Alternate Best Actor 2025: Lee Byung-hun in No Other Choice

Lee Byung-hun did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Yoo Man-su in No Other Choice.

No Other Choice follows a laid off paper company finding ways to eliminate his competition in order to procure a position. 

I will admit along with so many here I could not have been more excited to not only see the great Lee Byung-hun to team up with Park after a 25 year creative separation from their mutual breakout of JSA, but also with the idea of the film’s plot as a leading role for him. I have not hidden my praise for Lee as a performer over the years, and I’ll admit it was with great satisfaction to see him get at least minor recognition via Golden Globe for this film, even if I knew it was never going to amount to more than that. And going into the film I couldn’t help but have a certain notion in my mind about Lee playing a coldly brutal villain checking names off permanently as the cinematic badass we’ve come to know him as in his great work in The Good the Bad The Weird, I Saw the Devil and of course A Bittersweet Life. So it was quite the surprise when Lee seemingly threw out his own very successful playbook from the moment we enter into the film on an idyllic barbecue at the grand house of his Yoo Man-su, and we see a decidedly quite goofy looking Lee sporting not exactly the coolest looking mustache and Hawaiian shirt. Lee offers a presence totally out of the ordinary for him as a performer, and pulls it off with a different kind of ease. An ease in his own performance but something else within the character of Man-su’s own approach to basically being the ideal dad/family man, cooking his eel with pride stating how important it is as a gift laid on a bit too thickly by Man-su. Lee presents a pride in Man-su that frankly is a bit much, but as it should be a bit much, to the point of becoming comical illustrating a man who feels he needs to reinforce just how important his job and the success of the job is to him. The importance of the “ideal” family and even reinforcing how proud he is of his sexual prowess with his wife Lee Mi-ri (Son Ye-jin), with the same a bit more than needed from Lee, but pitch perfect in setting up Man-su who defines his life a bit too overtly by what he gets from his job. The cherry on the top of the sequence being when he calls his family in for a sixty second group hug, where Lee’s portrays real joy mixed in with a bit much joy of Man-su needing for himself and his family to acknowledge just how great their life is as a man who must doubly convince himself of the importance of himself as the breadwinner. 

Lee’s performance in that opening scene does two things, one is establish the nature of Man-su’s particular drive and establishing just how important not only his job is but even more so what the job represents to him as a person, but more so Lee establishes the tone of the performance, where quite frankly he has the brilliant willingness to be a bit goofy. In this case running with the idea of the overbearing dad. We then find Lee as he prepares a passionate speech to his company to defend the jobs of his coworkers, and Lee again excels with very much reinforcing just how silly Man-su is at a fundamental level with how he treats his job. In this case Lee, who certainly could make a dramatic passionate speech about the importance of the jobs of his coworkers, instead excels in subverting that a bit in bringing a try hard speech of someone who where the calculation is a bit too obvious and even his little aside about the importance of his coworkers is again Lee’s delivery of laying it on a bit too thick that reveals much about Man-su. Unfortunately for Man-su he basically gets one word out of his speech to the American owners of the company before they drive off leaving Lee’s hilarious reaction as the totally lost Man-su in seeing his plan go up in smoke, only topping that with his reaction to finding out that he too is being cut out of the plant work. Lee, who often brings a cool in roles, is great here by excelling not being cool in the least as we witness Man-su attempting to deal with his world while no longer being employed by his paper company. Where we see Lee then as the man dealing with the company mandated program for losing his job where he goes about various “wellness” activities to support himself, and Lee wonderfully plays that sense of desperation now in Man-su trying to force himself in another direction. Projecting such a festering sense of vulnerability in every act particularly his not at all calming tapping of his head while reciting mantras to find success again. Exacerbating the situation is we see at Man-su’s home that his wife will have to go back to work, they’ll have to give up Netflix, their golden retrievers, and possibly even sell Man-su’s childhood house. Lee’s near silence speaks volumes in the rundown of his losses scenes, where you see in his expression this hollowness in himself as a man who seems like his dreams are being stripped away from him. Lee expresses the fundamental weight of the loss within Man-su as we see a near broken man as he loses his “perfect” world. 

Man-su initially does try to make it back into the workforce through more typical means where we see him however in an interview where Lee is wonderfully awkward in his less than skillful interviewing method. I especially love the overeager glee as he stumbles around in his delivery of stating that he has no flaws before sloppily readjusting to stating it as his inability to say no, where Lee’s perfectly stupid looking smile just denotes someone who has no idea what he’s doing at a fundamental level and there is no confidence whatsoever that he would be able to get the job merely through an interview. Lee then presents the fixation on the idea of success so intently though less of a man with an insatiable drive and more so a rather silly fool pathetically watching Choi Seon-chul (Park Hee-soon), the man with the job he’d like to have. The first man he considers killing as he takes on a large vase to drop on his head, where Lee creates this immediate narrowmindedness in the moment in his eyes of a man just completely caught up in the moment before he rightfully ponders that merely killing this man will in no way guarantee him getting a job. What Lee presents effectively is the jealousy prodding Man-su to this extreme as he becomes intent on literally killing his competition, going so far as to create a fake paper company to gather resumes in order to find the only men who could get a job over him potentially and determine their fate. Lee finds even a captivating energy in presenting this conviction in every step of this process, suggesting Man-su at his most professional and perhaps if he puts this effort into just an interview he probably could secure a job, but instead he decides that triple homicide is a better idea. A key masterful element of Lee’s performance is all the insecurities to this point, the hollowness as he sees other people look through his own home for purchase, he makes it just the natural progression for Man-su who simply sees no other choice than to become a murderer. 

Making this choice however does not lead to any kind of badass as we’d expect from Lee, instead quite the opposite as he begins his first stakeout of target number one, Goo Beom-mo (Lee Sung-min), the unemployed paper expert whose wife Lee A-ra (Yeom Hye-ran) is currently cheating on him. Lee is extraordinary in every bit of performance he does in this whole sequence which is less the setup of a deadly assassin and more so the bumbling actions of a real fool. Lee creates a buffet of enjoyment throughout the process of watching Beom-mo and his wife. Part of it is just the physicality of his performance because really typically again Lee is someone who knows how to move in a very controlled and just simply cool way as shown in numerous performances. Here Lee finds a way to be just so wonderfully bumbling yet wholly natural in a way that presents Man-su as far from cut out for this job with the first kill. He sticks out like a proper sore thumb through every moment of the stakeout just as he moves without precision and with a lot of effort. I especially adore every second of when he is watching over Beom-mo and his wife. Where every Lee reaction is comic gold as we see just the way he licks his lips when he sees them eating fried chicken, to his sympathetic head nodding when Beom-mo explains his refusal to take another job than a paper goods one due to his training and expertise. Lee manages to do two things with these moments, one being just simply very funny while also conveying the sense of connection that Man-su has with this other man he's planning on killing. I’d be remiss though if I also didn’t mention the moment where Man-su believes himself to be bit by a snake, where Beom-mo’s wife drains the venom, quite medically ineffectually for him for a bit sexual need, where Lee’s reactions first in his confusion along with fear, followed by then his after the fact shrugging annoyance is just a bit more great comedy from the performer. 

That is but a warmup act to the sequence where Man-su goes about the actual murder, which is only after poor Beom-mo has caught his wife, despite Man-su’s attempt to prevent him from doing so, where importantly Lee presents a whole lot of earnest desire to help the man…he’s going to kill, but creates that consistent sense of Man-su putting himself in the man’s shoes despite not quite fully making the connection. Leading to the moment where Man-su comes in with his father’s gun to kill the poor man while Beom-mo is living in his sorrows while listening to his record. A sequence that might be the greatest of 2025, at least it is certainly in contention. Lee is magnificent part of the scene starting with the attempt at a grim killer’s face as he aims his gun at the man, only for such incredible micro expressions on Lee’s face switch where you see the needling guilt in the moment as he has the poor man dead to rights, only for the man to make a final plea for himself including his wife’s love, just as his wife comes behind Man-su with an award, where Lee’s performance is a hilarious but also weirdly moving blend of anger with sympathy as he chews out the poor man for not taking a different sensible job. Lee’s whole performance in the scene is so good because he manages to be very funny by bringing this random passion in a scene where Man-su should be ice cold but by also showing the underlying sense of Lee seeing Beom-mo as himself, as he’s essentially yelling at himself, yet separating the idea by putting all this against Beom-mo who he’s frustrated with but in no way hates. A bullet only coming out of the gun and hitting Beom-mo in the shoulder purely by accident, with Lee’s “whoops” reaction also being hilarious and showing just how not cut out for the situation Man-su is in every step of this. Leading to a totally ridiculous brawl on the floor between the three, where Lee’s movements are less trained killer and more of man bad at twister, leading him to run away when the wife gets the gun and only to luck out when she decides to shoot her husband first. Lee’s getting to play genuine horror at seeing the crime he failed to do, before also getting comic gold when after the death of her husband she turns to Man-su and Lee’s reaction of pure fear is absolutely hilarious. With the comic topper perhaps being Lee’s adrenaline fueled exasperation as he drives away from his accidentally successful crime, and particularly his double horror first of seeing how many missed calls he has from his wife then noticing he’s on empty. 

Speaking of Man-su’s wife, parallel to casing his first “victim”, we see as Man-su very much fails to hide his secrets from his wife. Where Lee’s performance brings this consistent silly awkwardness of the man attempting to present one thing for another, while bringing this quiet sense of paranoia in his eyes anytime his wife interacts with her dentist boss, a younger man, who refuses even to have him check his aching tooth. A problem that Lee conveys as a fixation point that we see in no way can he balance it out as the sloppy man who is even more like Beom-mo than he’d care to admit. After the first death though we follow basically Man-su operating from all his paranoia over his wife as we see him follow to what was supposed to be a couples dance now is a broken situation where he walks in to see her dancing with her boss. Lee again deserves all the credit because for a man who can look so cool onscreen, Lee is gloriously uncool in his American classic naval officer outfit as he attempts to look cool on the dance floor which Lee performs to the point of beautiful hilarity. Before slinking out alone, leading to a bedroom confrontation between the two where Lee excels in showing really who deep down Man-su is in this ball of his own insecurities as he essentially acts out thinking he’s in the exact same situation as poor Beom-mo. Lee brings this sloppiness to every bit of his initial aggression with Mi-ri, who comes back with frustration to his secretiveness, anger to his behavior, but also warmth of a wife who doesn’t like seeing the man she does love in such a state. In this interaction Lee and Son are great in seeing the early days of their relationship in a way, where Mi-Ri was the “higher class” less attainable woman, and he the follow-up fool, in his mind who was led to drink and even violence. Lee presenting essentially the dormant pathetic nature of the man in every word, as he goes from confrontation, to this beaten down sorrow as Lee expresses the man we see deep down and paints an even stronger sense of the motivation of a man who doesn’t want to return to the jobless low class fool he had always perceived himself as. 

One of the many elements, where Lee excels within the performance is showing the progression of Man-su with each victim, where we started with the man he connected too much with, we jump next to the next currently working as a shoe salesmen. Lee creates in these scenes a striking contrast between in his eyes a sense of familiarity to, but naturally easing back too much connection this time in presenting a calmer determination. Lee is outstanding in the way he essentially bridges the tone as we step from the hilarious moment of the complete fool, to the next step as the killer who isn’t all the way there. Lee still presents glints of sympathy in his interactions with the man, but now the presentation is less of himself and more almost like an executioner who is putting someone out of their misery…well that is until he actually has to do the killing and again we get a great subversion of presence where we see the attempt at the cold killer again is a little faulty, not as faulty, but still faulty. As Lee brings a shaky hand and slowly loses the cold conviction as he tries to cover up the man’s face, leading to a bit more physical comedy as shoots the man and Lee’s once again hilarious reaction is more of surprise than one of cold brutality. Lee successfully shows the push and pull within Man-su who is maybe “learning” a bit each time but not quite enough. Lee's performance as Man-su unexpectedly has to deal with his son being arrested for stealing cellphones right after this murder, where Lee’s silent reactions of guilt while he has no suspicion are perfect. There is a natural sense of change though as Man-su does not allow his son to be railroaded by the father of his son’s friend whose store they robbed together. Lee finally presents some calm cunning as he blackmails the man and we see some progression. Not all though as Lee beautifully fumbles around the police interview over the disappearance of two paper men. Lee finds just the right wrong rhythm throughout the conversation of his deliveries too quickly in some moments and then labored in others, painting himself so effectively as the lying guilty man only lucking out by the police not really having an idea of what the disappearances even mean yet.

Man-su has his final target now of Choi Seon-chul, who Man-su approaches for a drink right outside the man’s home. Lee again being so great into bringing us into the particular thinking of Man-su as he goes about the crime again, where Lee does so much with silence throughout this performance in this instance putting on the face of the interested coworker why also awaiting that sense of opportunity once again, while also still having a minor bit of uncertainty. An aspect that only changes when the man forces the sober Man-su to drink, and essentially Lee uses this as killer Popeye’s spinach as he depicts the change to the cold calculation fueled essentially by the alcohol. Where he first works through the pain by taking out his own tooth depicted with visceral perfection by Lee, to then accentuating a man fully with purpose and direction as he essentially leads Choi to his murder trap. The murder trap this time being a fully developed look of an accident by having Choi drink to unconsciousness, forcing him to choke on food, then leaving him as a drunken suffocated dead man. Lee now depicts finally the killer’s edge and precision within Man-su as he makes his most cold-blooded moment and we see the man embracing the choice fully. That isn’t to say Lee becomes the badass of many of his other roles, not in the least. Rather what he presents is the coldhearted nature we have fully seen develop in Man-su as progression of crimes. An element we see more distinctly in the second police interrogation, where Lee is still brilliantly playing the layers, but now instead of being the comedic sloppy fool, he’s more internalizing the questions about how much the police know and a more exact demeanor of someone more comfortable with his crimes. 

Far more damning though is his final interactions with Mi-ri who has figured out his crimes and while horrified by them she does turn him in. Lee in the final sequence calls back to his first scene in an expert subversion of that. As there is now again a bit of a put on, but in a very different way. Where we saw someone deep down happy over his success who laid on too thickly to reinforce the idea to everyone, including himself, now it too seems forced but with a distinct change in Lee’s performance which is the lack of any soul. When he now hugs his wife, as he hugged his family before, instead of being the goofy dad overdoing things, we see the serial killer putting on a false face and accepting his dark achievement with a bone chilling smile as he’s fully separate from any sense of morality. Lee creates such a disturbing process in frankly losing the humor of Man-su from the sloppy guy failing at life, to the horrible human finding his success as he watches over a lifeless factory as the only human employee working with only machines. Lee delivers one masterful choice after another in delivering perhaps his crowning achievement as an actor. As he successfully purges what makes him such a captivating performer, to be captivating in a completely new way in giving flawless comedic performance, he manages to convincingly transform into the dark journey of a man fully losing his connection to humanity in order to preserve his dream. I love everything Lee does here, as while I knew Lee had a great performance in him as a guy killing the competition to achieve his goals, I never knew he had this specific performance that managed to both live up to the high expectation I had for it while also completely subverting it with one brilliant choice after another. 

Alternate Best Actor 2025: Robert Aramayo in I Swear

Robert Aramayo did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for BAFTA, for portraying John Davidson in I Swear.

I Swear follows the true story of a man dealing with his Tourette's syndrome. 

Robert Aramayo’s performance is one where a very specific technical element must be realized essentially perfectly not just for his performance to work but for the film to work. Because if we did not believe John Davidson’s condition on any level the whole film would not only be a failure would be an embarrassing failure. Thankfully Aramayo’s realization of the specific Tourette syndrome tics on John Davidson feels just absolutely authentic throughout the film in creating the specific nature where you get the sense of it as this uncontrollable knee kick type of nerve response in every moment, whether it be the verbal random swearing or the physical sudden movements, as well more so the combination of both, where Aramayo portrays particularly effectively the way he shows the tic happen then the attempt to try to kind of control the tic and that battle of sorts of frustration. Aramayo’s performance just feels real and in a way that does make the film because if he didn’t the film wouldn’t work but he does. There’s not a moment where it feels like a put on and or acting importantly, it just feels like the condition of the man that he is playing and Aramayo makes it feel all so natural. It is absolutely amazing technical work because never for a moment does it feel like technical work, Aramayo just makes it seem like the actual tics he has, which is extremely impressive and a fundamental bit of mastery at the center of this work. 

Now if this was only just the depiction of the tics, as excellent as Aramayo’s work is there in that regard and as important as it is to the film and performance, I probably wouldn’t be writing about him if that was all he had to offer within the performance. Aramayo’s work goes beyond even the tics, though it is notable that within that himself, Aramayo is actually doing John Davidson’s specific Scottish accent while also doing the tics which is just another layer of remarkable. Aramayo’s work goes even further in the physicality of the performance which connects through the actual arc of the character, because as much as this is a very empathetic depiction of John’s life, this isn’t to say that John doesn’t go through his own changes. Rather what Aramayo is able to embody so well is the way we see the transformation of John through the empathy of others and really anyone recognizing that what John is doing is not for attention but a genuine condition he has to reckon with every day. As we first see chronologically with his mother (Shirley Henderson), who doesn’t at all understand the condition, where we Aramayo convey the arrested development with this innate shyness about him and in a way being led around by his mother and the tics as basically his whole life. When he speaks outside of the tics, it is with that of the intensely apologetic tone only amplified by his eyes of that of the beaten dog just seemingly telling the world sorry for his mere existence. 

We find the potential progression when a friend of his and his friend’s mother Dottie Achenbach (Maxine Peake) decides to take Robert in. Dottie works as a psyche nurse with actual insight into his condition and trying to build up his confidence by for example saying he needs to stop apologizing for his tics given he has no power over them. Aramayo is great in creating the minor bits of change in this relationship even just the way he looks and walks about. He doesn’t change him instantly but you see there being no confidence in John as he stops apologizing for every little thing he says. Aramayo creates naturally the sense of how much just one empathetic voice makes for the young man in just how earnestly he captures the joy of not having to constantly say sorry for just existing as himself. Aramayo particularly excels in creating a convincing chemistry with Peake just based on that sense of support and ease of being himself. An idea extended upon as John is given a job opportunity with a caretaker Tommy Trotter (Peter Mullan), who is taken aback a little by a few of John’s tics but ends up taking to him and caring for him. Aramayo's work again really works in creating the movement between that certain retiring hiding emotional state in every reaction, to becoming more open with the sense of appreciation, something we also get in the warmth between him and Mullan, which is wholly winning as well. Aramayo convincingly takes the small and big steps in his performance in showing John opening up in his physical movements, the way speaks and just his general approach as someone more willing and able to be himself. 

Unfortunately while John begins to understand his condition better through support of people giving him time to understand it does not prevent others from being mistaken including John accidentally getting into a bar fight and even getting viciously beaten by some men for accidentally insulting a woman. Aramayo’s very good in the setups for each because we see in a way how John is becoming more open even with his apologies now Aramayo delivers them so succinctly not as trying to cover the horror but just as a quick “please understand” each time. Regardless though John still gets beaten and Aramayo’s certainly moving in bringing the visceral intensity in those moments of showing just how harmed John is each time, but with the caveat of this quiet sense of optimism that never is lost in the man at this point even when dealing with the violence of others. Aramayo importantly just shows basically this resilient smile within even the beaten face of the man, creating a convincing and not cloying sense of the growing strength of John as a person. It’s important not all at once, as within the courtroom where he doesn't know if the judge even believes his condition, Aramayo finds the nuance of the conditional confidence but also that powerful sense of appreciation in every reaction when Trotter so passionately speaks at behalf. Creating such a convincing sense of friendship within the personal growth, and I especially love Aramayo’s quiet but truly impactful grief when he learns of Trotter’s death but also learns he’ll be taking on Trotter’s old position. 

Aramayo’s performance earns those gradual steps to the last act of the film where John takes really the next step beyond just believing in himself and going beyond to trying to be a beacon for others. Aramayo’s portrayal of John as he becomes an activist is excellent work because it is so naturally built upon him making those tiny strides to now convincingly be the man who opens about his struggles to others, others now being other people with Tourette’s syndrome. Aramayo’s great in the scene where he’s with a young woman with the condition where Aramayo’s brings a combination between openness of John’s own vulnerability of his struggles though now as someone with perspective combined with that sense of earnestness in his expression and his own projection of warmth as he provides a source of comfort that Dottie and Trotter had provided for him just in the intently way he listens to her own struggles. An idea only expanded upon as we see John organizing a day for lots of people with the condition to gather together, where Aramayo’s speech about everything gathered being the majority for once, carries with it such genuine pride and importantly we see the true confidence of someone now who doesn’t just have a better understanding of not judging himself but now is actively seeking to help others with the same type of journey he had. Aramayo delivering on very much traditional feel good narrative in a way that does work. One because he makes us believe John as a person right down to every tic, but even more so makes us believe every moment of his journey, far beyond the technical and into the deeply emotional. 

Alternate Best Actor 2025: Jesse Plemons in Bugonia

Jesse Plemons did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for SAG and BAFTA, for portraying Teddy Gatz in Bugonia. 

Bugonia follows a conspiracy theorist who kidnaps a powerful CEO Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone) because he believes she is an alien. 

The last time I reviewed Jesse Plemons it was also for a Yorgos Lanthimos film where he successfully found his away around the peculiar nature of pure, as in written and directed, style of Lanthimos without being lost within the direction through three different vignettes in Kinds of Kindness. Plemons returns to work with him again, once again with Emma Stone, though this time to portray a directed but written by someone else Lanthimos, which always results in a different kind of film. It is still a dark comedy as all of Lanthimos is, however the comedy of this darkness isn’t without the detached alien world of pure Lanthimos, which affords an even greater opportunity for the actor who seems to be a favorite among so many talented filmmakers. Plemons here gets to play the role of Teddy Gatz who we follow in the opening of the film as he is emotionally preparing his co-conspirator, though an unfortunate follower is probably a better description, Don (Aidan Delbis). Plemons is a master of the tone for this film, which while sharing some of the DNA is no way a copy of Kind and Kindness and in many ways trickier because there’s more emotional depth allowed. Plemons in the opening scenes is amazing in his particular delivery where it isn’t exactly monotone, but almost pseudo professional as he goes about telling Don all the “truths” he knows. Although it is darkly comic, Plemons is also though convincing in not playing it with the strictest purity of that spirit. There is the sense of the drive to convince Don and maybe even a bit of the insecurity of bringing Don within this mission even as he speaks with that particular form of conviction. The key moments being when Don asks follow-up questions, and Plemons shows that Teddy stumbles more than with his monologues. I especially love the moment where Don asks if two random people are aliens, and Plemons’s essentially “oh no not them, but they’re lost” is such an artful combination of someone being shaken off their false rhythm then creating the strange momentum of trying to make any kind of recovery within the sentiment. It isn’t that Plemons plays that Teddy is lying, however his convictions are representative of an emotional mess of a mind trying to create some kind of truth as he sees it. 

Teddy and Don successfully kidnap Michelle and bring her back to Teddy’s remote and ramshackle house as a prison for the woman he believes to be an alien. Plemons’s amazing in this scene where with Don there was more of hesitation in some aspects of the conversation, despite being mixed with his strange conviction, here it is with an eerie conviction that is quite startling while also being quietly comical. Plemons’s masterful in the exact delivery he is able to find as he explains to Michelle that he had to cut off her hair in order to prevent her from contacting her ship. Plemons’s eyes capture such an unnerving mania in the moment because within those eyes we see the assertiveness that Teddy does fine when presenting it directly to Michelle. An assertiveness that will speak to more things than that, but in the opening of this conversation between the two the cold exactness of every word that Plemons brings is disturbing within the specificity of that conviction. Maybe he does have doubts related to Don but when with Michelle and directed at Michelle Plemons shows a man with a purpose, a completely demented purpose it would seem. There’s one line in particular that Plemons colors a certain way, a color that you don’t know about the first time but is chilling the second. Which is noting that “they all” deny being an alien but admit it eventually. That line has an absolute certainty in Plemons’s performance more than anything else and within that certainty he is at his most disturbing, which we later find out why he is so particularly certain that someone kidnapped by him will admit to being an alien. Plemons tells a fundamental truth about Teddy in this moment though we won’t know what this truth means precisely until much later in the film. 

We see Teddy occasionally outside of the situation directly where Plemons is also incredible in how much he does with a little at times, as really just the way he silently rides his bike a few times throughout the film is a bit of a showcase on how to do a whole lot in a performance in a theoretically simple situation. Yet the specific lack of normalcy and more readily this directed purpose of his performance in these scenes reinforces Teddy as a man with a mission, although not a mission most would consider let alone sign up for. I love Plemons even in some incidental moments such as when he’s talking with a coworker, “acting natural”, which for Teddy he never quite can act natural. But Plemons is rather fascinating when he advises a worker to get compensation for their injury and even says that things are going to change in their world soon. Plemons’s exact delusion is just so brilliantly spoken in every word because there’s this quiet unearned pride in his delivery as he eagerly presents himself to the other person essentially as a hero with a plan he can’t quite reveal to her yet. Teddy unfortunately for his plan is also frequently pestered by a local deputy sheriff Boyd (Stavros Halkias) who was also a former babysitter for Teddy. In each of these scenes they share, Plemons manages to thread a needle while playing the more surface note. The sort of quiet intensity in his eyes in these moments, the short delivery of every response as “let’s get this over with it”, speaks to a criminal not wanting to speak to the police, however Plemons puts just a bit more emotion and intensity into both of these where there feels the personal direction. Where one can sense that Teddy’s issues with Boyd go even further than just wanting to keep his kidnapping of Michelle a secret. 

Where Plemons very much excels in bringing the seemingly demented state of Teddy alive so effectively where this takes on even greater heights is bringing in what I fundamentally always appreciate in not-written-by Lanthimos, which is raw emotion. An aspect we are introduced in part, which honestly is some of my favorite radical cinematic imagery from 2025, where we see the past through the Teddy filter where his mom is literally floating within a coma due to the drug treatment by Michelle’s company. Once again outstanding silent work from Plemons, in fact if we were just giving an award for a single facial expression Plemons would be a tough one to beat with how much he does with his facial expression in the flashback. As Plemons is able to show a younger man, a more naive man, a more emotionally broken man in a pure sense where you are granted a degree of the real pain and most of all just this state of a being absolutely lost in the world as in his mind he’s literally holding onto his dying mother like a balloon. That fundamental grief is what we see fuels Teddy more than anything and this is what Plemons runs with in this performance, particularly as we get to a scene between Teddy, Michelle and Don as they dine together. Michelle plays her hand noting that she does remember Teddy and his mother. Plemons is just altogether amazing as we see in his eyes and his expression building volcanic anger in Teddy. In every moment she speaks to him about her mother, Plemons, despite playing such a bent character, honestly is even moving because he shows just the raw unmitigated grief that is just bubbling under the surface in Teddy for every second that Michelle mentions his mother’s name. Plemons so powerfully builds to every second before wholly earning the animalistic rage that takes over as Michelle’s words lead him to literally run across a table and physically attack her. 

The mess of the kidnapping becomes more rabid when Don begins to have more doubts, particularly when Teddy “tests” her by electrocuting her to get “readings”. A fascinating scene however, and one again where Plemons alludes to more than we know about Teddy though in a different arena, when he apologizes to Michelle because the “readings” note her as of royal alien lineage. Plemons’s words of reverence towards her are real and authentic as anything else he’s done and again the conviction in his eyes speaks to more than just someone saying whatever nonsense comes to their head next, there’s genuine belief there. Complicating things further is Deputy Boyd’s appearance at the house, who essentially reveals to having sexually abused Teddy when he was younger, something that is already apparent within even just Plemons’s physical work around him where he is looking away and down and out like a dog who was beaten too many times. Taken even further though when Boyd is alerted to something when Don kills himself with a shotgun, leading Teddy to stun Boyd with his bees before beating him to death with a shovel. The emotion behind that shovel beat down again made more than just a man getting rid of an obstacle rather you see Boyd as a true fixation of Teddy’s hatred. Plemons at this point somehow taking an already extreme emotional state and going further with it in a most impressive display, as Plemons’s reaction to Don’s death is filled with real emotional devastation where he is able to contain within the mess of Teddy’s mind fear, and anger towards how the situation has gone along with hints of genuine shame in culpability nagging at the back of his mind. 

Michelle is able to get Teddy to leave by essentially telling him to poison his own mother with antifreeze by telling him it is in fact a formula that will cure her. A totally insane prospect that Plemons honestly sells through every bit of his physical and verbal life where he shows a man basically mangled by his life and his plan as he rushes to enact Michelle’s fix. Where Plemons is particularly amazing is as totally insane of a situation as Teddy poisons his own mother leading to her death, the raw emotion of Teddy’s grief is absolutely real. Plemons delivers real heartbreak of the tragedy even as he presents a totally deranged person he presents that core of a real man that came to this place. A fascinating element as Plemons manages to ground the character Teddy even as he is so successful in presenting the extremes of him at the same time. An element that is pivotal in his final sequence of the film when Michelle, having discovered that Teddy is in fact a serial killer who killed many other people and “aliens” explaining his previous use of they when talking about his victims admitting their alien, Michelle then readily admits, seemingly, that she is an alien, however she presents this in a confrontational dominating way. Plemons is wholly convincing in his reaction now as someone lost but gripping onto the only reality he can know which is the one Michelle is presenting so ruthlessly to him. Plemons brings this penetrating fear in his reactions to every one of her cutting words even as he’s the one still holding the gun, believably conveying this apologetic tone to the alien in the same vein as his previous reverence. Michelle offers Teddy a trip to the mothership to negotiate, and Plemons is outstanding throughout the sequence. As he carries the underlying tension of the man still holding the hostage and still being very much dangerous in the situation as he and Michelle very conspicuously move towards her office. He also brings in the conflicting elements of his derangements, bringing even genuine warmth when asking if Don can come to the ship as well, despite being dead, but also a brilliantly realized combination of doubts. Plemons is able to create this convincing smear of emotions as there are moments where it seems like Teddy is most doubting the ideas as he’s closest to it, while also being extremely nervous at the notion of actually essentially coming face to face with his foes. Plemons not being vague but rather very particular in creating so convincingly this wholly broken state of a man as he’s at his least assured when theoretically he’s nearest to his final goal. In case the rest of the review didn’t make it clear I adore every moment of this performance which is out on a limb and thrives for every second of it. Plemons is masterful because he does sell the darkest of comedy, the most extreme bits of madness a human can muster, yet does so in a way where there is a deeply human core to all of it that manages to be both heartbreaking and bone chilling. 

RIP Robert Duvall

It sadly was around this time last year that I had to make a post for one of the other greats of the 70's Gene Hackman. Although like Hackman both really came up before then making an impression in small roles before breaking out fully as a leading men. Duvall quite frankly having one of the most amazing debuts in terms of leaving a cinematic impression with Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, as that truly remarkable character introduction wasn't just the memorable reveal for that film but a reveal of someone who would become an essential cinematic talent. Duvall who would sweep through such unforgettable films of cinema such as The Godfathers, the Conversation, Apocalypse Now, and Network, always adding his talent and realizing the strength or elevating the nature of his material. Always being a reliable presence where so often it was the ease of his performances that were the key. Where Duvall simply said the truth in so many different roles and films. Where even if the film was faulty, Duvall always could be depended on to bring something authentic through his presence. Shame we will never have that comfort of the dependability of a given Duvall performance again, but certainly will always appreciate how much of his talent he shared with us over the years. 

Alternate Best Actor 2025: Dylan O'Brien in Twinless

Dylan O’Brien did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Rocky and Roman in Twinless. 

Twinless follows two men who meet in a support group for twins who have lost their siblings. 

That is the theoretical setup and spoiler alert right away that is fashioned as a false start for the film on purpose by writer/director and co-lead James Sweeney as Dennis, a man who claims to have a dead twin in order to meet Roman the twin of the man he had a brief romantic fling with Rocky. Dylan O’Brien obviously plays both brothers, an actor who thankfully, as I’ll always celebrate an upswing for a performer,  has steadily grown in my estimation in the past few years. As he started for me as a bit of a non-entity performer until I found him a decent likable lead in Love & Monsters, then was impressed by his take on a young Dan Aykroyd in Saturday Night with an even greater step up here in the twin roles.  The briefer of the two being Rocky which O’Brien’s work very much works in contrast to Roman who meet technically first though second chronologically and O’Brien excels in creating that contrast. His performance as Rocky is technically working within the frame of generalized traits of a homosexual character, however an instance where this approach does wholly work. The big reason why not only does O’Brien make even the certain flamboyance within his physical manner and voice feel natural to the character he also makes it extend within the overarching traits of the character. The traits being that character’s popularity and confidence. Where O’Brien carries that so innately and you get the sense of the almost breezy approach to life where Rocky can casually approach every relationship, even dealing with the result of ghosting, O’Brien brings a callous but also carefree reaction of someone who just knows he’ll be able to charisma his way out of it. O’Brien convincingly created the “legend” of Rocky as the brother who is so self-assured and seemed to be walking on air…well until being accidentally run over during the confrontation by Dennis. 

O’Brien’s work as Roman then is the “other” brother and O’Brien performance is distinctive in creating a combination of elements in Roman. His whole manner is of the submissive second combined with someone also being a bit lost in his grief and losing his twin. O’Brien has a natural sullen manner he realizes and even more so archives the difficulty which is managing to play a not particularly bright character in a way that doesn’t fall into easy stereotype. O’Brien finds a convincing delay in his speech and manner of someone who just has to think about everything with a bit more time and a little harder to get anywhere. Combined with a convincing sense of the emotional state of someone just a bit lost in life. O’Brien finds an emotional nuance because he’s able to convey the shy, almost beaten down state of being told his whole life that his brother is better, while also able to create genuine empathy for the character who really is lost and without purpose as he’s not with his brother for any kind of guidance. He makes it convincing when Dennis approaches him lying about his own brother in a strange form of trying to continue the relationship with Rocky by spending time with the not at all homosexual Roman. O’Brien excels though in the quiet warmth he gets just from seeming to have some kind of sounding board of any kind, combined though with the general sloppiness of the person. Such as when Roman even says some potentially insensitive questions and statements about homosexuals, O’Brien is able to deliver them with a convincing naivety of someone who truly just doesn't really know how to speak for himself. 

Within the relationship O’Brien is very effective in showing this quiet bit of growth in the relationship with Dennis, but just eking out this believable sense of Roman coming a bit out of his battered shell which unfortunately for Dennis leads him to connect to Dennis's coworker Marcie (Aisling Franciosi). Dennis tries to push his fantasy continually on Roman, and again a lot of these scenes wouldn’t work at all if not for how convincing O’Brien is in the role. The setups where Dennis basically wants to touch Roman potentially suggestively shouldn’t work, but O’Brien is so convincing in the certain simplicity of Roman that in his slightly confused but passively accepting manner he convinces you that Roman would allow Dennis to touch his feet…up until a point when Dennis tries to suck on them. Even then O’Brien reactions are less straight anger but rather naturally weaved in with confusion before Dennis admits to his whole deception. Where again O’Brien’s performance is key to the resolution of the entire film because even in his violent reaction the fundamental choice is that of an instinctual reaction of a man who takes things very much on the surface and the reaction is a betrayal of the man’s nature to be so trusting. An extension of this with his relationship with Marcie where the two of them mostly just work as two people loving each other in their mutual simplicity in a way. The only break in Roman letting out his frustrations with the situation with Dennis and Rocky, again as just very genuine frustrations of someone who really doesn’t even know how to broach someone trying to trick him. O’Brien makes this feel so natural just as natural as his wholly earnest apology to her when she calls him on his anger. O’Brien’s realization of the nature of Roman is honestly the only thing that at all earns the ending of Dennis and Roman becoming friends through it all. As O’Brien throughout the film has convincingly shown someone who would just let such betrayals just breeze by him at a certain point given his attitude towards life. O’Brien delivers two strong distinctive performances which facilitates the film effectively and finds genuine emotion consistently. Even more so it is a continuation of exhibiting a greater talent and growth as a performer. 

Alternate Best Actor 2025: David Jonsson & Cooper Hoffman in The Long Walk

David Jonsson did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Peter "Pete" McVries nor did Cooper Hoffman for portraying Raymond "Ray" Garraty in The Long Walk. 

The Long Walk follows a contest where young men must continue to walk at 3 miles an hour until only one of them is still left alive. 

One of the successes of the Long Walk are the performances which very much are not treating the material as an exploitative horror piece that certainly could’ve been a possibility. They are treating it with a reality which is emphasized best by the pair of leading performances of two of the most talented young actors working today. First in the primary lead role, whom we follow into the starting point of the walk as he’s left off by his emotional mother, played by Cooper Hoffman. Someone who made a striking impression through his comedic work in Licorice Pizza, showing himself not to be merely the son of a great actor, but having the potential to become a great actor himself. Hoffman stretches himself away from that comedic work there in very much taking upon the “any man” type lead as the young man choosing to join the walk despite his mother’s protests. From the outset Hoffman brought such a striking sense of the emotional weight of the decision immediately. His performance in the reaction to his mother’s horror conveying the undercurrent of his heartbreak, even as in his eyes conveying some distant determination that is in his head as he arrives at the starting point where we also meet David Jonsson as Pete McVries played by David Jonsson. Jonsson’s an actor who has already substantially impressed me first for his likable nerdy turn as the romantic lead of Rye Lane, then upped the ante through the different sides of an android in Alien Romulus which went above and beyond the calling of that film, so I was excited what more he had in the tank when it came to this role, and the answer is a lot. Jonsson’s performance is entirely new from him as his previous two turns were working some framework of nerdy in presence, here in many ways he’s the tougher confident one and while he’s got some biceps to back him up here, it is far more so brought to life by Jonsson who is wholly natural despite also being wholly new in his presence here, from his accent, demeanor and just style onscreen. Quite the accomplishment because you’d think the way he acts as Pete is just how he acts and speaks because Jonsson’s entirely natural. 

As the walk begins we instantly start getting the sense of chemistry between Jonsson and Hoffman, which is so tremendous right off the bat that it was not surprising to learn the two are teaming up again with how natural they are as a pair. There’s just this ease with them where the sense of friendship between the two just feels real and jumps out. Once they start talking to one another you see the connection and it just feels absolutely authentic. Where the two are wonderful in connecting the differences between the two within the connection. Hoffman emphasizes an interesting yet convincing combination between this certain optimism in attitude towards those around him while also presenting a very direct distaste for the very concept of the walk despite having signed up for it himself. Jonsson on the other hand presents a certain bluntness as Pete initially says he won’t save Ray if he falls before they start, yet in general brings such a positive disposition. Each offering in a way the same philosophy when you get to the heart of it yet each approaching it their own way as each is a mix of both pessimism and optimism yet present it on their own terms. Something we see as the walk begins where the two discuss what they can do with the money. Jonsson as Pete that he’ll do good is filled with such confidence and assurance in that belief. As assured though is Hoffman’s doubtful words about the nature of the walk and that it is all a falsehood that isn’t at all this random culling it is presented to be. Yet words between the words of intention create such camaraderie, along with the two of the other young men, where every little exchange builds such a palatable sense of warmth and real sense of the mutual spirit between the two guys. Hoffman and Jonsson are so good, and I love particularly Jonsson’s delivery of basically the “screw it” at the idea of not making friends on the walk. As in his eyes there’s such an appreciation for the people around him, it is absolutely wonderful work. 

Within their conversations we learn more about each man, one of the most pivotal when Ray pushes to ask about Pete’s scar across his face, the one moment where that innate positivity of the man stops, not that he becomes sorrowful yet Jonsson conveys a lot of history that he’d rather not get into in this moment as his delivery is of the quiet change of the subject. With Ray, Hoffman’s performance so much is a reflection of the character’s connection with the death of his father, which was personally performed by the chief villain of the piece the Major (Mark Hamill), and something that we watchers of cinema can’t quite separate which is Hoffman’s connection with his own father. Something that the young Hoffman even commented on as pivotal within his performance of someone reckoning with such a painful trauma. Hoffman’s incredibly moving in his portrayal of the moments of the character articulating this not through sadness, but rather this sense of very distinct pride in every word against the system and when he specifically names his father as his hero. Hoffman’s performance has such a tremendous weight within every word where you see just how fundamental the man was in his life and in who he is. Combined then with the moments where he reflects Ray’s passions to fight against the system with this certainty in belief going so far as to want to personally execute the Major if he wins the walk. Hoffman’s delivery of this intention is with such a specific and penetrating hatred that is so remarkable in the moment and you see the festering rage all bottled within a single intention that he whispers to Pete. It must be said Jonsson carries with Hoffman in every moment through his powerful reactions where you see the man genuinely taking in everything his new friend has said and factoring it into his mind. 

Within the walk itself almost all the actors, including Jonsson and Hoffman do a great job of portraying the physical weight of the walk and just creating a convincing progression of showing the phases of exhaustion throughout, including moments of dazed sleepiness, to re-finding their energy, to just getting to the point of being almost completely lost from the weight of the physical exhaustion. Of course reacting more within the walk is dealing with the violence of every “loser” in the game while also dealing with the other players. An element where again there is a great contrast between Jonsson and Hoffman. Jonsson excels in just having such a striking presence defined by confidence, where even when he’s targeted by the insults of another, Jonsson’s delivery is so great in emphasizing the way the man kind just walks right past every insult and so believably creating the resilient spirit of the man. Contrasting that Hoffman is also great in portraying a less convincing confidence. Presenting it as something that isn’t the natural state of Ray rather something he’s striving for. We see this when he tries to help the men falling behind where Ray’s encouragements are real but also have a degree of desperation. Hoffman articulates naturally the degree of vulnerability within Ray who is striving to win yet might not entirely be able to face what that means. Earning then the moment where Ray almost dies by almost falling asleep right before a long hill with his sudden outrage against Pete not as hate but rather the man being overcome by too much fear in the moment leading him to lash out at anyone. Hoffman created that unpredictable random emotion of the state of Ray in that moment. As convincing and even more powerful is the moment where Pete just goes about saving Ray, Jonsson’s performance is incredible because in his face you do see that he took in Ray’s words in the moment, yet at the same time you see that resilience and even belief in humanity as he takes charge of Ray’s walk helping him get to safety. 

The guardian for Ray aspect is where Jonsson’s work just goes above and beyond in portraying such sincerity the real friendship for Ray with the conviction not to let his friend die despite the “winner takes all” nature of the game they’re in. Jonsson’s articulation of Pete’s optimism is absolutely stunning work from Jonsson and frankly managed to give me chills by just how much emotional truth Jonsson manages to bring to a convincing belief in humanity within a nihilistic game. Jonsson’s performance is so great because he shows, as Pete says, that it’s not easy, it's hard. Jonsson describes Pete’s violent past filled with such detail where you sense every moment of the man’s horrible emotional turmoil in the nuance in Jonsson’s expression as he explains how he got his scar. His face is of a man who has been through hell, yet within that situation has come out not to hate humanity but to believe in it. Jonsson’s passionate ask of Ray to take the joy in life where and when he can has such poignancy, because Jonsson manages not to only convey that this is absolutely a fundamental belief to Pete, he convinces us as the audience to give it a chance, by showing every word coming through a man who we understand as gone through a grinder to come out still with this sense of hope. There’s nothing forced about it, it is absolutely real and Jonsson makes it real. And through that reality we believe every moment of Pete refusing to let Ray die and convinces us of the purity of his belief even as they go through one harrowing moment after another. Where Hoffman and Jonsson make you feel every loss we witness, because their reactions show both men taking in each kill deep into their souls. Whereas much as we see the physical toll of the walk, even more profound is the emotional toll that each depicts in similar yet also very specifically honest to the characters of Ray and Pete. 

At a certain point in the film it does strike you that both of them cannot survive and I love Jonsson’s subtle work in suggesting just how deeply Ray is starting to mean to him every time this comes up. We know both cannot survive and we start to feel the impending devastation before it even comes because you want to see these two survive and continue the profound friendship we’ve witnessed and brought to life so beautifully by both actors. Building up and leading to the climax where they are the final two. One pivotal moment when Ray almost dies as he stops to see his mom where Hoffman is quickly devastating in showing the intensity of his emotional distress and seeing just how painful it is to see his mom in the moment. Jonsson’s also great in the moment bringing as much passion though fashioned in Pete stressing that Ray can’t let his mom see him be executed and funneled through that specific empathy. The final scene of the film I’ll be perfectly honest, on re-watch stands as the most heartbreaking scene from 2025 for me with Cooper and Jonsson’s performances being essential to this realization. As they bring that warmth and love of friendship between every moment, as first in Jonsson’s reaction of contentment as he sits down to let Ray live, to Ray then bringing the brightest smile as he gets Pete walking again before sitting down himself to allow him to be shot. Hoffman’s final impassioned delivery that articulates his love for Pete but also even more so his belief that Pete can do good, rips my heart straight out. Particularly his delivery “that’s why I love you” that’s filled with that love but also acceptance of his faith for the sake of Pete. If that wasn’t brutal enough it’s Jonsson’s depiction of his immediate visceral grief at the death of his friend that just twists the knife. There's so much humanity within every cry out of Ray's name and you feel every bit of the tremendous sorrow within Jonsson’s heart wrenching performance. Jonsson’s performance though still has to thread the trickiest of needles to deliver on the film’s ending which frankly wouldn’t work if Jonsson’s was less than perfect. Well he is perfect in the sequence as Jonsson’s portrayal of Pete’s decision to ask for a gun and complete Ray’s wish by killing the major himself manages to in a way combine the cynicism and optimism in the act. Showing the intention of violence but within his eyes the heartbreak of the man who is killing the major not for himself but for the sake of his friend. Jonsson being as captivating then in the specific almost levity in his manner as Pete turns and continues to walk into the night. Both deliver great performances and is the chemistry between them really elevates the entirety of the film. Hoffman proving that his previous performance wasn't a fluke. Jonsson though maybe going even further in showing such a compelling presence and incredible emotional range. Together though creating such a poignant yet painfully tragic portrait of friendship. 

Alternate Best Actor 2025: Frank Dillane in Urchin

Frank Dillane did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Mike in Urchin. 

Urchin follows a homeless drug addict. 

Frank Dillane, son of Stephen, plays the role of the homeless addict where we enter the film seemingly as the man is at his lowest where we see him begging for money, loitering inside and fighting with another homeless addict. With such a performance it really is all about whether or not it feels like a put on, which with Dillane it does not. As he delivers from the start the physicality of the man who seems to be in a state of physical unease if not pain at all times. A degree of potential violence in every word he speaks there’s kind of an unpredictability. His eyes and expression filled with the history of a man who has mostly spent his life in this way and along an unpleasant path. There’s rarely any joy and there’s an innate messiness of the man who we see obviously no clarity in his shambling way of even walking. The eventual act of Mike violently attacking a man who has attempted to help and befriend him, is particularly unnerving because within the act there is no hesitation and his immediate apology of “sorry sorry’ isn’t precisely fake however just within Mike’s sorry state of only existing within the idea of the momentary fix. 

When being interrogated for his crime Dillane’s denial of any cause and an explanation that it was the other’s man’s fault is bad lying in his delivery but not in terms of doubt, rather just in terms of it being too exact in his rambling as someone far too comfortable in coming up with bad lies. Something we see followed up closely as he calls someone he knows to say he’s been arrested again and is sentenced for months of prison time. Dillane’s specific delivery of “I’ve been arrested again” speaks to such a history as he says it so easily so calmly, so much of someone who's been through this before and doesn’t even see it as an out of the ordinary experience for him. We jump ahead after he’s cleaned up through time in prison and meets the condition of his parole. Where the familiarity in itself is almost the same as when he was homeless. Dillane’s performance is one defined by the lack of surprise, even when he tries to fashion a kind of hope his expression almost denotes it being as a delusional joke that he is aware of just as much as the person he’s talking to. 

We follow Mike as he has the potential job as a chef at a hotel, where Dillane’s great in the scene of the interview in putting forth the attempt at earnest interest. Where he is able to convey the challenge in the young man who wants to try to do something, even an earnest bit of excitement in it, but a limitation in all his reactions where there’s the barrier of the man from a state of true normalcy. The moment with the owner asking him about his crime, just for his own awareness of the nature of his violence, Dillane’s delivery of the explanation carries so much in the simplicity of it. There is shame as he explains what he did but again there’s also a directness though of someone whose committed desperate asks like that before and may do so again. Where we even see the intensity within the man that speaks to the challenge of his life as he wears the stress of an irate customer so fiercely in his eyes or when he challenges a mediator for the voice he’s using with a sensitivity of someone on this emotional edge even when he’s supposedly “healthy”. 

There are slight comforts as he bonds with his coworkers but even then to describe Dillane as truly calm would be false and he keeps the sense of despondency within the man who is just above the water yet hardly safe. When he meets with his victim in a court ordered session, Dillane’s performance exudes the uncertainty of the man’s mental state where again there is the pain of shame but in no way is there any true understanding of any sense of how to proceed forward with himself, barely getting to look at the man or even acknowledging the mistake to the man. We find then the progression of Mike essentially moving back to the beginning even as he has a romance with a coworker that only leads to him being introduced to drugs again. A pivotal scene in Dillane’s performance is the taking of the drugs that are offered to him casually. Mike refuses them at first then takes them. Dillane doesn’t put a lot on the decision but in doing so shows within it this being a cycle for Mike. He takes the drugs and then he’s just back in it again. What we see is going from the nervous man on the edge of the drugs to becoming the completely lost man we saw at the start of the film. Dillane naturally reverts back to his more disjointed manner and ever increasingly paranoid man until he’s fully back to the start again. It’s a captivating performance with a very specific intention. Which isn't the recovery of the addict, but rather fully the cycle of one. Dillane effectively detailing each step from the dangerous homeless man on the edge of life, to the man straining for recovery, to falling to his demons, to back to that edge again.