Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2023: Jonathan Tucker in Palm Trees and Power Lines

Jonathan Tucker did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, for portraying Tom in Palm Trees and Power Lines. 

Palm Trees and Power Lines follows the grooming of an aimless teenage girl by an older man.

Palm Trees and Power Lines essentially is Red Rocket without any satirical bent and entirely from the teenagers point of view as an older man aggressively pursues her. Tucker's first scene is as he follows the young Lea (Lily McInerny) down the street, where it is an absolutely insidious scene and brilliantly performed by Tucker. Because what Tucker does is be a complete creep while completely putting on the facade of not being a complete creep to the impressionable Lea. Tucker's speaking every word with a sort of ease and bright manner as he invites her into her car, even praising her without hesitation for stating her concerns of stranger danger, despite the fact that he continues to literally stalk her with his car. Although he prods her along as though he is doing some kind of come on by trying to find her like in music as again Tucker's performance is just playing with as little pressure, despite only putting on pressure, and just seeming to be pleasing as possible towards her. Tucker makes it eerily convincing that he would convince her to let him give her a ride. Within the ride itself Tucker is only plying more from her where all Tom is doing is praising her, and speaking towards what he sees as maturity within them. His portrayal is this unpleasant confidence about it as Tucker manages to be very obvious about the trick, but entirely with the relaxed manner that it is easy to see how the trick is unfortunately working on Lea. Right down to his face of quiet frustration when she notes she's only 17, which Tucker's performs as a duplicitous disarming reaction, waiting for Lea to see how concerned he is, therefore assuage the concern by allowing the relationship to continue. 

Lea follows up to meeting Tom again, and she initially approaches it as though she is just dating someone. Tucker's performance continues to be one of the most sinister from 2023, by not at all playing it as sinister. Rather Tucker emphasizes the positive as he always brings warmth to his performance, he always brings this sense of encouragement towards her at every point. Tucker listens, he smiles, he pushes her towards the idea of bettering herself, with a real energy and body language that is geared towards seeming just to be sitting on her every word. Tucker's work is of the worst kind of snake, because his manner really speaks two languages. One being basically the "perfect man" to what Lea believes she needs and more so what she wants to hear. While at the same time Tucker's method always has a certain force, and a certain penetrating stare as though he is constantly analyzing everything about her. When he asks her a question the way he accentuates the wording is to open up the idea to thought, while Tucker eyes denote basically calculating every aspect of her life. Tucker brings in this glint where you see the man seeing his opportunity. Tucker's performance makes it this especially uncomfortable ease then that when basically prodding on Lea towards taking the steps to a sexual relationship, but as this predator waiting for her to make the move, which he's so carefully cultivated. One of the most hideous moments being when they arrive at his home, which naturally is a seedy hotel that he claims is temporary only, Tucker's delivery of "I could just take you home" is so perfectly respectable that it is horrible, because what Tucker shows is a man who knows exactly what he's doing, by again getting Lea to be the one to suggest taking the next step. 

Unfortunately Tom's nature goes beyond even the seduction of a teenage girl, which Tucker makes in itself all too vivid of the process of ingratiating himself, with such hideously believable manner every step of the way. Tom's intentions go beyond and you see the shift, that honestly isn't as much of a shift as a purposeful process where his control goes from that of careful persuasion and that of control. Tucker in the moment of dropping the charm offensive of basically granting Lea any sense of purpose or care. He now wields his power with a particularly disgusting sense of self-satisfaction that Tucker exudes within his work. Eventually it is revealed that Tom is in fact not only planning on exploiting her sexually for himself, but also to prostitute her. Tucker's performance is chilling because we see that everything up until this point has indeed been purposeful manipulation by him in order to control her for his means. Tucker drops enough of the warm, caring act that it becomes more of a perfunctory action of the man who knows all too well he's in control of the situation. His few moments of encouraging her with a "I love you" or "you look so pretty" are delivered not quite halfheartedly, but far from anything close to a real truth. We see his facade crumble, but we also see how it is far too late for Lea to pull herself out of it. Tucker rather shows the man who has essentially gotten to the place he has been building to the entire time, and now Tom believes he holds her in his sway that his effort becomes only just above the bare minimum. Tucker delivers a very effective performance here by essentially letting the viewer see a process of grooming in such a natural, convincing and altogether horrifying detail.