Best Supporting Actor 1999: Results

5. Michael Caine in The Cider House Rules- Caine with a strange accent gives a dull sometimes almost lifeless performance that never seems to bring the genuine emotions one would for a part that seems like it is only ever trying to be emotional.

4. Michael Clarke Duncan in The Green Mile-Duncan achieves this well with his performance by finding just the right sort of characterization for Coffey all the way through the film.

3. Jude Law in The Talented Mr. Ripley-  Law gives an performance effective because he never only seizes one note with his performance and realistically portrays both Dickie's cruel and charming side equally well.

2. Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense- It would have been very easy to lose the human element to the horror that comes into the film, but Osment always is able to keep the humanity in his character alive throughout the film in his performance.

1. Tom Cruise in Magnolia- Cruise might not be my favorite actor, but he is absolutely brilliant here absolutely succeeding with a character that could have gone wrong in a great number of ways but never does. He turns his bizarre guru in a memorable and very intriguing character.

Deserving Performances:
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Magnolia
Alan Rickman in Galaxy Quest

Best Supporting Actor 1999: Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense

Haley Joel Osment received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Cole Sear in The Sixth Sense.

The Sixth Sense details a psychiatrist Dr. Malcolm Crowe's (Bruce Willis) attempts to help a boy who claims he sees dead people.

Haley Joel Osment portrays the boy who sees dead people. Child actors can be a lot of things one is under actors who seem sometimes to be reading their lines right off cue cards for the very first time, or they can be the overactive sort who rely on the worst type of antics possible just to try to convey some sort of attitude. Osment though does not fall into either of these categories and completely avoids any sort of the troubles or bad acting that can easily result from a bad child actor.

It has been said this performance is a bit of category fraud but it is not that bad of a case of it since at least there is another lead, and he is missing from several scenes that focus on Bruce Willis' character. Nevertheless though this is a strong performance whether it is truly supporting or leading because Haley Joel Osment doesn't just avoid any of the flaws of a child performance but instead actually gives a great performance no matter what the age of the performer.

Osment's Cole is troubled from his first scene and Osment is excellent in these moments rather quietly portraying the fear in the boy over his terrible ability. He honestly realizes this piercing fear that sits within him Osment internalizes this within Cole exceedingly well. There is no question of Cole's troubles Osment shows it through his eyes. Before we even know there is a terror that exists for the boy Osment shows us the extreme weight the terror holds over him in these early quiet moments.

That is not to say he does not have a few technically louder moments, but Osment realistically portrays these moments as he does his other ones. What works about this performance is because Osment never tries to act as if Cole is some kid wise beyond his years, rather he is always a child in the end. His scenes where he verbally attacks his teacher for looking at him the wrong way. Osment is very intense in his portrayal of that but it always is still in a manner a child would attack, a very troubled child, but still a child.

Later on in the film as his horror becomes far more apparent to the audience themselves we are able to follow along right with Osment as he faces the horror and we see exactly what he sees. He brings us right along with him in his troubling state. Osment brings the horror truly to life though because he does not ever act as some sort of throw away character but actually turns Cole in a honest person going through this making terror much more real than it would have been otherwise.

What though is especially strong about his performance though is his slow change he shows in Cole over his experience. He slowly comes to eventually face his fears, and eventually tries help the dead ones he sees. Osment is very moving as Cole slowly brightens up and the pain begins to go away. It is an effective change that Osment never overplays this change it instead a slow gradual but in a strange way heartwarming as Cole comes to terms with his strange problem.

This is actually an excellent performance that never fails to bring the appropriate life to his part. He makes Cole in a real child facing what he is facing in the film. It would have been very easy to lose this human element to the horror that comes into the film, but Osment always is able to keep the humanity in his character alive throughout the film. This is a great performance by Osment that always manages to exceed what the role could have been in lesser hands.

Best Supporting Actor 1999: Michael Clarke Duncan in The Green Mile

Michael Clarke Duncan received his first Oscar nomination for portraying John Coffey in The Green Mile.

The Green Mile details the events in the death row section of prison which one very unusual prisoner.

Michael Clarke Duncan portrays the unusual prisoner and his initials being J.C. surely is not by accident. John Coffey is on the death row for being found holding two girl who were brutally murdered. This is a rather unique role for Duncan who before and after this performance mainly portrays either hulking heavies or big guys who are rather goofy in some way. This one is a little different as the gigantic John Coffey who has some supernatural healing powers that can even bring things back from the dead.

This is not a performance that is suppose to have that much grey area. You would never really believe that he actually murdered anyone with Duncan's gentle giant portrayal of John Coffey. This is a fairly cut and dry performance in that regard as it should have been actually. He is suppose to be the man who has been wrong accused and convicted and is honestly a gentle soul with a special ability. With that in mind does turn John Coffey into the exact character the film would want.

Duncan makes Coffey a simple man but not a stupid man. He sees thing clearly quite simply, and says everyone in a straight fashion. Duncan actually makes this an endearing quality in Coffey. There is not anything he trying to hide he is genuinely the kind man he appears to be. Duncan makes it obvious that there is not a single hidden motive within Coffey he is exactly as he should be. Duncan turns Coffey into the purely good character Coffey should be.

Coffey though is not without pain as he is a modest man who does indeed detest evil men. Duncan is again effective in a mostly quite fashion as he again shows the simplicity in the way Coffey sees evil man and their actions. There again is not hesitations in Duncan performance that shows the strength and strong will inside the mostly modest man. Duncan is carefully to show that it is not really hatred toward the men Coffey has but rather he simply inflicts a righteous judgment against them instead.

Coffey really could have been portrayed very poorly if the actor failed to convey the simply goodness of the character without seeming absolutely genuine or ever being boring. Duncan achieves this well with his performance by finding just the right sort of characterization for Coffey all the way through the film. He turns Coffey into a likable and appropriately tragic figure in the end. We don't want anything bad to happen to Coffey, and it is heartbreaking when it does because of Duncan's realization of him.

Best Supporting Actor 1999: Jude Law in The Talented Mr. Ripley

Jude Law received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr. Ripley.

The Talented Mr. Ripley details Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) a strange young man who sent to Europe return a rich man's son, but does far differently than what was planned.

Jude Law portray Dickie Greenleaf the rich man's son who is a rather shallow character. The whole point of his character though is this fact as he is not a very depth filled man in the least. Dickie is far more of just a spoiled rich brat who wants to just sort of live his way no matter what the consequences may be to others, or how he treats some of the various people around him. Portraying a shallow character actually can be more difficult that it might seems because one must avoid only giving an entirely shallow performance as well. Law though avoids this portraying the rather shallow Dickie creating a realistic portrait of a shallow man.

In his early scenes when he first meets Ripley there the right sort of welcoming quality in Law's performance. I would not say a warmth but most certainly there is a great deal of charm Law has as Dickie. He effectively does make us like him even if he really is lacking in likable qualities simply because of this charm that is present in Law's performance as Dickie. He makes it entirely believable that everyone around him is basically swept up by him whether it be Tom, his girlfriend Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow), or his other friend Freddie (Philip Seymour Hoffman).

Dickie though is in a way just a charm though that can only last for so long as he still is a shallow man who most certainly uses whatever he wants out of other just like Tom Ripley. The difference though between he and Tom though is that Law shows Dickie manipulations of still a man rather than the calculated villain that is Ripley. What makes the the cold side so effective though is the way Law's completely authentic fashion in which he portrays this coldness. He shows it as just a part of the spoiled brat that is Dickie it is just something he does and barely even thinks about.

Law effectively portrays this cruelty he is just as believable in causing Ripley's alienation as he was in bringing him in with his charm. Law is effective because he never only seizes one note with his performance and realistically portrays Dickie many sides of his personality well. He can go from absolutely charming to absolutely cruel in just a few moments believably because of Law. Dickie is indeed a shallow individual, but Law never portrays him in shallow way. He realizes a fully fledged character in his own right that fulfills his role in the film.

Best Supporting Actor 1999: Michael Caine in The Cider House Rules

Michael Caine won his second Oscar from his fifth nomination for portraying Dr. Wilbur Larch in The Cider House Rules.

The Cider House Rules details a young man Homer (Tobey Maguire) raised in a orphanage and trained by the doctor there to replace him decides to see the world.

Michael Caine won his second Oscar over a child actor, one star, one up and comer and Michael Clarke Duncan. It should have not been a surprise for him to win against these four despite winning before as he had veteran status, but more importantly his role  is pure Oscar bait. A devoted doctor at an orphanage who also is a drug addict and an abortionist in a film that seeks some sort of big emotional response in every scene. Caine even does an accent far from his own accent in the film that is not some derivative of his own accent, but a full fledged attempt at a New England accent.

This is the first flaw in the performance though that hinders the rest of the performance. Accents really don't matter that much to me except if they really add to a performance or are extremely distracting. Caine's accent unfortunately is the latter. His accent sounds like the inspector accent he used in Sleuth but without the Britishness, also that accent was an act within an act, this is suppose to be an entirely natural voice of Dr. Wilbur Larch. The accent though always sounds like something Caine is forcing out of his mouth rather than part of his character which is unfortunate.

Strangely enough though this is not my only problem with this performance which is unusual for me as I tend to always like Caine, but this performance is an exception. Caine is suppose to play a fatherly figure to the orphanage as Dr. Larch who is a kindhearted man who wants to what he believes is the right thing to do to help people. The problem there is strange lack of genuine warmth in Caine's performance in this film. He seems often cold in the role oddly enough, even though that really is not suppose to be the intent of his character.

This is especially true with his scenes with Tobey Maguire. They are suppose to be practically father and son in their scenes. They are suppose to be so close, and Dr. Larch is suppose to hold Homer so dear that he is absolutely heartbroken over Homer's decision to leave the orphanage. There seems to be no connection at all between the actors. I will say this is not helped by Maguire who is close to becoming blandness incarnate in this film, but still the relationship is never more than just a rather artificial one at best.

His character also does have his darker side as well involving his ether using as well as his affairs with his nurses. Neither of these aspects really come alive either. There really is nothing in Caine's performance that makes these scenes mean anything more than just something that Larch does. Why is he a ether addict, who knows, who cares frankly it doesn't serve to make his character anymore compelling and only seems to exist to make his character more unsavory. These aspects just are not given the needed attention to make them important nor does Caine bring the importance to them though.

I must say I actually was amazed how little this performance did for me. I was not moved once by his performance despite all of the sad stares given by Caine throughout the film with the sentimental film score along with it. This performance by Caine left me completely cold which was the opposite of the intent of the film. This is not a completely terrible performance I suppose as it is still performance by Michael Caine who usually avoids giving a completely incompetent performance, but it is a very uninteresting and ineffective performance that for the most part fails to fulfill the needs of the role.

Best Supporting Actor 1999: Tom Cruise in Magnolia

Tom Cruise received his third Oscar nomination for portraying Frank T.J. Mackey in Magnolia.

Magnolia depicts a multitude of intersecting stories involving people searching or dealing with many very different problems.

Magnolia is a large ensemble film with many intersecting stories but the only performer nominated from the entire cast was Tom Cruise as the sex self help male domination guru. Cruise certainly gives an audacious performance here that he very different from anything he did before this performance. This is not say Cruise does not use some of the same methods in terms of his acting as some of his earlier performances, but never in support of a character quite like Frank T.J. Mackey the seduce and destroy guru. Cruise though uses some of these common techniques in a vastly different fashion.

Cruise never lets the fact that he is Tom Cruise get in the way of his performance as Frank Mackey. He never apologizes for a moment for his character's beliefs or actions. He absolutely becomes Mackey with the utmost conviction never once winking to the audience otherwise or even acting like underneath the performance he thinks poorly of Mackey, through his whole performance Cruise is utterly devoted with the character and does not waver for even a moment. This devotion of Mackey is shown in every scene particularly in his opening seminar scene.

In his first seminar scene Cruise effectively exudes the confidence in Mackey, and his undying to devotion to his ideas and his cause. Cruise finds the perfect way to portray the methods of Mackey, and just the sort of parody, without ever being a parody, of a self guru with a rather insane concept for what he completely believes in. Cruise is properly magnetic as well as energetic in these moments, and honestly sells the whole rather bizarre concept of Mackey's seminars through his performance. Cruise honestly is the guru and makes the character believable.

The meat of his scenes involve his interview with a female reporter though. Cruise stays effective as he shows even on a one on one interview Mackey still keeps the same style acting like some sort of aggressive animal at all times. In these scenes though Cruise also effectively shows the weaknesses behind his seemingly overflowing confidence. Cruise is terrific here because he does not overdo the weaknesses in Mackey and makes his character's revelations over his past subtle. The small little moments in his performance that suggest the pain and vulnerability of Mackey Cruise infuses well with his far more extroverted moments.

As Mackey when asked about his past Cruise carefully only suggest that he is hiding something. Cruise is interesting here because he basically just goes through his past quickly, but when questioned about Cruise shows that Mackey almost attempts to charm his way through it. Cruise probably has never used that smile of his in a film better than he does here. He shows it as basically almost an attack in Mackey's disposal for both his method, and to avoid facing his past which the interviewer wants him to do. Cruise continues to succeed as Mackey becomes more and more pressured to face what he doesn't want to.

Cruise is interesting as he tones down the charm of Mackey who starts his tactics, and Cruise shows a predator looking for a single weakness while making the smallest attacks. Cruise's smallest facial gestures in the scene are absolutely brilliant as he shows in full view Mackey's rather lowly method that really loses any charm it might of had when he feels attacked. Cruise effectively portrays Mackey's loss of confidence well particularly in his second seminar where he loses any magnetic quality he had before, and just seems much more lost and overly emotional.

His pivotal moments come in his final scene where he finally does face what he was trying to avoid, and that is seeing his dying estranged father (Jason Robards). Cruise does make the most of these final moments as all of Mackey's defenses go away and he talks to his dying father. Cruise is effective in his portrayal of the hatred he feels for his father due to his treatment of his mother. Cruise shows a vulnerability and sadness in Mackey that honestly quite moving despite Mackey previous actions in the film. When also suffering the grief over his father though again Cruise is terrific in his almost silent portrayal near the end effectively realizes the long troubles and issues with his father in a single scene. Cruise might not be my favorite actor, but he is absolutely brilliant here absolutely succeeding with a character that could have gone wrong in a great number of ways but never does.

Best Supporting Actor 1999

And the Nominees Were:

Tom Cruise in Magnolia

Jude Law in The Talented Mr. Ripley

Michael Caine in The Cider House Rules

Michael Clarke Duncan in The Green Mile

Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense