Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2014: Sam Claflin in The Riot Club

Sam Claflin did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Alistair Ryle in The Riot Club.

The Riot Club I suppose can make one truly appreciate the work of Martin Scorsese particularly Goodfellas and Wolf of Wall Street. I mention those somewhat randomly in that both films are absolutely captivating despite technically depicting despicable characters. The Riot Club is like this as well about a rich college fraternity, however unlike those films the company of these men becomes intolerable almost immediately. The film technically presents them as wrong, however it doesn't present any reason to spend more than a second with them.

Sam Claflin portrays one of the young men who is part of the titular riot club. I'll admit this is one performance that I don't have too much to say about. We see Claflin in the early scenes seemingly somewhat shy and slightly disinterested by visiting his accommodations at college. This shifts a bit though when we see the men actually getting into their activities. This is as Claflin keeps the general idea but speaks with cold overtones when anything turns political. Claflin's performance largely just emphasizes this idea of Alistair as an angry and privileged patrician. Claflin displaying certainly enough venom in his performance as he goes on and on about his low view of the working class. He delivers the needed insidious quality within his work in showing Alistair to be perhaps even more despicable as the group goes about being obnoxious louts. Claflin to his credit I suppose gets off the best of the riot club boys as his performance at being horrible is effective as is intended. There is no needed attempt of sympathy for Alistair, he's horrible and Claflin makes him as such. This with the unabashed ease in his aggressive and vicious manner though all with an ease as though the whole thing is still boring him a bit. Claflin gets off the best because at least his work basically doesn't hide his horribleness with any frat boy manner, he plays it as just an evil man.This doesn't make the character real any more interesting mind you but at least Claflin delivers on the needs of the role. The role in which we just see the man glorying in his own debauchery and cruelty. This is to the point that as soon as he's against the wall for his behavior his attitude stays the same though blames everyone else for his faults. His ending being just seeing a new path to be horrible, though I'll grant Claflin for doing a properly despicable smug smile at his seemingly never failing fortunes. This isn't a great performance, but a decent enough one in a film that doesn't appear to have any particular reason for existing.