Alternate Best Actor 2014: Dan Stevens in The Guest

Dan Stevens did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying David Collins in The Guest.

The Guest is a largely effective thriller, though it falls apart in the third act, about a veteran who visits a family claiming to be a friend of their deceased son.

Dan Stevens is an actor I have already praised considerably for his work on the television series Legion. This film came though before as Stevens made his attempted jump towards film from Downton Abbey, a series I can perhaps guess about but have no actual knowledge of. Anyways though this seems like perhaps a jump for him either way, in this attempt at a leading role here as this American veteran, as opposed to I'm going to assume an English chap in some estate setting, perhaps a well to do sort? I don't know. Anyway though Stevens shirks any notions of any kind in just an obvious screen presence from his first scene where he arrives to the home of the Peterson family claiming to have known their son who died in the army. Stevens here with a convincing accent, but more than anything a convincing manner, although this manner is something he'll be subverting soon enough. Stevens though is wonderful in creating this pattern of the seemingly ideal "son who has come home for the parents". This in his respectful and quiet demeanor. His words spoken with soft comforting sort of authority. This with eyes filled with a care and concern for those he is interacting with, which naturally quickly ingratiates himself with the Peterson father (Leland Orser) and mother. Stevens speaking every "yes mam" or "yes sir" with the sort of consistency that is both believable and "too good" to believe in equal measure.

Stevens performance though slowly reveals itself in two ways, one in an understanding of what it is that David is doing, even if the film itself is a bit shaky on that ground, and the other in offering an immensely captivating lead in Dan Stevens. This is as we see him with their son (Brendan Meyer) who is being bullied at school. Stevens shifts gears again in a way as though he is on another operating field. Stevens is downright brilliant in these scenes of helping the son as he portrays this sort of precision of a true assassin though in a unique way. Stevens owns these scenes in what is best described in a true star making fashion. This as he just dominants them with just a glint of the eye, and just his whole manner controls his space with such ease. Stevens though going further though in there is that charming warmth of sorts towards the son that he depicts with a manner as though he is really trying to teach the son best he can. This with an earnestness within it even if the level of intensity Stevens brings suggests something is off that charm carries the moment in creating the sense of how he wins the teenager over. Stevens findings this fantastic connection in sort of the support of a big brother as he teaches a lesson, like assaulting local bullies, with both the grace of a loving family member in every word, and a killer's edge as he goes about it in a way that is at such an extreme.

We see similar with the Peterson's daughter (Maika Monroe) where David conducts himself in sort of this method of the seducer. Again Stevens portrays this by making it a switch in gears, this to the point that when he has sex with the daughter's friend, he is initially distant until almost commanded to perform then suddenly he brings the requisite animalistic lust. Stevens creating in this a peculiar dynamic as he is convincing in each phase, while being purposefully artificial in the switches between each one, much like a soldier who has to set his mind a certain way for each and every mission. This is even as we begin to see the darkness of the character. This when he kills a local gun dealer and one of the daughter's friends, Stevens does so with the same detached ease and portrays it in a chilling fashion as both something he just intends to do and intends to do with as much lethal efficiency as possible. Stevens making this manner both captivating and properly menacing as a most unusual "perfect man" who will be whatever his "family" seems to need him to be. Of course as the film progressed into its lesser third act, it reminded me a lot of The Stepfather, which is not a comparison you want made...unless I guess if you're the lead of the film. While this film even in its third act is a better made film than that one it has a similar failing where it drops its intriguing ideas to hit slasher movie tropes in its bloody climax. This isn't even in terms of explanation, where there was apparently some in the original cut of the film, but rather exploration of the idea of the relationship between the killer and the people. We drop any ideas of "careful what you wish for" and individual connections with the family, even the sense of why David is there is left vague, and the "in the script" explanation is not really any less vague. The real problem with this is it leaves Stevens just to become a standard killer. Now he does that well mind you, and brings as much style as he can to it, even tries to connect the relationship idea just a bit, like his proud expression when he sees one of the family members has tricked him. Unfortunately the film doesn't really do anything with what the first two acts setup instead opting for general mayhem until a particularly dumb final moment. Having said that Stevens is captivating to that final frame and this is a terrific performance. I only wish the film had developed as interesting of a character as the one he seemed to be playing.