Alternate Best Actor 2004: Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

Bill Murray did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying the titular character of the Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. 

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou follows an underwater documentarian as he goes about an expedition to avenge his friend who was killed by a giant shark. 

The career of Bill Murray is distinctly marked between box office star sarcastic Murray and the switch to Indie leading man/character actor sad Murray. The mark of the switch was seemingly brought on about Wes Anderson who first cast him in Rushmore where we got the first taste of sad Murray, followed by his Oscar nominated turn of sad Murray in the much lauded Lost in Translation, however I don’t mind going against the grain and saying his best work as sad Murray is in fact here in the then much derided Anderson follow-up to The Royal Tenenbaums. Although I’d say in general the perspective on Zissou has since evened out to a more than respectable entry into the Anderson oeuvre, with its critical reaction standing out as a random blip of the critics briefly rebelling against Anderson. A film I’ve always found so much to enjoy within it, a standout element being Murray himself, in the only time he’s led an Anderson film despite the frequency of their collaborations. Murray is delivering in a way two performances throughout the film, the first in a way respecting the notion of the silliness of Bill Murray as an underwater documentarian on some sort of revenge mission, the second being the real truth of the character that is essentially the depth of the work. 

On the overtly comedic side of things we don’t really get sarcastic Murray exactly, but the specific comedic sensibilities of the old Murray are present here more so than a lot of his work post the millennium. As there is the comedic notions of the bungling Jacques Cousteau that Murray plays into with a natural ease, though a bit more dead in the dead pan than you’d find in prime blockbuster Murray of Ghostbusters, Groundhog’s Day and Scrooged. Nonetheless quite capable of being hilarious in the purposefully limited amount of energy he gives to the comedy. Such moments as when he notes to someone that his map is less inches for his path than her non-pirate infested water path so casually, and with proper lack of expertise in his delivery. Or his use of self-censoring “f” rather than the full expletive in as he places himself on a pedestal of unearned self-righteousness when confronting someone simply over their success with something he was interested in. Or even on the facilitation of a hilarious moment of Willem Dafoe’s Klaus’s sensitivity for not being on “A-squad” on a mission, and Murray’s paternalistic energy, closer to a kindergarten teacher than a boss, or even a high school boss, as he soothes over Klaus’s hurt feelings over not being chosen. I especially love the random bit of warmth Murray brings as he assures Klaus he’s “B-squad leader”. 

Murray’s performance very much successfully accentuates the haplessness of Steve as any kind of leader, or certainly any kind of pioneering documentarian. Murray’s comedy very much works by just putting in the bare minimum effort whenever we see Steve speaking on the subject one should assume that he is expert on. That is of course expected when we see him specifically shooting footage for the documentary and Murray delivery puts on slight effort. Not great effort still but there is a phony pseudo attempted knowing intelligence Murray places on these explanations. It still isn’t as a man who truly knows beyond a basic level, but rather just a man who is presenting himself as he thinks he knows just for the moment of the documentary delivery. The humor of Murray’s performance comes from a man who seemingly has fallen backwards into the extremely specific life he’s chosen, but still treats that life as a man who has just fallen into it. And while this wholly works in a funny way, where Murray is very funny here, albeit in a lower key way than his initial work, it is more exact work than a lot of his later performances where Murray seems bent on only the most Jarmuschian style deadpan, here we get more of a blend, however even this actually plays into the part of the real performance that is realizing what is going with Steve throughout the film. 

The other performance being something that is a constant technically in the comedy but is an underlying nagging quality of Murray’s entire performance. That being a man going through a deep depressive crisis started by the death of his friend Esteban who was killed by a shark before the film begins. There’s a notable contrast even in the opening scene between the deadpan Steve describing his documentary, and his intention of avenging his friend, to the Steve we see surfaces after the death of his friend. Murray very much gives us more than raw emotion as a man genuinely grieving and freaking out over the death of his friend, even if it is just a blip in the “documentary” we quickly cut away from. As we see Steve as a man who seems to “not to care” the rest of the time, what we see in the comedy is more so a reflection of the state of this man dealing with the death of his friend and by extension his own mortality. An element that Murray artfully intertwines as pivotal even if it is a man trying desperately to cover it up through pushing his energies elsewhere even towards indifference. A particularly early moment I love is when Steve sees footage of Esteban defending Steve, Murray portrays only the purest love mixed with heartbreak looking at his old friend, and we see the revenge is only to cover up that very real pain Steve hides most of the time. Something we see carry over to his blasé attitude, as even the scene where he introduces his mistress casually to the wife is of a man who has lost much interest in the common expectations. 

This fuels him all the more in his relationship with his possible illegitimate son Ned (Owen Wilson) who comes to see Steve. Murray’s depiction of Steve’s relationship with Ned is one of the most low key depictions of an extreme desperation you’ll see, however a wholly convincing one suitable to a man in a near depressive daze. Murray on the surface brings the most eagerness you get out of Steve throughout the film and his reactions to Ned early on are with this glint of temptation essentially to to create some kind of wind. Murray plays it with a degree of self-delusion mixed in with his general cynicism, making himself a bit of a mess. There are moments where he plays it overly so as the “dad” who is taking his kid out camping or something, and wants his son to have the best time. Murray putting on a false energy at times, not in his own performance but rather Steve’s performance. Steve is living out this attempted fantasy where suddenly Ned is the most important thing in his life, even giving him the name “Kingsley” as what Steve would’ve given him if he had been there. What’s so remarkable though is how Murray undercuts all of this with the nagging heartbreak that is fully this enthusiasm. One particular moment when he reads an old letter he sent to Ned that in no way showed any real concern or connection. Murray allowing out just a moment of the real desperation as he modestly notes that the response was pretty boilerplate, is marvelous in revealing the truth of the relationship. 

The relationship leads Steve on the questionable expedition, leading even to being attacked by pirates where we even get the rare Bill Murray action hero scene as he battles the pirates. Even that moment where Steve builds up towards his action is funny as he’s so nonchalant about it but even this reveals a man a little fed up with most of life with the pirates being a bit of a tipping point for him. After his heroics, caused more than in part by his own failings, with the pirates still leads to tragedy once again as Ned unexpectedly dies after the engine failure of Steve’s helicopter. Leading to Steve and his crew trying to find the legendary Jaguar shark with the sub with about all the cast onboard. This scene for me is my favorite Anderson scene in any of his films, which in part it is the realization of the setup with the beauty of Jaguar shark realized in only the way Anderson could, with an ideal song choice emphasizing that but most pivotally Murray’s performance as the man who is facing his theoretical tormentor with awe rather than anger. Murray’s amazing in the scene because you see him appreciating the wonder of the discovery with everyone else, but there’s so much more in his eyes than that. His delivery of “I wonder if it remembers me” is filled with so much pathos and the need of someone trying to find meaning in this moment, before Murray so powerfully fully breaks down in the scene to reveal all the emotion that has been within Steve this whole time. I love it because Murray is heartbreaking in revealing the tragedy within Steve, yet there’s this glint of hope trying to hold onto the meaning of the discovery and even more so trying to give himself any purpose after so much loss. Murray delivers a covertly powerful performance where he finds the very real tragedy in Bill Murray as an incompetent Jacques Cousteau. 

Alternate Best Actor 2004: Christian Bale in The Machinist

Christian Bale did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Trevor Reznik in The Machinist.  

The Machinist follows a paranoid factory worker who is both emaciated and an insomniac. 

Long before watching the film I was well aware of it for the oft noted weight loss of Christian Bale in the film, which became all the more noted because of how much weight he subsequently gained to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins. Which is a striking visual to see such a gaunt man, though to speculate whether it is necessary or not, I won’t get too much into the weeds, as with so many claims that it was essential, I also have seen the version where the actor go to such an extreme and see if the film is any less for it. Regardless it’s the starting point where we see Bale’s Trevor as a man seemingly wrecked by life by looking like a living scarecrow, something he accentuates beyond the dietary regiment, within his own performance. Perhaps by extension of his own starvation, nonetheless Bale’s hunched posture, darting eyes as though he’s looking for a predator, and innately anxiety ridden discomfort in every movement naturally establish Trevor as a man on an edge and living in a very intense state. A state that seems to place Trevor outside the confines of the world he lives in, and away from even from the viewer. We come into the film not feeling Trevor’s world, but rather watching his strange state of displacement. 

Bale’s performance is effective in creating essentially what would often be a strange side character in many other films. As he seems just bent and off-putting in his manner. We witness Trevor seemingly dispose of a body in the opening of the film, and from there on we know Trevor's problems are beyond just his lack of sustenance. Bale’s performance is one of isolation for a good portion of the film. We see him at work in a machine laden factory where we see him as the outsider, where Bale’s physical manner towards everyone else gives a sense of danger and paranoia, both exuding from himself and as a man reacting in the same way to others. There’s no comfort within it, just a sense of off-putting disconnect. The attempts of comfort are found within his relationship with two women, the first a prostitute Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), where Bale’s performance in reaction to her seeming attempts at comfort, show still a just slightly softened paranoia. We still see a lack of trust, though just a subtle hint of thinking about maybe allowing comfort, but never quite there. A trick idea to pull off which Bale creates with ease. The second non-sexual relationship is with a local waitress he frequently sees Maria. Where there’s strangely no question about her wish to seemingly comfort him. Bale’s reaction to her is with the closest we see to warmth from him towards her but with this underlying quality of surprise if not disbelief for every bit of kindness she shows. Going so far as to allow him to take her son on a dark ride, where he has an epileptic seizure, something she still reacts to soothe Trevor’s concerns, despite the situation. Bale conveys that almost comfort, but with a different kind of suspicion as she seems almost too forgiving towards him. 

Meanwhile things get stranger at work as one of his co-workers loses a hand in the machines while Trevor is distracted by an odd seeming stranger called Ivan. Weirder things keep happening after this point, as reality begins to warp, such as when Trevor finds himself nearly losing his own hand and he ends up getting hit…by his own car. Bale’s performance internalizes the paranoia of these situations, creating the building intensity where you see the man struggling to make sense of it, but you also see the emotional strain as the events seem to be peeling at something more within the man. Bale makes a deliberate choice as we switch from that more detached point to bringing us into Trevor’s world as he begins to lash out against the building dread. Including against Stevie who he believes was married to Ivan, and Bale’s moment is great work from him as he goes from the exhaustive state of the man to an even more severe state as he unleashes his painful emotions as well. Bale purged even more life as these harrowing gasps for any kind of air as he tries to make sense as the world becomes increasingly stranger as even the source of comfort in Maria seems to have been just a figment of his imagination. 

Leading to spoilers, as Trevor eventually kills the pestering Ivan only for the real man to reappear, making it clear he is a representation in his mind of his guilt. His guilt for what, well little bits of info throughout reveal that Trevor is existing in a constant state of emotional turmoil from having committed a hit and run on the real Maria’s son. This is a revelation that becomes a natural realization because of Bale’s performance. The man rotted away, isolating himself, only expressing himself largely in intense defense and creating just the sense of an emotional exhaustion far beyond even his physical exhaustion. Bale carries the twist as we see everything he’s done as logical albeit the logic of a broken psyche. He’s captivating in going through the final moments of the film in revealing just suddenly the full openness in his emotions, now letting us in, and is moving in suddenly revealing the full more tender humanity of the guilt beneath all the paranoia. Although it seems like another “apology” from me for a Bale performance, as while I have no criticisms of this performance, which I found largely compelling and certainly a proper realization of the extremely idiosyncratic character arc, I will admit it didn’t quite become beyond just very good for me. 

R.I.P Tatsuya Nakadai

So we say goodbye to one of the great secrets of cinema to any non-Japanese domestic viewer only. One of the all time greats, with an incredible filmography few can parallel. I mean the man came into cinema in Seven Samurai, just as a bit part, but somehow as essentially the "eighth samurai" a legend was born. A legend that left such an impact defined by his astonishing collaborations with the greatest Japanese directors. With the lesser known Okamoto delivering an all time great turn as one of the most chilling psychopaths on screen, yet with the same director giving such a hilarious weird turn as an unexpected hero in Age of Assassins, then his work with the international legend of Kurosawa, where he brilliantly went toe to toe with Mifune, twice as a proper villain for such a hero as was in Yojimbo, but just as convincing as the good detective in High and Low. And if that was not enough he carried on Mifune's torch with his own unforgettable leading turns in Kurosawa's last two true epics of Kagemusha and of course Ran. But it is with Masaki Kobayashi where Nakadai perhaps made his greatest impact with one of the greatest cinematic trilogies with The Human Condition and of course his heartbreaking yet otherworldly turn in Harakiri. One of the greatest gifts my endeavor has brought me was finding out about this actor Tatsuya Nakadai, where I have marveled again and again at his talents, discovering one gem after another, and while I must say farewell, I will continue to seek the treasure this oh so talented man left behind. 

Alternate Best Actor 2004: Daniel Brühl in The Edukators

Daniel Brühl did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Jan in The Edukators. 

The Edukators follows three wannabe radicals who disrupt the homes, as literally just mess around with their possessions, of rich people as their acts of rebellion. 

The duo is initially Peter (Stipe Erceg) and Jan, who are eventually joined by Jule (Julia Jentsch) Peter’s girlfriend. Peter and Jan’s MO is to go into rich people’s houses, mess with their stuff and then leave cryptic messages about how their wealth will come to an end. Daniel Brühl plays the part of Jan in a fairly expected way of essentially the attempt of the “cool” radical who wants to shake things up with his friend. Something that Brühl can deliver better than some, as this role would very easily be instantly intolerable, by offering some genuine charisma and at least some nuance within Jan. Although Jan is passionate about his views with Peter, Brühl tempers his performance enough to make it so he’s someone who is at least approachable within his radical notions. He conveys the very youthful jubilation he shares with Peter as they go about what they see as their rebellion against the system, and as much as I don’t think Jan particularly sold me too much, I will say Brühl at the very least keeps him from repelling you through his natural charm and ability to not overplay the passion. 

The situation complicates itself as Jan ends up sharing their particular methods with Jule, after she comes afoul of a rich man she owes money to, and she seeks guidance from the “edukators”. An element where Jan takes center stage with Jule, and even though she’s the girlfriend of his best friend, he starts becoming increasingly closer to her. Brühl and Jentsch have a strong chemistry with one another, as they create a natural ease in their interactions, and you see the ease of the gradual connection the two share. A connection that develops to an affair, where the two are very convincing in showing the passion getting the better of them, as the thrill of playing the rebels finds itself into a mutual passion for each other. Although again Brühl nicely tempers this even a bit where you see the moments before and the moments afterwards, where guilt seems to sink within his physical manner of his performance. There is shame in the betrayal of his friend, within Brühl’s expressive eyes, even if it doesn’t stop Jan from continuing the affair regardless. 

Eventually the plot reveals itself as they end up kidnapping the rich man, and going far deeper into the notions of being rebels, as they are both challenged by the man and attempt to challenge him with their views. Brühl gets a strong scene where he gets to be the one to articulate their views of society, where he isn’t a great orator, but a believable sharp passion befitting more so say a college student with strong views than a full on rebel. The situation also eventually leads to Peter and Jan having a falling out, but also a reconnection over Jan’s obvious betrayal with Jule. Something where I think maybe a limitation is that Brühl and Erceg are just fine together, but not really all that dynamic. They’re convincing enough as bickering friends, but never did I find their relationship to feel all that impactful. Partially this is the limitations of Erceg’s unmemorable performance, but also the writing limits them to just a few sudden moments of running through a friendship. Brühl does what he can with what he has, but while he’s always good here, it never elevates to a truly memorable portrayal of any aspect of this story. Brühl is good though, charismatic, elevates what he can, but never made me feel his character, much like the film, was “fine I guess”.