Alternate Best Actor 1980: John Savage in Inside Moves

John Savage did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Roary in Inside Moves. 

Inside Moves is a fine, though not substantial, off-beat drama about a man finding an unlikely new lease on life.

John Savage is probably best known as one of the group of friends forever changed by the Vietnam war in The Deer Hunter. Here we follow once again as a man permanently physically injured, though under very different circumstances. We open this film on his Roary going up a building only to jump off in a suicide attempt that leaves him with a limp but he survives. Like his work in his most famous role, Savage from the opening scene excels in internalizing trauma. The opening scene though just wearing the quiet desperation of a man. This is carefully though as he seems focused upon his intention rather than attempting any kind of cry for help. We then follow past the film's introduction to see a "recovered" Roary. Savage's performance in these two scenes alone is terrific work in terms of crafting the sense of time between the two phases of Roary. This as the second man is hardly in a good state, as now instead of that intention Savage embodies an anxiety within him and naturally also depicts his physical ailment that follows him wherever he goes. Savage doesn't depict it as a state of constant despair now, but there is still an unmistakable sadness within his work. It is more muted and in a way seemingly separated as the man is trying in some way to continue to exist, if little more than that. 

Roary's new path we find as he finds solace in a bar frequented by other seemingly broken people including a group of elderly men, including Harold Russell in his sophomore effort as an actor over 30 years after his first, a strung out prostitute, and the friendly, though also injured, bartender with former hopes as a basketball player Jerry (David Morse). Savage's performance is interesting as the lead as it is often this kind of reactionary one. His performance conveys that quiet sense of a kind of distress that defines the man though muted. He's broken in that certain sense yet there's also something very open within his performance all the same. In his interactions with the others Savage's work has this kind of balance to it. This as his eyes are often both expressive in terms of reaction while also shy. He shows a man finding himself in a way and finding himself through listening to others. He's still profoundly changed by what he did, but also in that we see a man in a  way almost on a different wavelength at times that provides a certain empathy in moments. This as we see him becomes friends with the people in the bar, particularly Jerry, and in that Savage presents a man capable of this most curious kind of encouragement. This is something that Savage realizes in a quietly moving fashion, almost his own emotional scars allowing him to express support without any kind of hesitation. 

Savage's performance realizes this peculiar state effectively. This as he begins to become this comfort and better man, while there is this shading in Savage's work that still expresses the greater state of distress that brought him to this new life in a way. Savage though manages to make the "feel good" for the lack of a better description work within his performance. This is because he never skips the step of Roary's own problems as he also shows this kind of interesting perspective the character seems to have because of his past rather than in spite of it. Savage earns this gradual kind of joys we see expressed in his work that he depicts always with the nuanced understanding from where it was that Roary came from to get here. Savage's performance never cheats the narrative or the idea behind the character, which I think actually as written it could've been very easy to bungle the character into someone cloying or unbelievable. Savage though effectively finds the effort within the man's arc. This making so many moments really work through his performance. This particularly in Roary romance with one of the bartenders Louise (Diana Scarwid). It's straight forward in execution, but the key moments of this Savage finds the right poignancy just through his expression of it. This particularly his scene of first kissing her as Savage's eyes convey the crippling shyness of the man's manner, before finally breaking through to the man embracing the woman and really life itself in the moment. The film, somewhat unfortunately, snags into more familiar territory, in overly familiar ways, as both Jerry and Louise seem to move on from Roary. Savage to his credit though never really falls into the lesser material himself. He amplifies it still with that off-beat energy of his that always feels true to the part. This as his confrontation moment even with Jerry later on, who has forgotten his friends despite their help, as Savage manages to deliver the scene with a fascinating combination of anger and sadness, but funneled through a kind of manner of curiosity as though Roary is trying to figure out the moment as he's going through it. This in showing the man finding his footing as he's speaking and finds the confidence with the character in the moment in a rather endearing and remarkable way. That is emblematic of Savage's whole performance that avoids the potential contrivances of the script to give a quietly moving and impactful portrayal of a man finding a new path in his life.

Alternate Best Actor 1980: Anthony Quinn in Lion of the Desert

Anthony Quinn did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Omar al-Mukhtar in Lion of the Desert. 

Lion of the Desert is one of only twoish (ish because he really made three films, but two were the same film in a different language with different actors) films by Moustapha Akkad, a man otherwise known only really for being an executive producer of the Halloween franchise. So a classic "huh?" Hollywood story to be sure. Made all the more confusing given this film is a  good, though not great (needed more detail to the supporting characters like a greater Arab war film), epic about Libyan struggle against fascist Italy.

Anthony Quinn stars here in a role that is actually familiar, in some ways, to another turn by Quinn in that other epic, the greater, Lawrence of Arabia. Although both films have Quinn playing Arab leaders attempting to take care of his people. The comparisons stop there though as in "Arabia" he played a loud boisterous and vibrant man, here he plays a quiet dignified one. This as we see him his first scene attending to the people listening to a religious sermon. Quinn speaks in the moment of the man's own views with a quiet grace and care for each word. There is a gentleness within Quinn's delivery and he immediately grants you a sense of his al-Mukhtar as a caring and generous leader. Quinn always has a powerful presence as an actor, and dominating one to be sure, however here he uses that initially more passively. This creating just a sense of the presence of the man but defined by an ease among his people. He is not trying to dominant them he is trying to be with them. This is our starting point as the Italian fascists, with the campaign lead by General Rodolfo Graziani (Oliver Reed), attempt to take over Libya with al-Mukhtaras the man seeming to stand in his way. 

 

Quinn has a great scene once the campaign starts where he uncovers the massacre of his people. Quinn's reaction is deeply affecting here as there is so much empathy within his expression. It is a beautifully tender work in the moment as you feel the weight of the deaths upon his brow and you see that there is nothing more personal than the loss of his people. As he expresses the nature of such brutality, Quinn creates the sense of such a powerful humanity that defines the man. In battle Quinn is interesting in that he doesn't portray some sort of ferocity. There is instead a certain sense of weight within the battle on the man, and a care even then. This in showing the man very much caring more of the meaning of the fight, then at all caring about any glory within the fight. Quinn suggesting a man whose leadership in battle is due to a sense of duty than anything at all personal. This is emphasized so well by an early scene where he attends a failed negotiation with the Italians. Quinn speaking with quiet strength in setting his stakes within the moment. His raising of his vice something so naturally earned as attached to the passion for the rights of his people. 

The negotiation scene is wholly wonderful for Quinn, as he uses every reaction so well. This as there is hearing every word with a careful consideration, and always that sense of a moral sense of what every suggestion is attached to. When he speaks of Graziani, figuring out the Italians plot to delay him, Quinn's delivery is great because he approaches it with a quiet certainty and dismissiveness towards the questionable men he was speaking to. Quinn's screentime is relatively limited, for a leading performance, because the film gives keen focus to the battle scenes, but everyone of his scenes punctuates the film with a necessary power. A later moment is another terrific one where al-Mukhtar explains his position to his fellow Arabs who have surrendered. Quinn's resolute passion is remarkable by how low key yet potent it is. This in his explanation of the betrayal of the surrender given the force they are facing. Quinn once again finding the power in the certainty of the man's words and in his delivery finding a man who earnestly knows the righteousness of his fight therefore cannot be easily deterred even by the true hardships that result from his resolution. 

I think the key to Quinn's performance here actually is how he doesn't try to make al-Mukhtar any sort of supreme leader or some truly extraordinary man in this war. He rather expresses him as a man caring for his people and always burdened by the war he is taking on. In the later war scenes, as the situation gets more dire, he doesn't depict it with a calm resolve. There is the sense in Quinn's eyes of every loss, and the real anxiety of the situation. He doesn't show the man weakening truly, but still shows the effort al-Mukhtar needs to make to continue his fight at every point. Just the brief moments of a real sadness at seeing the death of his men are truly moving as again Quinn presents the innate decency of the cause in such an honest approach. Quinn's performance accentuates a kind of directness that works particularly well for the role given we don't dive too deeply beyond a certain point here. We get more so the generalizations than some of the more detailed specifics within the characters, something that again made Lawrence a great film. Quinn's work though does make up for this limitation to a degree by creating the right nuance within the depiction of a man standing up for what he believes to the very end. This as even with his final confrontation with Graziani, Quinn, who certainly never hesitates to go big when he sees fit, takes a simple yet effective approach. This in creating a dignified portrait of al-Mukhtar as a leader who states his position, and lives with it. His ease with it, being an expression of  the man wholly seeing his stance as an absolute truth.

Alternate Best Actor 1980: Naseeruddin Shah in Sparsh

Naseeruddin Shah did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Aniruhd Parmar in Sparsh.  

Sparsh is a moving understated film about the troubled romance between a blind principal and a social worker...except *insert standard Louis Bollywood musical number statement*.  

Naseeruddin Shah takes on the role of a blind principal for a school for children who are also blind. We discover Shah’s initial performance that is defined initially by a quiet kind of grace. Shah’s work has a kind of ease and understated warmth about the man. This as we initially meet him essentially trying to recruit a social worker Kavita (Shabana Azmi) to his school. Shah’s delivery of his kind of “pitch” for his work and his school, is a potent combination of a kind of ease within the sentiment, but also a distinct passion for his work. There’s a type of richness in his expression of a man with this sincere appreciation for his career and his method of helping others with his own condition. What Shah’s performance does so well in these early scenes, other than establishing a likable protagonist, is also the experience of the man in this position and as a blind man. There is a comfort in his manner just in this speaking towards his profession and his thoughts. There is no unnatural emphasis, just a sincere delivery of a man speaking from an honest truth that defines the man’s personal passion. 

We see the operations of the school, where Shah expresses the comfort of self in these interactions and experience. We see a man whose blindness does not define him, or at least it appears to not, even as he works specifically within the world of the blind. A crack within this, which I wouldn’t say as a facade more of a specific parameter of comfort, though is found in a moment where Kavita attempts to help Parmar pour his tea. Shah’s delivery of the quick snap at her sharply saying he can do the task himself before returning back to his more affable smile. Shah’s delivery of these moments is essential in revealing the character and crafting depth to the role. Shah’s portrayal of the moment is rather instinctual. It is quick and without hesitation. This isn't really out of character with the affable man we see otherwise. That affable man though has that comfort where Kavita treating him as a blind man changes that dynamic. Shah’s reactions suggest the years of wishing to be treated as any person and not specifically as a blind man in need of help. As harsh as the moment appears he shows a man who has strives for a kind of normalcy, and whenever that is questioned, it is returned to the man on an earlier path in that journey.

This rough patch though seems to be partially satiated as he and Kavita grow closer. Shah and Azmi have a wonderful rather unfussy kind of chemistry. This as there is just a sort of ease in their connection in these moments. There is a sense of care and just really love in these moments of speaking to one another. What strikes through these moments like a sharp whip though is whenever Parmar's abilities as a man are questioned, not by Kavita but anyone around them. These are again portrayed as severe snaps by Shah's delivery that slowly allude to a real desperation created from the man's main vulnerability that leaves him without the innate confidence and comfort he so seeks. This slowly becoming a kind of festering element within the relationship. Shah emphasizes effectively the sense of it as a kind of hanging cloud over the relationship. This as Shah naturally shows the real flaw within the man as he's not completely comfortable within himself, even as he presents so honestly the better qualities of the man when he does have that comfort. What we see though is a natural exploration of the way this relationship, where his blindness frequently comes up, sort of forces this vulnerability out of him that would likely have been more easily hidden under different circumstances. 

There is some comfort just by the mere interactions which both actors realize with a natural grace.  This as it is just a given of the feelings between the two even as the circumstances keep them away from it. This even though cannot last Parmar is constantly reminded of basically that vulnerability through every moment of their close relationship. Shah's portrayal than though is a man sort of balancing his priorities in a way in which the man is able to live with in order to be as his best self. This as even as he essentially forces himself away from Kavita romantically, we see this all the greater passion towards his task to teach the blind like himself. This passion that Shah expresses so beautifully with a clam yet precise manner. There is really an unexpected result in all of this, and so much in this is Shah's careful portrayal of this. This in presenting the man's festering vulnerability that is eased while also in a certain easing away from what it is that drew out that vulnerability. Shah's work creates the right sense of the conflicting emotions that suggest both growth and compromise in Parmar. It is a moving performance by Naseeruddin Shah as he never cheats his character's struggle. He rather potently shows it both in terms of the man at his most inspirational and in his greatest difficulties.