hurt basically, only with even less time. The reason he gets a slightly higher rating though is because of one specific moment towards the end of the film.)
Bruhl-4.5(Hands down, best MCU villain by far, no contest. Bruhl is extremely menacing, particularly in his first scene by showing such a coldly calculating man. He goes further though and is actually very moving when he reveals what's driving him.)

Calvin Law said...

The performances in Civil War I like the more I think about are those of Boseman (glad you loved his accent too, read up on how he perfected it, I really admire the effort he put into the role), Rudd, and Renner.

Also glad we all agree that Cheadle though underused did extremely well with what he had. In fact I think his final scene was particularly effective in sort of providing a bit of closure to the overarching conflicts of the film.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

McConaughey and Harrelson would be 16 and 17 interchangeably.

John Smith:

MacNicol - 2(There really is a reason no one seems to talk about that film much outside of Streep, and really mostly the "choice" scene itself. MacNicol's whole story line isn't very engaging, often seeming tonally out of place with the flashback scenes, though that's also the fault of someone else as well. MacNicol does not have a great character to work with to begin with, but he doesn't help either. His performance is very thin, and it's a good example of how not to do a reactive turn. The writer always fails to be engaging particularly in certain moments where really his reaction should be pivotal, but MacNicol falls flat)

Kline - 2.5(It's a mess of a performance, MacNicol is more consistent in terms of being mainly bland, though Kline does have the lower lows especially in his first scene where he comes off as more of a comedy routine than a man who's mentally deranged. That unfortunately is the case of every time his character becomes crazed. Now I prefer Kline though because I do think he has good moments, those being when he settles down, such as the scene where he apologizes to MacNicol's character. In these moments Kline is rather effective in that he makes the character still definitely off, but portrays a struggle to be a good person and balance himself. It does not make up for his bad scenes, which are pretty bad, but there is some good in there)

Luke:

Interested at the very least. He's a great director, but I hope he works with a stronger screenplay than he had with Beasts. Haven't seen Sin Nombre but perhaps he's best crafting his vision around someone else's writing.

Anonymous said...

Louis: For a 60's version of American Hustle, who would be your cast and director? I'd go with Wilder for director.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

American Hustle 60's directed by Billy Wilder(I'll concur):

Irving Rosenfeld: Walter Matthau
Richie DiMaso: Jack Lemmon
Sydney Prosser: Shirley MacLaine
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Kim Novak
Mayor Polito: Tony Curtis
Stoddard Thorsen: Cliff Osmond
Tellegio: James Cagney

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I give Cumberbatch fives for Henry VI Part II (Supporting) and Richard III (Lead).

Anonymous said...

John Smith:

Louis, ratings and thoughts on the cast of Great Expectations (1946 VERSION)

Anonymous said...

Louis: Some people defend Cooper's performance (in Sergeant York) for not showing anger when he asks who killed his friend with a grenade because of his vow to never get angry. What do you think of this?
John: Currie is a 3,5 (He was reviewed)
Mills - 3.5 (Pip really is not much of a character, he's mainly there to facilitate more interesting characters. Mills does manage to do a good job of reflecting what he's going through at any given moment stopping him from being completely overshadowed by the more flamboyant characters)

Alex Marqués said...

Louis: Are there any nominated performances that you've already reviewed and rated you'd consider giving "a second chance" to?

Luke Higham said...

Alex: Stephen Rea in The Crying Game.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Whenever you get to 1989, could you watch The Firm with Gary Oldman. Some have described it as one of his very best performances and I quite concur.

Alex Marqués said...

I agree, it's one of his best.

Louis Morgan said...

John Smith:

My thoughts on the cast can be found in Alternate supporting 46 results.

Anonymous:

The problem is Cooper doesn't really convey much of anything in that scene beyond ever so slight annoyance.

Alex:

Alan Arkin - The Heart is A Lonely Hunter
Tom Conti - Reuben Reuben
Roy Scheider - All that Jazz

Luke:

Will do.