Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1997: J.T. Walsh in Breakdown

J.T. Walsh did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Warren 'Red' Barr in Breakdown. 

Breakdown is a good, though not great, thriller about a man (Kurt Russell) trying to find his wife (Kathleen Quinlan) when she vanishes after taking a ride from a seemingly helpful trucker due to their car breaking down.

 

Of course both husband and wife probably realized their mistake when they saw the friendly trucker was played by J.T. Walsh, the go to heavy from the mid-eighties to the late-nineties where sadly his acting career was sadly cut short due to his untimely death, Breakdown being the last film released during his lifetime. As one of his sendoffs though, this is a good one, and really Walsh's performance is the best aspect of this film. A film that basically is an action remake of The Vanishing in conception. The key to the comparison being Walsh in this role, and even though he is played by Walsh, Walsh is actually quite convincing in initially portraying a seemingly friendly trucker just offering a ride. Walsh nicely doesn't play it with some undermining quality rather earnestly just offers some slightly affable manner as he tries to help the couple best he can, at least so he claims. Obviously this facade is a little less successful when Russell's Jeff catches Red on the road, and along with a cop, presses him for the whereabouts of his wife after she disappears. Walsh switches his performance up just enough in portraying the still affable manner, with his oh so earnest delivery of "I hope you find your wife", but inserts just the right suggestive glances of a man who seems to be hiding something. 

And hiding something he is, though in more ways than one might even expect as old Red is in fact a real rotten bastard who is responsible for Jeff's wife's disappearance along with his gang of sleazy scumbags. They reveal themselves when they catch Jeff and demand a large payment from him, supposedly for his wife's release. Walsh revealing himself  as the villain in a dramatic scene overlooking the nearby secluded town where we get to see Walsh shine in all his glory at doing what he did best, playing just the worst of the worst. Walsh quite artfully amplifies the material by his mere presence that is just so sinister innately. This as Walsh is so perfectly fiendish to the point as he introduces himself to Jeff openly and reveals he has his wife, in as crude a fashion as possible. Walsh though being particularly unsettling by just how businesslike he is in the description of the situation to Jeff. Walsh speaks every word as these cold facts of a man who has done this again and again, and doesn't bat an eye towards his crimes. The scene is technically just exposition of the setup of creating Jeff's situation, but Walsh makes it the proper menacing reveal of the film's true villain with his performance. The ease of how he does it with being what is so remarkable, with I think the essential Walsh combination as he speaks of his evil demands with such ease yet his eyes pierce as a man you instantly recognize is capable of such horrible acts.

Now with just that, this would be a good performance by Walsh, where I think he takes it even further is when Jeff manages to turn the situation around to some degree, ridding himself of a gang member and stowing away on Red's truck as he returns home. Where we find that Red is in fact a loving family man. Walsh here shows that if this was a straight remake of the Vanishing he would've been a great lead for that part as he brings as much conviction in the role as Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu did in that similar role in that earlier film. Walsh brings genuine warmth in the moments where we see him briefly interact with his son and his wife. Walsh shows that with them Red is truly a "loving" man. This making it all the more effectively disturbing as we see that Red and his crew go about just randomly murdering motorists only for the money. The ease of the switch in Walsh's performance as he goes from the family man to the serial killer who just casually devises the death for Jeff's wife as though means absolutely nothing to him. Walsh makes for a terrific villain here though as we get the switch, with again Walsh being a master of conveying pure vile at a moments notice, as an armed Jeff confronts Red, his crew and Red's family at breakfast. One can get an tutorial of great villain acting from Walsh in the moment who goes from the affable man in his jovial face in one moment to the next moment where the villain comes out when Jeff is threatening him. His voice still calm and assuring to his wife, but facing away from her, Walsh fashions the absolutely most perfect of death stares towards Russell. And of course, this is a functional villain part in the film, it isn't about getting into the deep psyche of Red in any way shape or form. It is about just following the beats of the thriller as they progress to their natural climax. Having said that on one end it is easy to appreciate how well Walsh embodies the different shades of the role, but it is also easy to appreciate just how good he is at being a genuine slime ball you can't wait to see get his comeuppance. The highlight of this being when Jeff gets to free his wife, and throughout the moment Walsh is just giving such a fantastic hateful glare towards Russell the whole time as though he's a snake waiting to strike, and then his extremely smug delivery as he attempts to threaten Jeff, who silences him with a particularly satisfying kick to the face. The climax sadly is where things get a bit less interesting in what Walsh gets to do as the film just becomes an over the top cars chase. Although even with that, Walsh still makes for a most despicable villain in the best of ways, with just a bit more depth for good measure, and though this was sadly one of his last turns, it certainly stands as a reminder of a talent that we should've been able to appreciate for much longer than we were able to.