Best Supporting Actor 1997: Anthony Hopkins in Amistad

Anthony Hopkins received his fourth Oscar nomination for portraying the elderly John Quincy Adams in Amistad.

As much as I always am interested in history, and historical films this film bored me most of the time. It was too slow and stale and left most of the character underdeveloped. It does feel too much like a history lesson, but it does not even have all of its facts right. Re-watching the film again, I'd say I preferred it slightly over my viewing from the time of this review. The film though is one of the inconsistencies and suggests the greatest fault that developed with Spielberg, which was a lack of a grip on tone. The film goes from extreme horrors to extreme sentimentalism, with a particular overuse of John Williams with the latter, that do not cohere effectively. There are good moments in the film but Spielberg's hand is not assured here.

Anthony Hopkins plays Quincy Adams who in this film is an old man but still involved in politics enough to help the slaves who revolted on the Amistad ship. As Adams, Hopkins drifts in and out of the film showing slight interest in the case early on and then eventually defending enslaved people in front of the supreme court. Hopkins is just fine in all of his scenes.  I like the voices he uses for Adams and he certainly looks a lot like Adams in this film. He does his best possible job at being Adams without ever really seeming to force any mannerisms or anything like that.  He does just a good job of being the historical person who he is portraying. His character is not overly complex and is a part that is more functionary. Still though Hopkins fully fulfills the function as well as possible. He sells Adams's age well and never does not seem as he should be. He mostly just has short little conversations that Hopkins does a fine job with, that is until the his final big speech in front of the supreme court. Hopkins does a very good job with the speech making it pretty effective abut still it is not one of the greatest ever, just a good end speech. Overall he is just fine throughout and I wish a little more of the movie had been about him because Hopkins does quite well even without really that complex of a character.

Speaking on Anthony Hopkins, my views actually haven't changed considerably though my original thoughts are a bit boilerplate, and actually a bit inconsistent with my rating, as my original thoughts as given are clearly of more than a 3 anyways. There is more credit to be given though to Hopkins's performance, which is that of a few key scenes throughout the film as the elderly Adams. That element alone deserves more praise as while Hopkins was in no way a young man at the time of this film, he wasn't nearly as old as the character he portrays. Hopkins though naturally eases into the more labored movements of the man nearing the end of his life, though with this inherent dignity of a man who never allows his age to be a disadvantage. Hopkins's accent work here was also underrated in fashioning an antiquated Massachusetts accent that feels lived in and appropriate to the man of aged respect and intelligence. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect, and really a rare thing altogether, is Hopkins's physical facial performance, something that honestly took me by surprise with its quiet brilliance of it. Where modern historical figures have footage to be imitated or evoked from, Hopkins appears to have used the actual portraits and daguerreotypes of Adams. Hopkins's distinct expressions, the way he molds his eyebrows, the way he hardens his eyes, even the tighter jaw are not innate to Hopkins, they rather appear to be fitting to Adams in those visual records of the man. It is a fascinating realization, that not only works, was so natural within his performance that I failed to pick up on Hopkins's immaculate crafting of this manner. His performance though is used as a heavy hitter within the film, really to spice a few things up, and is easily a highlight within the film. Hopkins plays the older statesmen with ease bringing that ease and grace about him, but also with a noted warmth, particularly in his big meeting with Djimon Hounsou as the African on trial for taking the slave ship by force. Hopkins segues towards a natural warmth just as easily as he has that slightly dismissive tone towards others who are not at his intellectual level. Whether it is a quick barb or just a general statement of curiosity, Hopkins makes Adams the consummate scene-stealer in the right way. That all leads toward his final big speech, which is handled with a confident and low-key passion. An earned moment of inspiration thanks to Hopkins's quietly devoted performance. He does not oversell the sentiment he earns it. Special mention I think should be given to the moment of commenting on his father as the importance of what was written before, where he does suggest that familial bond if only in his reaction to looking at the bust of his father. Where other aspects of the film fall into moments of inconsistency with Spielberg's less than sure hand here, Hopkins is pitch-perfect every step of the way. Powerfully portraying the eccentric old president who still has some purpose left.