Best Actor 1958: Sidney Poitier in The Defiant Ones

Sidney Poitier received his first Oscar nomination for playing Noah Cullen a black convict who is trying to escape prison in The Defiant Ones.

Poitier plays the black convict very well. Poitier has his usually natural charisma, although he clearly reduces it here a bit to be believable as the convict. He does have a natural "cool" to him no matter what that works quite well. He has it when he not saying anything at all, and he does it with just a look. Poitier many times uses that as Cullen's way of basically fighting back against Joker (Tony Curtis). This mights have not worked but Poitier does it so Cullen wins even if Joker says a lot more. Poitier natural presence works incredibly well throughout the film, and Poitier though never only uses just that and forgets to act.

Poitier makes a strong portrait of an angry man who is basically just tired of being looked down and upon and being mistreated. Poitier never makes him just only angry but rather a complicated man, who shows exactly why he is angry. Poitier is always strong particularly when he tells Joker not to call him boy or anything else derogatory.  His scenes where he explains his anger are very well done. Such as when he complains about his wife always telling to be nice, or tells about his religious father. Also when he speaks about how he ended up in jail. He creates reason for his character and sympathy through his explanations, but he never panders for it and earns it naturally. 

 

Everything Poitier does in this film is well done. The only problem I might have is that Cullen really does not undergo any changes. He is basically the same man throughout the film, and just goes back to his singing at the end. All the development belongs to Curtis' character. But this is not Poitier's fault his character not changing is merely in the script. Poitier though anyways pulls a lot out his character, and probably created a much deeper character than was in the script due to his performance. Both he and Curtis succeed with their separate characters, and they both work together well. Both give very good performances, and I believe Poitier could have given an even greater performance if the script did not prevent it.

 

Looking back at both the reviews of Curtis and Poitier, I actually don't disagree with anything I originally wrote other than perhaps that Poitier had anything against him because his character of Noah doesn't change. That I will say I was wrong about, for two reasons, one there are subtle changes in Poitier's performance in regards to how he interacts with Curtis. He begins with a more open internalized disregard and distaste for the man, particularly as Joker to the obvious word. And Poitier naturally segues within his performance between a bit more of an appreciation to Joker, but I think it is important to note it isn't overt. Even when Joker runs to save Noah, Poitier's reactions are still with some doubt towards the man even if he's come to accept him a bit more. Poitier shows the process of not Noah accepting Joker, but rather Noah seeing how much trust he should earn from Noah. But the other part of it is, Poitier's performance is about the revelation of a man who is who he is, and there he is so dynamic. As we have the opening of the man's singing which remains a constant of purposeful disregard for the authority that holds him. And we see him as the man very physically trying for survival and making do with his unlikely and oftentimes unfortunate companion in Joker. But again the "be nice" speech is such great work by Poitier, as there is so much pain within it, and genuine outrage. There is a danger in the way he says "be nice" with such spite, and it isn't the overly friendly and disarming character Poitier was often accused of playing. His Noah is a complicated man, a man defined by the injustice done to him, however fully fleshed out as a man. Curtis is also great, and I pretty said so in my original review so his rating didn't even make too much sense as is. Regardless. I just wanted to also mention his major scene with Cara Williams, which is extremely erotic work in presenting the chemistry, less based on love but lust between the two. And Curtis is great in portraying sort of the erotic confidence in the moment, but more so what is so remarkable is the shared desperation of it as they are together in their connection based on that. It's a striking scene and Curtis is great in it. But both he and Poitier are fantastic in creating fully fleshed out people within the situation, who never reduce them down to "white man" "black man", they are each their own person.