Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2000: Joaquin Phoenix in The Yards

Joaquin Phoenix did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Willie Gutierrez in The Yards. 

The Yards is James Gray's Mean Streets I suppose, though it might owe the most to On the Waterfront, this about the seemingly more level headed, recently released ex-con, Leo (Mark Wahlberg), who gets deeper into the criminal level due to his more unpredictable friend Willie (Joaquin Phoenix). Superior to his Little Odessa, particularly in what can be admired, though also similar it doesn't quite match its seeming ambitions. 

 

Now a flaw right off the bat in the film is found in the imbalance in the central casting, much like We Own the Night, where Joaquin Phoenix is in another league from Mark Wahlberg, though I think Wahlberg is better here overall. Phoenix, in what is both his banner and breakout year, delivers his best performance from his trio of turns in the 2000's. This as Phoenix delivers a fully confident performance here in the role of Willie, a criminal with certain ambitions who we initially meet as Leo's friend who is more than eager to get the man back into the life. Phoenix delivers the right confidence here inherent for such character and needed to convey his stature, or attempted stature within the life. Phoenix has that natural bravado and just manner of the man seemingly within his state, unlike Wahlberg's Leo who seems somewhat out of place, both intentionally and to a degree unintentionally. This is exacerbated by Willie's girlfriend being Leo's cousin Erica (Charlize Theron), who Leo is obviously in love with since Gray like many dramatists is clearly from Shelbyville. 

Phoenix though delivers what you would want from a character like Willie, and in many ways suggests his most potent elements as a performer that he would call on far more regularly in his most recent and remarkable efforts. That side of Phoenix though is here, though I think really realized in a fascinating way here as Willie because he does not make it the initial basic state. In fact he does create enough of a likability as the friend initially, there is enough of a charm he brings and just attempted endearing manner as he pulls Leo back into things. Phoenix delivers that vibrancy of the character and you get a real sense of the wannabe gangster in every moment. This in that you do believe his relationship with Erica beyond vanity, and even with it with Leo beyond that point. Although Phoenix doesn't hide the obvious bad influence that is Willie, he also wholly convinces us of his appeal. This as the little grin that Phoenix brings is just the sense of status as he makes every deal, but in his eyes though there is the further ambition that drives Willie. This quickly driving Willie to kill an associate at a rail-yard, while Leo gets accosted by a cop leading him to become accidentally the center point of the investigation, and here we get perhaps the bread and butter of modern Phoenix.

Phoenix of course doesn't disappoint in revealing the killer edge in hectoring the railway worker, in fact we see why he is such a tremendous talent in the moment. This delivering that incredible intensity of his with such ease, and in turn showing us the vicious edge of Willie without exception. Phoenix though goes further though in the nuance of the moment though showing as much as his killer intent is natural for Willie, in his eyes there is the sense of fear really with having gone beyond the pale. This made clearer in his conversation with Leo shortly afterwards over the phone, where Phoenix's delivery of screen is really masterful in that he grants this kind of perfunctory conviction in explaining the killing, while also still conveying the cracks in Willie's confidence as this criminal. Phoenix is wholly captivating in creating this conflict within the character, and in a way makes Wahlberg's performance's limitations all the more obvious. This as Leo's conflict seems so thin, while Phoenix just brings us this wholly tangible man in this situation from every moment. This as Phoenix never lets a scene merely be, as each moment he keeps alive the history of Willie's mistake from there on. I particularly love a tender moment he shares with Erica shortly afterwards, as Phoenix says barely anything yet you wholly understand the tensions just wearing down his face as Erica speaks of the future, and Willie can only think of the immediate present. 

Where an obvious flaw of the film comes in is as we follow between Leo and Willie both dealing with the fallout of the night, and one is absolutely captivating, while the other is less so. Sadly the former is less focused upon, nonetheless Phoenix steals the film wholesale in creating Willie's journey as he deals with his murder and tries to keep himself up within the situation. This is to the point that the success of a given scenes is maybe a little too dependent on whether or not Phoenix is in it. This is as Phoenix is so gripping in creating the complexity of the man who is largely morally onerous, yet not entirely. It is in that gray area (No pun intended), where he makes Willie such a compelling figure here. This as every point, including when the heat moves to Leo from him, Phoenix speaks as the man compromising however he never makes it so easy within his physical performance. Phoenix conveys the fear, the weakness, but also the actual concern in the man. His falling apart and turning on Leo, particularly as his relationship with Erica is revealed more obviously to him, I think honestly could've seemed more pedestrian if not for Phoenix's consistently potent work here. Phoenix as much as he in the end is playing the villain, never portrays him as such. His final moments of showing the man completely falling into despair within where his actions have left are genuinely heartbreaking. This is due to Phoenix's complex work that creates a detailed sense of this man. His flaws most certainly but also the humanity behind that weakness.