Friday 21 April 2017

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1984: Harry Dean Stanton in Repo Man

Harry Dean Stanton did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Bud in Repo Man.

Repo Man is a downright bonkers film, and I mean that in a good way, about a young punk Otto (Emilio Estevez) taking a job as a repo man in L.A. where strange things occur.

Harry Dean Stanton plays Bud the man who randomly recruits Otto to repossess a car on the street through a lie saying his wife's in labor and he doesn't want to leave her car in "bad area". Now just the way Stanton says bad neighborhood told me that I was going to be in for quite the treat with this performance. Although I guess the fact that it's Harry Dean Stanton in a prominent role should have already tipped me off of that. In fact old Stanton is even top billed here, though he is indeed supporting to Estevez's Otto. Stanton's bud though acts as the access point to the strange world of repossessions. Stanton's old scraggly mannerisms perfect for the seedy world of the repo as he dulls out his advice with this rough certainty. It is quite something just to have Stanton being the mentor character of sort to Otto, as Stanton does fulfill this though not in the way you may expect. Stanton's certain type of world weariness, although I'm not certain is quite the right word as Stanton doesn't suggest Bud's tired of the world just rather he's not terribly impressed by it.

Stanton's performance makes bud as though he's this hardboiled detective giving out information on the job though of course he's not a detective. Stanton's approach though makes what this advice is quite something to say the least such as telling Otto he needs to wake up early but also that all repo men are on speed which is then shown through Bud snorting drugs up with Otto. This performance is as bonkers as the film yet it's so special because of how down to earthish Stanton plays the role. Stanton is consistently hilarious in everything he does in this film in portraying Bud's gruff, rough yet fairly casual demeanor towards his job. Stanton's so funny in just being this hard ass type which is perhaps most evident when he comes across his rival repo man and whenever Stanton delivers a salty insult their way it's a little gem. One of my favorite moments though is perhaps his annoyed scoff when the two men threaten to sue them after he gets revenge by crashing into their car.

The consistency is perhaps though what makes this performance so good as Stanton's portrayal of Bud's unflappable attitude is what is so terribly  amusing about his work here.  I love the way that even when he gets ready to take on some store robbers he still deals with it like it's just part of his daily routine. This even includes when things begin to get stranger around one car that seems to have an alien presence within it. Ol' Bud decides to commandeer it despite it risking his life for it. When Otto presses him on his hypocrisy in regards to his earlier advice, that no car is worth dying for, Stanton makes it a moment of comedic gold as he portrays the anger specifically in Bud over being called an asshole indirectly by Otto since that's what he referred to people who risked their lives over cars. I loved everything about this performance to the point that I loved every second Stanton was onscreen. He's always doing something that is at least a little entertaining through his pitch perfect portrayal of the caustic Bud. Although this is a bigger role in ways, it's another of Stanton making such an impact with fairly limited resources. Every line delivery, every reaction, there's just that extra little something that could only be brought out by Harry Dean Stanton. 

32 comments:

Calvin Law said...

Think we have a winner.

Thoughts and ratings for the rest of the cast?

Charles H said...

Louis: Where would this rank among his best work?

Louis Morgan said...

Calvin:

Estevez - 3(He has some real wonky moments at times, though he is helped by the nonsensical tone the film has, though it does sound more amateurish than anything else. Estevez's performance though does work in the way he does seem so adrift at times which makes him a good starting point in between all the weirdness around him. He never quite seems as part of the film as everyone else and it is actually to the film's benefit because of the sort of naive way he portrays some of his character's interactions.)

Walter - 3.5(An enjoyable performance as he captures the right style of his character that he seemed mainly that he is just mentally out of it, but there is just a chance that he may be just on an otherworldly plain of thought.)

Richardson - 4(He's very good as the secondary mentor to Stanton though he's less overtly hilarious, he also does well to offer a similarly blunt tone with his performance, though Richardson pulls back to be perhaps a bit less insane.)

Barash - 3.5(Enjoyed her performance for how weird it was particularly when she admonishes Otto at the end for his lack of romantic intentions, as her delivery is so bitter and cruel bragging about her torture of him.)

Everyone in the smaller side roles though is quite good to in just working in the film's off-beat comedic tone.

Charles:

Might be my second favorite of his. On a related note looking forward to his performance in Lucky.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Well, if you liked his performance here more than his work in Wild At Heart, I reckon he's taking the win from this lineup.

Charles H said...

Tahmeed: That would be fine by me.

Álex Marqués said...

I hope he wins and I haven't even seen this film, I love this man.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Louis: Your ranking of the Harry Potter and A Song of Ice and Fire novels.
Mine would be-
Harry Potter
1. The Prisoner of Azkaban
2. The Deathly Hallows
3. The Half Blood Prince
4. The Philosopher's Stone
5. The Chamber of Secrets
6. The Order of the Phoenix
7. The Goblet of Fire
Have to note that I love all 7.
ASOIAF
1. A Storm of Swords
2. A Game of Thrones
3. A Clash of Kings
4. A Dance with Dragons
5. A Feast for Crows

Calvin Law said...

Louis: see you've bumped up Simpson the rankings for 2007 supporting, so push him up to a 4.5 if you think he deserves it, I personally think he deserves that score for how much he does in a few seconds.

Louis Morgan said...

Tahmeed:

Harry Potter:

1. The Prisoner of Azkaban
2. The Half Blood Prince
3. The Deathly Hallows
4. The Philosopher's Stone
5. The Order of the Phoenix
6. The Chamber of Secrets
7. The Goblet of Fire

I'd rank the ASOIAF the same way.

Calvin:

I originally had forgotten to rank him.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your top ten best uses of music already produced in film.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I'd go for Harry Potter:

1. Order of the Phoenix
2. Deathly Hallows
3. Prisoner of Azkaban
4. Philosopher's Stone
5. Half-Blood Prince
6. Chamber of Secrets
7. Goblet of Fire

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your thoughts on each of the Harry Potter Novels.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: what do you make of a George Miller version of The Good the Bad and the Ugly with Theron, Hardy and Hoult in those three roles respectively?

Luke Higham said...

I'd love to see a version with Fassbender (Good), Foster (Bad) and Hardy (Ugly).

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Which actor/s would you compare Benedict Cumberbatch to.

Charles H said...

Luke: Foster as Angel Eyes would be pretty awesome.

Matt Mustin said...

Louis: What are your wins in the technical categories for 2007? I feel like you may have posted them before, I can't remember.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I saw Lost City of Z. Very good, and Charlie Hunnam is shockingly wonderful.

Luke Higham said...

Robert: It's James Gray, of course it's gonna be good. :)

Your quick thoughts on the others.

Luke Higham said...

The academy really need to choose well with their Lead lineup.

Charles H said...

Louis: What are your top 5/10 performances in Korean films?

Luke Higham said...

My current top 3s for 2017.
Male Leading Actor
1. Hugh Jackman - Logan
2. Daniel Kaluuya - Get Out
3. James McAvoy - Split
Female Leading Actor
1. Dafne Keen - Logan
Supporting Male Actor
1. Patrick Stewart - Logan
2. John C. Reilly - Kong: Skull Island & Luke Evans - Beauty And The Beast
Supporting Female Actor
1. Allison Williams - Get Out
Picture
1. Logan
2. Get Out
3. Beauty And The Beast

Calvin Law said...

With exams over the next few weeks the only new films I'll check out are Guardians 2 and Lady Macbeth.

Calvin Law said...

Luke: for me,

Best Picture
Get Out (4.5/5)
Logan (4.5/5)
Free Fire (4/5)

Best Director
Jordan Peele, Get Out
James Manigold, Logan
Chad Stahelski, John Wick 2

Best Actor
Hugh Jackman, Logan (5)
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out (4.5)
James McAvoy, Split (4.5)

Best Actress
Dafne Keen, Logan (5)
Scarlett Johansson, Ghost in the Shell (3.5)
Anya-Taylor Joy, Split (3.5)

Best Supporting Actor
Patrick Stewart, Logan (5)
Sharlto Copley, Free Fire (4)
Stephen Merchant, Logan (4)

Best Supporting Actress
Allison Williams, Get Out (5)
Betty Gabriel, Get Out (4.5)
Brie Larson, Free Fire (3.5)

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Could Williams possibly go up for Get Out or have you settled on a 4.5.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

Quick thoughts and to note in all of them Rowling's prose is consistently, I'll say, quite digestible. Even when technically the story's pacing is slow they are all very easy to get through. Also worth noting that I have not read them in some time.

Philosopher's Stone - (Great set up as well really as more of a younger kid's story in many ways, great as a story in that vein however.)

Chamber of Secrets - (Still good though again very much has that younger readers tone with the story more spooky than scary so to speak and any character developments being relatively limited. Adds more to the world though. Shows the formula though where technically is a specific structure that follows really almost till Hallows in many ways.)

Azkaban - (Takes the harder darker turn effectively without becoming bogged down in it in anyways. Effectively adds more of an actual emotional connection that does delve deeper than the previous books. The relationships are stronger, the characters do grow, and with a few great additions. The book is particularly well paced though with that great finale.)

Fire - (Bloated beyond belief. I still wouldn't say it's bad but it wastes awful lot of time with House Elves in a plot that goes absolutely nowhere. The subplots are rather weak for the most part in this one and it does not earn its length. In addition the change in Dumbledore's competence feels more like a re-write by Rowling than a natural revelation behind the man's abilities.)

Order of the Phoenix - (Longer than it needs to be as well though I'd say the time is better spent than in Fire. I also do think the major criticism in regards to emo Harry is a bit misguided given that it technically does make sense for his character. It's effective in terms of developing the larger context of the story while still maintaining character growth while progressively moving towards its darker tone.)

Half-Blood Prince - (Quite great as the final outing within the normal structure as it sets the pieces in place for the finale while telling a compelling story in its own right. Unlike the movie it importantly takes the time to give the major loss its weight and does deliver in giving sort of the death knell to the more innocent nature of the early books though again in a way that feels earned.)

Louis Morgan said...

The Deathly Hallows - (Hate the epilogue and perhaps its too much of a bloodbath yet otherwise this is a very satisfying conclusion to the series. Rowling manages to surprisingly wrap it up quite well given that I don't think several key elements were intentional, I think she probably lucked out on the horcruxes and Hallows in terms of their earlier introductions. The book though effectively takes the conflict to the next level and capitalizes on what came before. That is both in terms of the plot but also in regards to character revelations, relationships and resolutions.)

1. "In Dreams" - Blue Velvet
2. Writing the Requiem - Amadeus
3. "Layla" - Goodfellas
4. "Earth Angel" - Back to the Future
5. "Ride of the Valkyries" - Apocalypse Now
6. "On Ragland Road" - In Bruges
7. "Men of Harlech" - Zulu
8. "Oh My Love" - Drive
9. Pieces of brilliance - Amadeus
10. "Canzonetta sull'aria" - The Shawshank Redemption

The Fox brothers in terms of any time, and not just because of their similair looks. They have a similair acting style as well particularly between Edward Fox and Cumberbatch.

Rating feels right to me.

Calvin:

Miller, Hardy, Theron sure, Hoult's a tad young for Tuco I'd say.

Charles:

1. Choi Min-sik - I Saw the Devil
2. Lee Byung-hun - A Bittersweet Life
3. Choi Min-sik - Oldboy
4. Lee Young-ae - Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
5. Lee Byung-hun - I Saw the Devil
6. Song Kang-ho - The Age of Shadows
7. Choi Min-sik - Nameless Gangster
8. Kim Min-hee - The Handmaiden
9. Yoo Ji-Tae - Oldboy
10. Song Kang-ho - Memories of Murder

Matt:

Cinematography: There Will Be Blood
Score: The Assassination of Jesse James
Sound Editing: Transformers
Sound Mixing: No Country For Old Men
Visual Effects: Transformers
Editing: Hot Fuzz
Makeup and Hairstyling: La Vie en Rose
Production Design: There Will Be Blood
Costume Design: The Assassination of Jesse James

Calvin Law said...

Louis: thought Ha Jung-woo in The Handmaiden was a 4.5?

Louis Morgan said...

Calvin:

I knew I was forgetting someone, he'd be number 9.

Calvin Law said...

I was hoping you might've bumped up Song for Memories, he's so great in it, but completely agree with your top 4.

Louis Morgan said...

Calvin:

Well that's not out of the question, as that's film I've been wanting to re-watch.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Is Elliott's review coming tonight or tomorrow.