Alternate Best Actor 1987: Christian Bale in Empire of the Sun

Christian Bale did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Jamie "Jim" Graham in Empire of the Sun.

Empire of the Sun is a somewhat curious attempt by Steven Spielberg into straight drama as his love of adventure and whimsy seems to muddle his intention of a loss of innocence through the story of a English boy in Japanese occupied China during World War II. The film is not without merit, however.

One of those merits is perhaps in the partial discovery of the talented Christian Bale. Obviously an actor who went onto acclaim in adulthood through his intense portrayals with a particularly extreme physical commitment to his roles. It is interesting then to look at Bale here who we see in the early scenes of the film as a soft spoiled school boy blissfully unaware in initially British controlled China. Although Bale is playing a bit of a brat this strangely enough is probably one of his most charismatic performances. He manages to not become excessively petulant in the portrayal of the character's attitude. Instead he makes it rather a natural curiosity within the character that includes seeing what he can "abuse" within his power he has in his initial privilege. Bale though establishes it well though with a more sympathetic child like wonder in the boy as he watches the culture around him, and becomes fascinated by aircraft. Bale brings the right specifically childlike wonder that sets up Jamie as very much interested in what surrounds him even if initially detached from it.

The film shifts itself quickly when the war directly hits China and Jamie is soon disposed from his world of luxury. He is separated from his parents and left to fend for himself within the war torn setting. Bale is excellent in these scenes in capturing the less focused intensity of the fear of the boy as he goes around looking for help. To the point he goes to a random self-centered ex-patriot named Basie (a kind of a miscast John Malkovich), whom he immediately looks up to. Bale plays this fascination with Basie well making the boy's loyalty to the obviously morally questionable man believable. He makes that fascination just so earnest and even heartfelt showing this innocence in his attitude suggesting the boy just simply must believe the man will help him. Of course the two quickly end up in a prison camp, and Basie nearly leaves Jim behind when they are about to be transferred to an internment camp. Bale has a great moment where he begs and pleas to go with him. Bale makes properly so messy of just this boy breaking down. He is decidedly not calculated in this which allows the moment to find the right naturalism as he shows it to still be Jamie as a boy just pleading for help from his new "father".

In the internment camp is where the problems in tone really arrive as Spielberg can't decide what film he is trying to tell with a strange mix of scenes. Spielberg himself seems to innocent to allow the innocence to go. In that we get Jamie, now Jim far more worldly as he survives in the camp. He only goes so far with this though still keeping it a boy playing a game of survival more than maturing to a survivalist. Bale's performance frankly conveys the themes little better as he fashions those softer side to bring a more inherent intensity, and even toughness in his portrayal. He brings a confidence within the tempering of emotions that effectively shows the boy beginning to understand the world he exists in. The film though shifts this with still those moments of wonderment in his moments of scrounging, and anything involving planes in the war. In these moments Jim is still fascinated by them, in nearly a childlike way, but with that greater intensity. The message Spielberg is trying to imply is perhaps a touch too vague, but Bale's portrayal of Jim's sincere devotion to aviation almost as a religion is remarkable. The passion is only more intense now, and Bale carries these moments to the point that they do have power even when their purpose is somewhat questionable. Is the idea that he's using these to hide his anguish, the film kind tries this but doesn't really pull off the idea very well. This is not a knock against Bale's work though as his moment of fully breaking down after a moment of jubilation is brilliantly performed. Again he excels in making it feel so authentic in the moment of Jim's painful realization of what he's lost, as this emotional turmoil, though the film fails to fully utilize this properly.

The film's ending is a particularly muddled element as Spielberg refuses to "grow up" despite wanting to tell a story of the loss of innocence. We see this through the whiplash in his direction that leaves Bale in a bit of strange place as Jim. In that we will have one scene of extreme horror in the sudden shooting of a young Japanese man that Jim desperately tries to resuscitate. Extremely well performed by Bale as he captures something childlike in his manic delivery that has this painful hope in it, wishing it like a child would. We then will get a strange moment of whimsy when he uncovers Basie's scrounged supplies and uses the old internment camp as a pseudo playground. The scene posits Jim fully as just a boy, and is out of place. There is nothing wrong with the way Bale captures the excitement however it is not natural by design. Spielberg kind of wants to make Come and See, but seems to timid to commit to the proposition. This becomes far more evident in the final scene which switches again where we meet Jim in an orphanage. There the loss of innocence is shown and Bale is terrific in bringing the intensity in thousand yard stare, almost an indicator of the nature of his future performances. Bale does capture that loss of that innocence of the boy's curiosity, however the power of that is lost because Spielberg frankly bungles it. None of this is Bale's fault, as he gives a very good performance here that actually illustrates the central conceit better than the film does, to the point the film gets kind of in the way of his performance.