Alternate Best Actor 1970: Warren Oates in Barquero

Warren Oates did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Jacob "Jake" Remy in Barquero. 

Barquero is a decent, if largely unremarkable western, about a showdown between a group of bandits trying to transport their booty who need to cross a river and a township sorta led by a classically individualistic barge owner of that river, Travis (Lee Van Cleef).

Warren Oates was a character actor, who really put the character in character actor. Just someone who was distinctive just by his mere existence. Of course he also was quite capable of putting the actor in character actor as well. This is a striking display of that particularly when considered against his work in Sam Peckinpah westerns, or his masterful leading turn in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. Those performances often playing a memorable lout, or in that leading turn, a especially memorable turn of a man riding a desperate edge in every imaginable way. Here Oates gets the chance to play someone a bit more put together than his characters often are, at least initially, this as a bandit leader, and doesn't lose a step from those other turns of him. In fact it is remarkable how his very essence seems to change a little as there's such a innate confidence in his presence here, if perhaps even a certain "cool" to him. This suggesting right off the bat that if Oates's costar here, Lee Van Cleef, had not been available, Oates would have been a more than worthy alternative for the titular bad in The Good the Bad and The Ugly. This while his Jake here is a considerably different character from Angel Eyes the bad in that film, Oates carries a similar presence that Van Cleef had in that film. This sort of dominance of personality that is rather remarkable. This as he launches his men into a massacre to steal rifles, or even spends time with a woman, Oates carries an innate and palatable confidence within it. His blaring within an innate intensity, and as innate of a strength of his personality. 

Oates dominates here magnificently and quite powerfully within the scene of his initial victory with his men. What I love is though that Oates wields within this early on just the right degree of unpredictability within his performance, that suggests well where his Jake might be going later on. This when he finds one of his men sleeping with a woman rather than part of the fight, Jake's near instant killing of the men is with a brutal and cold efficiency. Oates portrays though moment with just this quick glint of a madness but also a fascinating almost reflective quality in his delivery as though the man is pondering his violent state, if for a moment. Afterwards we see the man as a true leader as he goes along his parade of success, though there is the slight complication in that Jake is essentially the leader of the muscle though with the technical leader of the expedition, the soldier Marquette (Kerwin Mathews). This relationship being an essential aspect of the character, which Oates will develop throughout his work. In his prime though Oates exudes the power of a true leader as he goes along with the men. This as Oates doesn't just portray the confidence but there is also a sense of camaraderie and joy as he looks along the men. There is the sense of shared weight of the victory and the sense that he sees the men, and they see him, more than just their current boss, but as their leader. It really though connects to what Oates's work here is, which is one that feels above the call of duty here. This as well this isn't a bad film by any measure, it's not a great one, but Oates seems intent on treating the material with the intention that it will be. 

 

This as Oates honestly doesn't waste a moment of his work here. This as he's compelling even when just in scenes. For example the beginning of the showdown, where Travis will not lend the gang his barge, every one of Oates's stares are worth a 10 lines of dialogue at least. There's so much that he brings more than just a grimace, though he certainly conveys the frustration there. There's a hint of almost admiration in the reaction and a curious interest in the nature of the man who will take this stand. Oates simply never just "looks" in a scene rather he always not only conveys what is needed for the tension of the scenes, but also what is going on with Jake in these moments. The film then becomes this showdown of will as much as force even, as Jake is called upon to find a way to win. When discussing the intention with Marquette, Oates presents a man burdened with position and ambition. His delivery of insisting on taking the river not just anger over the present situation, but also a palatable sense of pride in a hope of advancing in some way. Again I think what needs to be noted throughout is the detail that Oates brings and tries to really grant an idea of this man attempting to lead within the moment. There's moment where Jake bluntly disciplines another of his men, and again Oates just powerfully controls the moment. Now Oates is often playing dangerous characters, but more so in a "what he might do" wild way, here he shows a man who "will do" something. This in the innate determination he carries within the character's eyes, even as things begin to fail. This as Jake begins taking drugs as progress is not made, and we are given the one great flashback into the character, where we see him being almost killed by the Imperial Mexican army, which Marquette was a member of. Honestly the scene just makes me wish the whole film was about Jake, as Oates brings such a sense of the vicious beat down, but also the dogged conviction of Jake in the silent moment of just barely saving his life by killing Marquette's former leader. Oates's whole performance though conveys the idea of a man built up by this experience of finding his ways to claw to the top. This as the next step, the barge, seemingly cannot be overcome and Oates depicts the natural state of the man's mind's degradation from it. 

 

Oates's wild ferocity as Jake is unable to break Travis's resolve is striking, but the best moment is the calm in Oates's portrayal as he embraces then shoots the river after a mad ramble. I almost wonder if the scene in the script only because it so much more brilliant than the rest of the film. Of course Oates is essential in this either way, this as attacking the river, that is the bane of him, creates this quiet and broken satisfaction in his expression and delivery of "I shot the river" with a slight grin, is perfection of a man being destroyed from the inside out through his predicament. This leaving the climax, which is mostly fine, but what stands out about it is Oates basically riffing on the whole thing in his performance. This as he portrays Jake on a whole different wavelength than everyone else throughout, with this strange detachment to the experience. Oddly the strongest emotion throughout the film is actually Oates's genuinely heartbreaking reaction to the death of one of his men, whose pleading with him, as Marquette's plan has failed. Oates showing the genuine leader in the moment as he's affected by the man's words, while also displaying the growing mental break still as his violent reaction towards the loss, is presented in this amazing combination of directness and detachment in Oates. This as he speaks as man's mind is wavering though still with the eyes of a man of intention, even if he's lost it. This as even when he kills one of Travis's allies, Oates does so with this curious expression of the man almost gone from the normal frame of mind as he looks with analysis of the event more so than even hate towards the man. It is an incredible portrayal of a breakdown, and so much greater than the ambitions of his film otherwise. Although Barquero is not a great western, Oates treats it as such, and delivers a great western villain. This as not just treating Jake as a throwaway menacing black hat, but genuinely giving a sense of the man underneath the hat.