Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1979: David Warner in Time After Time

David Warner did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Dr. John Leslie Stevenson aka Jack the Ripper in Time After Time. 

Although it is always with sadness to learn of the death of a great actor, such as was the case with David Warner, I will say it makes me appreciate being able to look back at all his work, including his more obscure fair that maybe I would've never discovered if I had decided to stick to this endeavor, that revealed a truly talented individual with a tremendous range of tone, character, and emotion. An example of a somewhat more obscure fair is Time After Time, again a wonderful time adventure film as we follow H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) tracking down Jack the Ripper. A character who opens the film, as we enter his POV, though hear his voice, a certain someone's a very elegant and regal voice that of course being David Warner. Warner's voice probably has one of the greatest of eases when it comes to crafting menace. Here you can see just the way he accentuates "there" at his soon-to-be victim can suddenly denote ill intention, though a different ill intention that the poor prostitute would think of. Warner though voices the killing with the expected distinct edge before we even see the man. 

We see the man in flesh as one of the guests of H.G. Wells who wishes to show off his newly invented time machine. We see Ripper representing himself as the respectable doctor with a less innately chilling quality within his voice. Warner though still finds this certain lower-key sinister quality as he speaks towards humans as just predator and prey, and there certain weight upon his brow alluding to his secret even as it appears he's perfectly safe within the presence of the other men. The police appearing leaves Jack to make his escape via Wells's time machine, leaving Wells himself to pursue the ripper alone best that he can. Jack reappears as Wells tracks him to a hotel room where we see the ripper much more comfortable than Wells in the 20th century, seeming a man of the 20th century almost entirely. His seeing of Wells with a certain annoyance that Warner reflects even as he speaks almost as slightly admiring if critical friend towards Wells. When Wells walks past him, loves a little bit as Warner grits his teeth revealing the greatest psychotic edge of the character when Wells is not looking. When Wells attempts basically just to kindly ask him to return, Warner brings this bemusement at the suggestion with a disregarding smile towards Wells's innate goodness and Victorian demeanor. Jack states his refusal by showing the violence within the 20th century, where John tells Wells about essentially being at home where Warner delivers this sort of savoring fervor to the moment. Warner portrays this sort of joy in the sense that he's found a new hunting ground that will be most welcoming to him. Warner brings great relish as John states he's gone from a freak to an amateur through time. After this scene, Warner's character moves more towards the background as the film shifts closer to the romantic connection between Wells and a modern bank teller Amy (Mary Steenburgen). There Warner is fantastic in his glimpses of just showing the peering psychotic drive of the ripper. The glimpses of his performance exudes such vile sort of lustful taste for his killings that he depicts as basically this near sexual drive. This building until he takes Amy hostage as he faces off with Wells. And Warner makes for a good straightforward villain in these scenes by just accentuating the fiendishness of his villainy. Warner cuts deep by being so straightforward in the ease of the character's evil as he pesters and plays with Wells to his own satisfaction. The only major flaw I'd say in the film is the ending climax is a bit simple with Wells simply pulling one key too many while the Ripper is in the time machine, sending him off, in not really all that thrilling of climax. Having said that Warner still is terrific in the moment before this as he and Wells have a moment, and Warner's reaction is great in showing that Ripper understands what is about to happen and essentially accepting finally being defeating in this game of "chess". Warner doesn't require that I really write this terrific work, because that really was the expectation of Warner as a performer. He would always come in, and always deliver, in roles big and small, funny and deadly serious, deeply emotional or cold cunning. A performer one could always depend on and it is a shame that we won't get to appreciate any new performances from him. Thankfully his body of work will never fade, and we will always be able to appreciate the man's great talent.