Tuesday 23 January 2024

Best Supporting Actor 2023: Sterling K. Brown in American Fiction

Sterling K. Brown received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Clifford "Cliff" Ellison in American Fiction. 

The reliable Brown, plays the role of Cliff the brother of Jeffrey Wright's Thelonius "Monk" Ellison, who we are first introduced after the surprise death of their sister and we essentially cut into Brown at the ceremony of getting rid of her ashes, where Brown basically has to sum of the nature of his performance in short succession in a single scene. We first see the grief well portrayed by Brown as he listens to the eulogy by his brother, written by his sister, and then when disposing of the ashes a neighbor complains leaving both brothers to admonish the man. Admonish though in a very comedic way, where Brown instantly shifts to the state we'll see as the typical mode of Cliff with a quiet dismissive exasperation as he yells out his insults as though that is his natural state. We follow that as he and Monk talk things over after the funeral. Brown and Wright have strong chemistry because you do sense in their interactions both the distance and connection of brothers. The distance in their differing lives and the relationship with their father and family, where you see in Brown a callous indifference and a very blunt delivery towards it all. He's not hollow, not completely heartless, but in Brown's eyes is a man who wants to be past, well, the past. Where we see connection is actually when the two insult each other for different reasons, often petty, but it's played nicely as at the end of every insult and every reaction Brown shows a little smile and you are granted the sense of their history actually within the conflict.

Brown comes in and out of the film, mostly for quick scenes of comedy where he is often presented as the challenger of Monk's state of superiority by being a much more callous voice of maybe not reason, certainly cynicism but also sometimes reality. Brown mixes petulance with honesty in his performance that contains a definite comedic quality in the ease with which he broaches these moments but in his eyes there is an intensity speaking towards some sense of what's really going on inside him. And what that is that Cliff is a divorced plastic surgeon and in fact a gay man, who never came out to his father, and his mother with dementia also does not recall this. And we have a key moment of this when we see a greater warmth in Brown's work as he dances with his mother, before she brings up a dismissive remark towards his homosexuality, and Brown storms off. His portrayal of this is almost a falling into a base dismay as the state the man just is simply used to and almost expects it with an ire, but an ire he always couches in cynical humor. We get the heart of this in a key conversation with Monk where the two discuss where they are in their lives and both let their guards down a bit. And Brown is good in easing into a quiet vulnerability in his eyes when he notes the unfortunate fact that his father never knew or accepted the real him, and it is a moving moment of Brown naturally revealing the hurt son behind all the one liners. And that is much of what Brown does here is to provide contrast to Wright's Monk and more frequently criticism in a few scenes, that is comedic but with an emotional core. Brown delivers on both sides and is a good scene partner for Wright. I do wish though the writing behind some of his one liners was a little stronger and maybe there was a bit more meat in certain sections such as a minor subplot involving their family housekeeper where Cliff treats her as nothing but she treats him as family. An idea with potential but literally handled by two lines in the film. But to Brown's credit he's good at portraying sort of the blithe indifference of the first line and then the caught off guard emotional realization of the second. And on the comedic side I kind of wish Brown had gotten into the satire of Monk’s phony book for more than just one brief scene at the end of the film, where we get a quick mildly amusing back and forth between brothers, which does show progression as we know see no direct callousness and bit more just overt warmth between the two even if they're still insulting one another. But with all these wishes I might have, this is still a good performance, that truly is supporting, as we see Cliff support the main story of Monk/Wright effectively throughout thanks to Brown's performance. A performance that carries the humor and heartache of the character with relative ease, even if perhaps I wish there was a little more of the former and maybe just a little more depth to the latter.

43 comments:

Aryan Varma said...

1. Downey
2. Ruffalo
3. De Niro
4. Gosling
5. Brown

Mitchell Murray said...

1. De Niro
2. Downey
3. Ruffalo
4. Gosling
5. Brown

Emi Grant said...

I've only seen Brown in American Crime Story, and while there may have been a chance for an all-timer line-up here, it's always good seeing a respected actor getting their due. I'm interested to see how American Fiction will rank for me.

Deiner said...

I'm also changing my predictions:
1. Robert Downey Jr.
2. Mark Ruffalo
3. Robert De Niro
4. Ryan Gosling
5. Sterling K. Brown

Matt Mustin said...

Always good, this guy. Love to see him finally nominated.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Brown is good in everything I've seen him in, loved his guest spot in the best episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and his great performance in American Crime Story. I'm yet to see American Fiction, but I'm definitely intrigued.

Calvin Law said...

Loved him and would go higher, but I'm glad you liked him at least, and just very satisfying to see him as an Oscar nominee.

Calvin Law said...

I'm gonna say it, a lot of the discourse about Barbie missing out in certain categories is bafflingly annoying.

Matt Mustin said...

Oh, I get it Thelonious Monk. Ha ha.

Mitchell Murray said...

Emi: I first remember seeing Brown in a couple early episodes of "Supernatural". Past that, I do specifically remember him from "The People v. O.J. Simpson" and "Black Panther". I still haven't seen "Waves" or "This Is Us", though, which are reportedly strong showings.

Outside of his film work, I just like the man's vibe. He's generally struck me as a very genuine and passionate person. Side notes: His Hotwings video is hilarious, but also his Finding Your Roots episode I found quite moving. This kind of nomination seems to follow the likes of Brian Tyree Henry last year, or Jesse Plemons before that; You have a well liked and consistent actor, whose worked with a variety of performers and filmmakers across many genres. So when the right movie comes along and they give yet another good piece of work, you congratulate him. I don't know if theres someone he could've been swapped out for, but I'm confident I'll like this performance when I eventually watch it.

Bryan L. said...

Tahmeed: Seeing Samberg & Brown go at it in B99 was a joy to watch, from a pure-acting standpoint.

Bryan L. said...

1. Downey Jr.
2. De Niro
3. Ruffalo
4. Gosling
5. Brown

Emi Grant said...

Actually, I'm gonna change my prediction ever so slightly

1. De Niro
2. Ruffalo
3. Downey Jr.
4. Gosling
5. Brown

8000S said...

Louis: What do you think of Norman Stansfield and Terrence McDonagh as present roles for James Cagney?

Ytrewq Wertyq said...

1. Downey
2. De Niro
3. Ruffalo
4. Gosling
5. Brown

Mitchell Murray said...

Also, it's a random note I know, but for any gamers here I finally started playing 2018's "God of War" (I'm about 1 hour in).

In a word - stunning.

In three words - grand, stirring and crisp.

Lucas Saavedra said...

1. Downey
2. Ruffalo
3. De Niro
4. Gosling
5. Brown

Omar Franini said...

1. Downey Jr.
2. De Niro
3. Ruffalo
4. Gosling
5. Brown

8000S said...

Mitchell: If you want to know trivia about two of the eight Republicans that supported Ted Kennedy's universal health care bill, here's two.

Jacob Javits, a Republican from New York, was the first person to coin the term "Medicare for All", and John Sherman Cooper, who was from Kentucky, was a mentor for Mitch McConne.

8000S said...

*Mitch McConnell

Michael Patison said...

Appreciate the love for a solid, dependable actor. Just wish it hadn’t come at the expense of more deserving performances.

The Box episode of Brooklyn 99 is still the best work he’s ever done.

RatedRStar said...

I just realised whoever loses Best Actress out of Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon will lose all 11/10 of their nominations.

Luke Higham said...

Shame if Poor Things breaks the record.

RatedRStar said...

Luke: It'll tie the record, Color Purple and Turning Point both got 11.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: Nevermind, I thought it was 10.

Louis Morgan said...

8000's:

He certainly has the intensity and potential mania for both roles.

RatedRStar:

While it sadly will probably lose PD to Barbie, I do think Poor Things can take costumes.

Anonymous said...

RatedRStar: I still think Poor Things has a chance at Costumes and Production Design. KOTFM though, yeah don't see what that would win outside of Gladstone.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

I knew all hell would break loose when Gerwig got 'snubbed' for Director, but I didn't expect people to react the way they have for Robbie.

Oliver Menard said...

The reaction from film audiences over the 'snubs' of Robbie and Gerwig and completely overlooking a stellar Director lineup really shows where their heads are at. You know next to none of them have watched The Zone of Interest, Anatomy of a Fall and likely even the others. If only Gosling was also 'snubbed' in favor of Melton. Anyways predictions.

1. Ruffalo
2. De Niro
3. Downey Jr
4. Gosling
5. Brown

Emi Grant said...

Oliver: I wholheatedly agree with your point, but tbf almost no one has watched The Zone of Interest, lol.

8000S said...

Louis: I don't really want to make this all about which film is superior, IAWL or TBYOOL, but I think one of the weakest arguments for TBYOOL being superior to IAWL, that I've seen on a message board is that it's far more realistic than IAWL and that there's no angels around to save the day.

I don't know about you, but I don't think that person has really seen IAWL. Sure, Clarence stops George from killing himself and shows him how much he's actually done for Bedford Falls, but he doesn't really solve George's dillema regarding the lost money, it's Mary who does that.

And angels aside, you could say that IAWL is pretty realistic, with a very relatable main character.

Tony Kim said...

Always interesting to see non-regular commenters come out of the shadows to post their predictions.

I'll agree with Deiner:

1. Robert Downey Jr.
2. Mark Ruffalo
3. Robert De Niro
4. Ryan Gosling
5. Sterling K. Brown

Tony Kim said...

Louis: Your general thoughts on Jewison as a filmmaker.

Louis Morgan said...

Ahhh, the joys of never going on twitter.

Tony:

Again, this period until I'm done with the alternates, I try to maintain a pace with the reviews so any extensive thoughts asks, please wait until after that point.

8000's:

I mean that's a silly criticism as that aspect is obviously not trying to be realistic and it's frankly all time great storytelling device as used. Of course I'd also just say one should appreciate both films, because they're both great.

Bryan L. said...

I’m probably one of the few people on Earth who likes TBYOOL a bit more than IAWL.

Perfectionist said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Perfectionist said...

I have been thinking really hard about putting De Niro on top. That seems like a pretty flawless performance, even if the film might itself be a bit divisive in certain aspects. Calvin has even called it a top 5 best of his career... But I am still going out on a limb, and predicting Ruffalo to win it. Like that would be a fun pick.

Tony Kim said...

Louis: Fair enough. By "when [your] typical pacing slows down again" I assumed you meant after the influx of comments you get right after the nominations are announced.

Since you've said PSH would've been your choice to lead an Ebert biopic, how would you have cast Siskel, Roeper, and Chaz?

8000S said...

Louis: Your thoughts on this 90s Fantastic Four cast.

Reed Richards: Kyle MacLachlan
Susan Storm: Laura Dern
Johnny Storm: Leonardo DiCaprio
Ben Grimm: Clancy Brown
Dr. Doom: Charles Dance

Matt Mustin said...

8000S Damn, that's pretty good.

Bryan L. said...

8000s: DiCaprio in TQATD-mode would actually be a great fit for Johnny Storm.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Dance is a great choice, but I'd opt for Timothy Dalton.

Louis Morgan said...

Tony:

Siskel: Adrien Brody
Roeper: Miles Teller
Chaz: Da'Vine Joy Randolph

8000's:

Great cast, no notes.