Alternate Best Actor 2009: Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy

Aaron Taylor-Johnson did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying John Lennon in Nowhere Boy. 

Nowhere Boy depicts the early life of John Lennon ending just before the official forming of The Beatles. 

Taking on a role of a famous individual is always difficult, more difficult is perhaps when they have very specific mannerisms and an accent. That is certainly the case for John Lennon, however, Aaron Taylor-Johnson's performance has a little bit of an out, in that he is only depicting pre-fame Lennon, which gives a needed leeway in terms of finding the character before he kind has become the man that we "know". In fact, you wouldn't necessarily think that Taylor-Johnson is playing John Lennon at all in the early scenes of the film, he could be any ole' English schoolboy in the 50s. And I actually think this is the right approach, and nicely sort of doesn't perform to expectation nor does he sort of do the classical, and often hackneyed, allusions towards the future success. He isn't someone who envisions his fame at his age, he's just a bit of a rebellious, underachieving teenager, who has an interest in rock 'n' roll. Speaking of expectation, Taylor-Johnson is an actor who I often am rather mixed on, however, what seems to benefit him is staying far from a plain American accent, which seems to enforce a blandness on him, and if he's working with a bit more substance within the part. Thankfully that is the case for Lennon, who while he's not the Beatle he will eventually be, there is a lot going on with him as a young teenager, right from the start as he lives with his Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott-Thomas) and Uncle, not his mother. Initially, we get a good sense of the loving relationship he has with his Uncle and his tough love relationship with his Aunt, and I do quite like how much innocence that Taylor-Johnson brings in these moments. He's very childlike in these moments, without being broad about it, rather he effectively shows sort of the playful relationship he had growing up with Uncle, and creates a moving sincerity in these early moments, while also setting up Lennon as still the boy in some respects. 

When his Uncle suddenly dies, Taylor-Johnson is very moving actually in just the simplicity of the scene in showing the boy dealing with the loss, and we do contrast this against the rebel we see in school. Something that I like is that he doesn't overplay Lennon, showing him more wayward with a bit of rebellion and more than anything not at all focused on that world. He's effective, particularly in showing what eventually be a more pronounced anti-establishment streak though only budding. Taylor-Johnson in these moments brings enough confidence but still the confidence of a teenager. Speaking of contrasting that again is in John's relationship with his actual mother Julia (Anne-Marie Duff), who has a whole family away from John, though is very eager to try to create a relationship with him. Julia is the polar opposite of her sister, though consistent in that they do both care about John, however, Mimi is duty bound while Julia has, fittingly I suppose, is a "All You Need is Love". Julia comes on as strong as possible, to the point it is very easy to read almost incestuous qualities towards her son with just the intensity of her and her eagerness to speak so frankly about sex to him. Again I really like how Taylor-Johnson plays John in these scenes. Bringing this eagerness to connect and a real striking earnest sense of a son wanting his mom. Though really when she is more overt, Taylor-Johnson is effective by becoming more so the boy in these moments, and his reactions are awkward bordering on even fearful at times. Taylor-Johnson effectively shows John is not sure what to do with his mom's intensity, and even more so expresses potently the shyness of the young man as he seems the odd man out when with her "new" family. And where I think Taylor-Johnson excels in these moments is forgetting any notion of playing John Lennon, and instead powerfully articulating this struggle of a young man's shattered home life. 

The place where John of course finds confidence is in music. And I think Taylor-Johnson is terrific in the moments of just talking about the music with this sincere eagerness and engagement. He shows well a distinct solace in this part of his life, as someone who can hold onto something with such sincerity and striking simplicity. We see this only expand and we see this one place where he connects more with Julia more overtly, who encourages his love of his music and encourages his playing of music. There I like Taylor-Johnson creating this realistic sense of a young man just learning an instrument at times, while also strongly invoking the passion that fuels him. Of course, all of this goes on a fast track when he meets Paul McCartney, a poorly cast Thomas Brodie-Sangster, where Taylor-Johnson is hardly a dead ringer for Lennon but at least is in a stratosphere of type, Brodie-Sangster is in an alternate universe, also I'm sorry, he's not a bad actor but from everything I've seen he's very much a "kinda there" actor. I bring all that up because I do think there is a missed opportunity in creating a true sense of brotherhood between the two, mainly because one half is underwhelming. Though, again I do like what Taylor-Johnson brings as he just lights up when the two talk music, and you see the spark of genuine inspiration. Again I think he makes the right choice in not overdoing this though to show suddenly a master, but rather creates the sense of a growing confidence towards someone who become a legend. He's not a legend yet, and Taylor-Johnson brings just the right indication of the growth toward something greater than himself. 

And as the film progresses I think Taylor-Johnson does something pretty effective which is slowly becoming more specific in his manner and leaning towards the famous version of Lennon. He starts sounding more like him, his physical manner becoming closer, though I think he makes the right choices to make it quite natural and never feels like an imitation. He gradually does it and for me, I just wholly accepted it. Again he's not Lennon of the Beatles, but he is as wholly convincing as Lennon before the Beatles. Now also in the last act is when the film gets more melodramatic, to be fair, much of the main broad strokes of the story are true in terms of his mother and aunt, and even the rather traumatic death of the former. I would say the directing Taylor-Johnson is at its weakest when she really has a tendency to want to pull as much emotion out of the situation and probably going a bit quieter at times, and leaning more so on her performers would've been more ideal. And to their credit, I think they do deliver as extreme as the moments get, I did think Taylor-Johnson is effectively moving in bringing back often really the troubled boy behind it all in these moments and I feel earns leaning so strongly into the emotions in these scenes. They are messy, and I think rightfully so as he shows someone who at this point cannot really reckon with them fully, and in a way, Taylor-Johnson shows the wounds that won't probably ever fully heal in John even as he matures in other areas. And perhaps a bit to my surprise, though I have liked Taylor-Johnson in other performances, I found this a rather winning performance overall. One that isn't a definitive depiction, but is one that successfully creates a strong sense of the humble beginnings of a legendary journey. 

Alternate Best Actor 2009: Ben Whishaw in Bright Star

Ben Whishaw did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying John Keats in Bright Star. 

Bright Star depicts the romance between the poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). A film I must admit I more so appreciated, particularly in terms of the aesthetic, than I loved or fully connected with. 

Ben Whishaw plays the poet John Keats, and is ideally cast as Whishaw just has that particular look of the suffering poet innately in his presence. Whishaw's manner is consistent in crafting the innate sense of illness with the man who is ever dying from tuberculosis and is ever in pain from that. Whishaw merely wears it within his physical performance and you just are always granted the sense of the man being unwell. That is both in terms of the overt, but also just the sense of a man conditioned to pain. There is a meekness within Whishaw's performance not of a man retiring from life but rather constantly suffering from it. This is only amplified by the man who exists in a kind of purgatory as an unappreciated poet by most. And in Whishaw's performance again he speaks as a man who is certain in his own belief in his words but is uncertain in terms of having his place within the world. When he speaks of the critical reaction to his work, which often is hostile, Whishaw speaks matter of factly, but there is this almost learned dejection in this man. Whishaw coveys a man who cannot believe in the dream, rather he just exists in the ever-constant sense of failure of some sort. He's careful to project a man not writhing in it, but rather existing in it, where there lies the tragedy because there is this degree of acceptance that in a way seems as crushing as his physical ailments. 

The focal point of the film is his relationship with Fanny which is a relationship built upon by words of the two individuals, in a time of sort of an innately repressed state of mind between people. Their conversations are designed to be revealing and that is where the performances of Whishaw and Cornish are most key. Because a lot of what is said between the two of them is very much alluding to something more, or perhaps commenting on something else, and what the performers have to do is create connection within the conversation, even when the conversations are separate from that connection in some ways. Whishaw and Cornish excel in this particularly as the chemistry isn't what one would describe as "red hot" in the modern sense. They are both very subdued in their interactions yet it is within the subtle way we see them respond to one another where there is so much spoken within the lines they utter to one another. There is a life that both develop in their eyes that seems to reveal itself in every conversation, and in every conversation, there seems to be more within each of them that makes them that much more whole. While I'm not entirely sure, for me, the film got over the tremendous hump of making writing cinematic, which is always a difficult task, where the film did succeed was finding where words speak even more than what they represent, by what is going on within the person that is speaking them. 

Within the scheme of the film the two are tremendous in creating a connection every time they speak to one another, whether or not is in more public situations, particularly when around Keats's friend, the somewhat roguish Charles Brown (Paul Schneider), or when they are at their most intimate. In each subsequent conversation the connection builds between the two, and while their demeanor doesn't change vastly the small intimate changes in their work allude to far more in their relationship. The interludes between these moments still often connect them as we see Keats write his romantic poems which Whishaw recites quite beautifully with the right spiritual sense that defines the man as so quietly believing in every word he grants to the woman he loves. And with the love that is created between the two Cornish and Whishaw remarkably find the power within the confines of the period of repression. Their moment, which is the closest scene to a consummation overtly, is powerful in the way the two go as far as they can in the embrace and seeing where each has come from in this different kind of courting, is quite wonderful to see the two explore as they do. Even as it moves towards tragedy they succeed in making the emotion within the muted qualities of this world and create effectively the potent sense of this relationship even within the confines of the societal expectations of the time. 

Alternate Best Actor 2009: Ben Foster in The Messenger

Ben Foster did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying SSG Will Montgomery in The Messenger. 

The Messenger follows a recently returned Iraq war veteran assigned to a casualty notification team. 

Ben Foster stars in one of his better films where he is the lead, which unfortunately is a bit too rare, as the returned vet, who we open with as he is undergoing recovery from having been injured in Iraq, though he is very much alive and physically able. Foster is innately a performer who can allude to much without saying much because he has that intensity which is almost always an asset to his performances. As Will that is a great asset as the moment we see Foster, his eyes, not even considering the wound, denote someone who has been through a great deal. The character though as we see it stands firm in himself and is a soldier through and through. Foster presents this clash effectively as the man who has a lot of chaos going on beneath the surface, and who keeps a straight face while doing so. Foster creates the sense of the man just keeping it inside and going about it as he does. We see this all the more quickly, as he meets up with his old flame Kelly (Jena Malone), where they have sex and reconnect despite the fact that she has moved on to another man. Foster's performance in these scenes again denotes the surface against the truth within, as he delivers his lines with enough of a sense of accommodation as he just goes along with her choices and also his choices of the two not being together. Meanwhile though on the just underlying accentuates there is some sardonic energy, and also some hurt even as he smiles in his jests against the man she is going to marry soon. 

The film shifts into Will's professional story as he is teamed up with a career Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), to perform the terrible duty of informing the loved ones of recently deceased soldiers. This is where the film is really the most successful and most powerful. And Foster's performance is excellent in these scenes and is highlighted within his work as a performer. He's great even in the scene where Stone takes the lead for the first one, and Foster's internalized sense of anxiety at the severity of the situation is powerful in itself, creating such a sense of discomfort and the reactionary empathy of the man seeing the grief. In the second one with a father who becomes hostile at the news, Foster is amazing in the scene by portraying the strict front of the soldier just trying to deliver the news as professionally as possible, not completely without care, but also cold in the sense of still just trying to follow the procedure as set out by the military. Foster though shows subtly in each moment the real heartbreak going on through Will's mind but is holding it all together best he can as it is going on. Every one of these moments is a standout in the film and just incredibly moving in just how blunt the moments are of painful grief. Foster along with Harrelson is tremendous in showing the real severity of every single message that must be relayed, and Foster does terrific work in showing the moments of Will attempting to show more empathy when he can. Making a natural progression to a man just trying to represent his genuine care as best as he can. 

Re-watching the film again after many years, I think my feelings have remained similar where the notification scenes are great, but the rest of the film gets a little rambly at times even somewhat cliched at the very least in conception. One such instance of this is when Will becomes involved with one of the women he informed of her husband's death, Olivia (Samantha Morton), who was a bit oddly accommodating when hearing the news. This progression is actually fairly obvious however what does make it work though is through the performances of Foster and Morton. They are both on point consistently in creating this low-key sense of solace they find between each other, and Foster moving on from his girlfriend and trying to find any connection with someone else. He is terrific in the moments of quietly revealing a bit more of himself as he tells her more of the truth about what is going on within him. And they manage not to make it into an obvious romance either in terms of lust or love. Rather what they do manage to do in each of their scenes together is create this sense of understanding through two people who have been through trauma. In conception, it could've faltered, but it works thanks to Foster and Morton. They manage to create honesty within a cliched situation, and in doing alleviate the cliché in a way by making two actual people in this situation. 

Where I find the film to be most rambling though are the scenes with Tony, as they go out drinking and just get into various situations fueled by drink, including going into Olivia's wedding to make a bit of a ruckus. I'll say these scenes do fall a bit more overtly into Indie cliché and often are pretty repetitive. Foster is consistently good in these scenes to be sure, oftentimes just kind of uncomfortable in the wake of Tony's antics as someone who truly has no idea how to deal with the trauma of his job. Foster though is more than decent as the facilitating and somewhat conflicting sidekick often in the situation. Even in the big wedding scene, which I might hate at a concept level, Foster certainly delivers on his end of playing what the man has been hiding away in full view in a bit of mania. More powerful in this regard, and more naturally realized, is when Will reveals what really caused his injuries in war, which was accidentally putting a friend in harm's way. Foster is great in this scene in truly revealing all the vulnerability of the man, and just letting the emotions and pains out in the moment. He naturally goes from a man telling the tale to just living it again and shows the searing heartbreak that is really beneath the man's tough exterior. Although the film itself is a mix of greatness, and far from that, Foster is dialed in during every scene and gives a consistently captivating portrayal of a man trying to come to terms of the impact of war at the most basic human level.  

Alternate Best Actor 2009: Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man

Michael Stuhlbarg did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Lawrence "Larry" Gopnick in A Serious Man.

A Serious Man follows a Jewish professor in Minnesota dealing with several strains all at once. 

A Serious Man very much is the spiritual successor to Barton Fink, in terms of the Coen Brothers using a very clearly established Jewish protagonist and dealing with a very cerebral story. While there are of course many differences between these stories, most notably perhaps the setting from the theoretical glitz and glamor of Hollywood against the mundanity of the suburbs in the 60s. The protagonists of Larry and Barton though are similar men in terms of trying to figure out what is going on around them however the essential difference is Barton is doing so through creative storytelling whereas Larry is dealing with Math. And in that sense there lies the pivotal difference in these stories of a kind of need but failure to find answers, and we see this in the performance of Michael Stuhlbarg in his breakout role. Stulhbarg begins the film very much as an average man of any sort, even if in a specific job and a specific religion. It's very much an inviting performance, more so than John Turturro as the extremely insecure Barton, as Stuhlbarg's work doesn't seek to separate Larry from the viewer, even if some traits Larry the viewer may not share. We see him go about his job as a professor and Stuhlbarg brings an unfussy likability to the part. He's not trying to charm anyone, but he's charming enough as just an average guy you might run into. There are no extra mannerisms, no obvious fixation, just a man going about his day and teaching about a dead cat. 

The troubles of Larry seem to almost immediately begin as a foreign student asks Larry for a higher grade, despite not successfully completing the work. Stuhlbarg's performance in this scene really accentuates Larry as fair enough in accentuating the why for the low grade and just trying to explain that anything more would be unfair. He's not at all pompous or pushy about it, he's just trying to explain his position as clearly as he can, albeit if slightly awkward just from the situation. And Stuhlbarg brings really what is likability just through the lack of pretension about Larry in this moment and emphasis the man trying to deal with the situation as clearly as he can. Even when answering a cryptic call from one of the most aggravating cinematic villains of Sy Abelman (Fred Melamed), Stuhlbarg's reaction is just of slight confusion before discovering the student left a high monetary bribe, which Stuhlbarg's immediate reaction of distress about sets up Larry as a pretty straightforward man. Although these first couple of scenes might seem small, they are important in that Stuhlbarg shows us the content enough man before what is going to befall him. The man who is easy enough to sympathize if not empathize with, creates a complete lack of barriers again, regardless if one lives in Minnesota or is of the Jewish faith. One can easily like Larry as Stuhlbarg establishing him as an average if technically specific, man. 

Although this is when the crumbling begins and Stuhlbarg's performance begins as a hilarious straight-man performance, while hilarious, also never less than very human as we see him deal with his family. Some matters do seem minor, whether it is his children fighting over their mutual pilfering of Larry's money for various ends, his son's constant demand that his dad fixes the tv antenna so that way he'll be able to watch F-Troop, or his older unemployed brother (Richard Kind) always seemingly taking up extra room in various parts of the house  These seemingly minor, though they do add up, where Stuhlbarg's has a great quiet sense of just taking it all in with every reaction, though initially just with kind of a slightly longer breath goes about taking care of what he can and exist around with what he has to. What is less easy to deal with is as his wife announces to him that she wants a divorce that way she can marry Sy Abelman. Stuhlbarg's reaction here is more fundamental in his disbelief and his trying to keep it calm yet just exuding sudden anxiety. Stuhlbarg's wonderful in his ability to kind of create the insanity of being sane at the moment, of trying to be reasonable in what is not all that reasonable of a situation. Stuhlbarg shows the man was genuinely taken aback by it all and what is humorous, though also still very easy to emphasize, is the modesty of the reaction, which isn't unemotional, rather this sort of societal shield of not getting upset, because that is what is expected of him. 

Unfortunately for poor Larry, those troubles only add on top of each other, and in the first meeting between Larry, his wife, and Sy, we get an extra dose of torture. As not only are they essentially flaunting the affair in front of his face, though they both are so good at ensuring that nothing inappropriate has gone on, they are also almost patronizing as they make suggestions for Larry including asking Larry to sleep at a local motel rather than his own home. Stuhlbarg's exceptional in this scene because I love how with everything Sy says, Stuhlbarg's delivery is of true befuddlement in the face of such a man, who can be so courteous while in the act of cuckolding him, though with his wife Stuhlbarg begins to display the first sharp edges in Larry, such as the pent up frustration when he insists he'll see a lawyer as she's been demanding. A pivotal, and brilliant moment, in Stuhlbarg's performance as he suggests that his wife simply move in with Sy, which Stuhlbarg delivers with the perfect modest "well obvious" type delivery, which the reaction of the two is complete horror at the suggestion, which Stuhlbarg's reaction of Larry's own disbelief is pure gold. Stuhlbarg shows really the armor of the serious man falls away as he tries to deal with what are these personal attacks, that are presented with such pleasantries. 

Larry's life though only continues to spiral and Stuhlbarg is our navigator through every moment. Some are minor in their subdued comedy, like his befuddlement in observing his aggressively AHHHmerican neighbors who are leaning on his land and constantly playing the same game of catch over and over again. His quietly lusty glances towards another neighbor who sunbathes in the nude and is fairly welcoming when Larry perhaps gives in to some lesser impulses of hers. Or the continued behavior of his brother, who is first caught gambling, then later soliciting a man, and in every and each of these Stuhlbarg quietly finds just the right reaction to amplify each moment as this man just taking it all in as he can. What he's less able to just take in is the constant more extreme barrage upon him, with his financial strain as he must use lawyers or even more so his inability to find any help for his concerns by talking to his local rabbis, two who give him only more uncertainty, and one who refuses to speak with him. Stuhlbarg is exceptional in just taking it all in and becoming this ball of frustration that slowly becomes more and more tense. I love especially his conversation with a pushy record scam company, where Stuhlbarg launches in both confusion and emotional desperation after he attempts to talk about the situation after having been in a car accident. Stuhlbarg begins to let more and more out in his pent frustration, and from where we start there is a real punch to each and everyone, both comedic and emotional as Larry begins to crumble. 

And what is this story if not of uncertainty, which Stuhlbarg presents as a man trying and often failing to reason with life. And unlike Barton from Coens' previous venture into the life of the mind, we have a man who calculates rather than creates and it is hard to make an equation work with these variables. And all this is very funny to see the reaction to this madness, to only become more frustrated by the lack of answers and continued insanity, however, what I love about Barton Fink and this film, is as much as the men are going through a ringer, there is never a true detachment in this process. This is essential and brought forth most strongly by the central performances. Throughout the film there are moments where we do get maybe a little bit of solace, or just maybe some comfort in humanity, when Larry is truly experiencing family, and not as some hostile group. Take the moment where he talks to his sister, where Stuhlbarg brings a quiet tenderness in this scene of trying to figure it out. Or the, although it's a dream, scene where he sends his brother off to Canada, Stuhlbarg suggests some honest comfort in this familial connection. Most of all though we have the near-climactic Bar Mitzvah for his son, where Stuhlbarg's reaction is great at the sincerity of the love and joy we do see in Larry as he just can enjoy this brief moment in his life. Stuhlbarg creates an essential heart within it all, to make this a portrait that is in part darkly comic as we just see the building of every woe, but also very much giving an honest life to the human condition of trying to figure out what it all means.