Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2001: Hayden Christensen in Life as a House

Hayden Christensen did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for a SAG and Golden Globe, for portraying an emo punk...I mean...Sam Monroe in Life as A House.

Life As A House follows an architect (Kevin Kline), as he tries to reconnect with his family and build a house before he dies from terminal cancer. I must say this film, while watching/-re-watching films from 2001 there are some interesting dated aspects to certain films that do scream early 2000's, despite many other films achieving a more timeless quality. This is not one of those latter films with its musical interludes in particular. The film itself treads difficult material, and does not achieve greatness hoped for in attempting an Ikiru style story. I will say though I wouldn't quite call it a failure either, and is better than other overly sentimental films from the year like the cinematic abomination that is I am Sam for example. 

Hayden Christensen's nominations for this film are slightly difficult to decipher given the film was not a critical nor a commercial success. I do ponder the "I got there" first mentality may have played a role, as though he had yet to debut as Anakin Skywalker, to some infamy, but at the time there was still quite the possibility that all would've turned out well. With that perhaps there was a desire to designate the "new star" early, a star that would never come as we all know how his work in the Star Wars films went. Now I've mentioned before that Christensen did eventually give a good performance in Shattered Glass, however in that film, he successfully played a man who we shouldn't believe a single word from. In that he succeeded at being phony, which isn't something to hand wave, the film also played into his weaknesses in a way. I'm going on about these other things, because really Christensen here isn't some revelation of a misspent talent, or of potential wasted talent. He's pretty much the Christensen we've all come to exist with in his middling, to be somewhat generous, talents.

Christensen is a bit of a bland performer with a stilted way of delivering lines. That doesn't make him ideal for troubled emotional teenager, though perhaps a little better off then future menacing warlord. This is to say that Christensen's work here is in a role that many a viewers will quickly dislike as we open with him moody and angry towards everyone without much explanation early on. Christensen has a hump there in that his vocal diction and voice just sound a little hollow, and doesn't suggest any truth. So when he starts whining, not only doesn't it create empathy, it also leaves him a bit overcooked all the same. Christensen when he starts yelling finally a bit of emotion does peer through his wall of seeming disinterest. In those moments he borders on being okay, just don't leave the scenes where he says "I don't like" because one has instant flash forward to lines about sand. I'm really being more sarcastic than I should be because this isn't a terrible performance, even as it exists with Christensen seemingly fighting with his own presence, which is he carries a certain anti-charisma typically.

Christensen does get better as the film goes on, as honestly Christensen does best when he's not speaking, not the best praise one can give an actor, but it is positive mind you. Christensen's reactionary moments to hearing his father's thoughts on his own father, and not all bad. In fact he at is within the scene, and manages to carry some reflective emotion well. It benefits him though that Sam's emo phase that would make Mason from Boyhood blush (okay probably not) ends half way through the film, and Christensen is allowed a more straight forward turn as a earnest teenager trying to help out his father. Here Christensen does better, if not extraordinary work by any means, in just portraying this growth as a lack of overt emotionalism. Unfortunately once Sam is told the truth of his father's diagnosis we have a return to that which is not Christensen's strong suit. Christensen's breakdown scene again teeters towards the overcooked as again acting emotional leads to a bit of a stilted mess. Having said that, his scenes of reflecting on a greater appreciation towards his father, which Sam express through finishing his father's house, is Christensen's best in the film. The unsaid sense of sorrow but love is well realized looking upon his dying father. This as we see a matured individual and a better performance, even if the whole ending of the film honestly feels a little  rushed. Perhaps too little too late to save this turn as the weaknesses of Christensen as a performer are evident, but so is some talent as well.