And the Nominees Were Not:
Russell Crowe in Nuremberg
Jacobi Jupe in Hamnet
Jack O'Connell in Sinners
Tyler Okonma in Marty Supreme
William H. Macy in Train Dreams
Saturday, 31 January 2026
Best Actor 2025: Results
5. Michael B. Jordan in Sinners - Jordan effectively carries his film in two separate ways one through charisma and one through stoic conviction.
Best Scene: Epilogue.
4. Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon - Hawke gives his most showoff performance to date, and I found it largely effective as the showoff yet sorrowful Lorenz Hart.
Best Scene: Argument with Rodgers.
3. Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent - Moura gives a subdued and moving depiction essentially of one normal man trying to live in a mad time.
Best Scene: Testimony
2. Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another - DiCaprio delivers one of his best performances that manages to be both a very funny and moving journey from revolutionary to burnout dad.
Best Scene: In the car with Sensei.
1. Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme - Good predictions Kevin, Robert, Tim & John Smith. Chalamet is a live wire of cinematic charisma in delivering a captivating yet challenging depiction of one man's ego and ambition.
Best Scene: Final game.
Next: 2025 alternate supporting.
Best Actor 2025: Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon
Ethan Hawke received his third acting Oscar nomination for portraying Lorenz “Larry” Hart in Blue Moon.
Ethan Hawke receives his first leading Oscar nomination in a fairly atypical role for Hawke. Hawke has in the past had transformative parts but in the role Hart, who was five foot, sporting not the best combover and a man of constant flamboyancy, this is an idiosyncratic performance within Hawke’s oeuvre. This is the most “look at me” performance Hawke has ever given and I actually don’t mean this as a criticism given that is entirely within the attention of the character of Lorenz Hart as depicted in Blue Moon. The film after all is constructed essentially as a stage play, where it wouldn’t be the hardest to tweak into a one man show stage play honestly, and one where the star would be well above the title on the marquee with so much of the attention of the piece is to see that star act. Hawke is granted this opportunity to act up a storm essentially and it really wasn’t too surprising, and really quite fitting to the character of Hart in the film that there has been a degree of disagreement on this performance. Fitting the bit of Hart throughout the film where his whole act may be something you find endearing, or tiresome, or maybe a mix of both, and Hawke’s performance can fall within the same exact perspective.
Hawke very much chooses to be unforgiving to anyone not purchasing a ticket to his show where he goes all in on every bit of flamboyance there is to the character of Hart. His specific accent choice in which basically he’s dishing out gossip with every word he speaks, which he finds absolutely delicious at least, his physical manner very much brings a degree of pantomime style where every story must also be articulated within his movements to accentuate every bit he has. Hawke is performative as a performative man who wants to make everything he does and says as a bit of a performance for all to see. The starting performance being his ire towards Oklahoma! As an abhorrent overly schmaltzy non-satirical claptrap, where Hawke very much plays the disgust with more than tilt of over the top dismissiveness. Hawke plays the note of the critic where his judgment is that upon high where everything wrong with Oklahoma is accentuated as an aggressive bit of venom built upon superiority. A superiority of a man who knows, within his own mind, that he would’ve made a far better show, but not sure most if any would actually agree with him.
The next performance is the bar patron, where he purposefully makes himself the single spectacle of Sardi’s, where he is known by name by the tender Eddie (Bobby Cannavale), along with a piano for hire. Hawke with Eddie in particular playing up the man who wants, no need, to be the life of the party as he comes up with one anecdote after another, and one joke after another. Whether that be his declarative way of stating the worst line in Casablanca by complaining about the specific usage of precedent, but also conversely praising the film for its famous final line. Still declaration, yet more playful than when concerning musical theater. But really Hart is on a constant wave of prattling on in every direction as he’ll swing as quickly to making a joke about one’s manhood when half cocked, where Hawke’s delivery accentuates a purposeful provocation and color of someone who wants to be noticed but also entertain in his specific measure of doing so. While also ensuring everyone knows his business as he proclaims his intentions for his love interest, the young Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley), where he makes his intentions known to bed her with all with braggadocious manner however that really alluding to the insecurities of the man who has to defensively remind Eddie that he isn’t strictly homosexual.
Where we see a wavering, particularly as writer E.B. White (Patrick Kennedy) also happens to be in the bar, Hawke does denote the certain reverence towards White, there’s still irreverence at moments but he tones down his delivery as such and does effectively allude within Hart’s certain respect for another writer. Hawke becomes as performative but more wistful as though he is sharing these moments with someone who he believes thinks the way he does. Including getting to “glory” in his own review of himself and Rodgers with this distinct pride and articulating every bit of “genius” in the review in the most indulgence but this strange kind of sincerity in the more genuine joy we see in Hawke’s expressions because someone he admires is reading it. Contrasting that are the moments where he releases his past failures, such as bad reviews on the poor piano player, where Hawke is at his most indulgent in just really making every line an overlong symphony of pity me pathos…but Hart is also doing the same as a man who wants others to feel sorry for him, or at least begin to feel as sorry for him as he feels for himself.
Honestly Hawke’s most interesting scenes however are with Andrew Scott as Richard Rodgers, because that is where we do get the most dynamic sense of his personality beyond the performance, though we do open the performance as Hawke, purposefully, is at his phoniest as he praises Oklahoma to high heavens initially. Meanwhile we have Hart trying to sell Rodgers on his own satirical ideas, where you do get that sense of creative passion in every word, that you do see the man in his element, but in the moment too much as he’s composing his thoughts at Rodgers. Rodgers however though is less to jump in, particularly as in his ideas there’s more than a few attacks against the earnestness of Oklahoma, which Hawke does deliver well as basically the rambling passions of a man who can’t help himself. Where we get snap backs from Rodgers noting Hart’s unreliability, and alcoholism. Where Hawke’s reactions in these moments are some of his best because we see the drop of any “fun”, just instead playing a messy combination between bitter sorrow at Rodgers noting his very real flaws, and sloppy attempts at apology of the man trying to still keep his connection with his creative partner alive.
Contrasting that I find the least interesting scenes with the young Elizabeth, where Hawke needs to play a simpering horndog, which there is probably a better word but I’d rather use one Hart wouldn’t approve of, towards her and wanting to know her sexual escapades with a younger man, while really wanting to have sex with her himself. Getting into details in a one on one conversation that I’m pretty sure is a seven hour long scene, well at least it felt much longer than anything in The Secret Agent. Although this isn’t really Hawke, or Qualley, just the story itself is so aggressively boring and just seems like it takes forever to tell a real simple tale of Elizabeth likes hot young guy for his hotness but like Hart for his brain but can’t love him due to his lack of hotness. Hawke is entirely fine in the scene in the over eagerness at listening to the details, then his immediate switch to the sad sack at the truth of it all, but balanced with his deliveries that attempt some mentor's grace even as he’d rather not have it in the moment.
Through the night we have those different variations of similar songs, more so than any great revelatory portrait of a trouble artist, and in the end they are just different avenues for Hawke to show off this different side of his presence as an actor. Even his previously more extroverted performances, like in his career best work in The Good Lord Bird, were not extroverted in this sense. Hawke very much is playing to the backrows and very much is presenting this performance as a take or or leave quantity in realizing Hart as a take it or leave it man. The question really becomes then is how much do you really like spending time with all this performing? Well, I mostly enjoyed it, though this is an instance of hanging out with a raconteur whom I mostly enjoy. I don't always love it but am willing to get through maybe a bit I’m less find of because I might enjoy the next one more. Would I say in this respect that this is Hawke’s best performance, even if just cinematically, no, but within the approach of essentially an actor’s showcase, I think Hawke offers an entertaining enough entry, my favorite no, but one I did not mind giving my time two twice…for the most part.
Friday, 30 January 2026
Best Actor 2025: Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme
Timothée Chalamet received his third acting Oscar nomination for portraying Marty Mauser in Marty Supreme.
Timothée Chalamet is one of the few genuine movie stars in the making, in terms of there actually being an innate degree of bankability, as Dune might’ve been already a noted property, Wonka was no guarantee, A Complete Unknown could’ve done far less, but I’d say really the success of this film more than any other given the film was built almost entirely his name, and such a period/character piece without a sent of superhero anywhere near it makes its box-office haul so far most impressive. All the more impressive because it is distinctly a character piece and a continuation of the Safdie style (Now solo Josh) protagonist though holding the similarity of Robert Pattinson’s Connie Nikas, and Adam Sandler’s Howard Ratner, where their traditional likability is more than in question and their favorite habit is to dig to get out of a hole, creating much more so a 70’s style protagonist we follow through the film. Chalamet’s Marty though is distinctly his own beast and its own specific representation of the talent of the actor in question. Where Pattinson’s performance was a proof of talent beyond dispute, Sandler’s was a use of talent often not in use, Marty is a step, or perhaps pedestal, within the already clear ladder of Chalamet as an awards and box-office magnet. In fact Marty in a way can be a representative of so much of Chalamet, though not to the point I think this is in any way someone playing themselves, but in terms of channeling the clear aspect of someone’s personality as part of the fuel that helps to define the character.
Chalamet comes into the role with absolute commitment but also absolute ease in very much giving a kind of charge to a performance that is so distinct and too often not seen. Where Chalamet is empowered with his immense talent, which I don’t mind saying despite his sometimes polarizing offscreen personality, which crackles within Marty right off the opening frame though will be utilized in so many different ways throughout. Our introduction begins with Marty as a shoes salesman in New York and in a way Chalamet brings a specific slightly reduced charisma, although still remarkable, where you see the sense of his talents as he talks a lady through the right type of shoe to buy with a confidence but also the casual consideration of someone who makes the customer seem at home with their shoes. Although his attention is soon diverted by his married childhood friend Rachel (Odessa A’Zion) entering the shop, where we get the quick switch to the false salesman cordiality to this “returning customer” which is all with the same ease of Chalamet, until we get a bit more honesty through a bit of dishonesty from Marty as he’s only meeting with her in the backroom to have sex. Where the defining feature is lust for the both of them and Chalamet’s delivery of how Rachel should come with him is in the total throws of someone just deeply in that lust without probably not too much thought, given as we lead into the opening credits that is literally the end result of Marty perhaps thinking with the paddle in his pants without a second thought to the consequences.
We soon follow the next layer of Marty which is as the "businessman" Marty where we see him with his Uncle, who owns the shoe store, wanting Marty to become manager and focus on this career rather than focus on Marty’s real dream of becoming the world's greatest ping pong player. Where Chalamet is great in the moment in essentially bringing this certain exasperation with his uncle over the situation, creating the sense that he’s had this conversation too many times with his Uncle differing between his dreams and what his uncle thinks is a sensible ambition, but even more so what Marty has tried to get away with. As Marty asks for the 700 dollars for his plane ticket to get to the table tennis tournament, it is again with this fake apology in Chalamet’s delivery that he's a genius as though there’s an explanation within it and an excuse to each that his Uncle never quite buys. Contrasting that though is his conversation with his friend Dion (Luke Manley) with Dion’s businessman father, over the potential of orange Marty Supreme balls as a kind of promotion. Chalamet’s wonderful pitch in bringing a certain comedic energy in the oversell of pinpointing how important a new color in ping pong is though with this intensity of passion that it is not hard to buy at a certain level. Where we get kind of the first instance of Marty “buying his own shit” for the lack of a better description, where Chalamet fashions this specific way of speaking in these moments where it delivers them as though they are the personal mantras Marty has memorized in the morning as he predicts he’ll be on the cover of a Wheaties box someday. A repeated tone we get a few times throughout the film to various people where he espouses his yearn for greatness and the conviction. Although Marty will at different places in his life, each relapse to this tone is of a mantra Marty has spent years perfecting.
While we are still in New York we get a brief sense of his relationship with his mother (Fran Drescher) which a lot of time isn’t spent on however I think it is an example of where one can depend on their actors to quickly sell the relationship and tension therein. Where we see Marty’s mother throughout the film trying to get his attention, going so far as to pretend she’s sick, and Chalamet’s reaction each time speaks not to months of this but years of that. In the immediacy of the exasperation and the fact that there isn’t for a second where he believes his mother. We don’t see hatred exactly but just this instant disappointment with mother every time that he quickly glances over to her. Where we see just how burnt this relationship is in every respect and the history of the two that goes beyond far from what we see. Speaking of burning bridges Marty goes about getting his money by holding his coworker at the shoe shop to give him the money he feels he’s owed. Chalamet is amazing in the scene where we see the start of Marty’s greatest hubris, where his whole manner in the approach is with the directness of someone who feels they can make no mistake. Even going so far as to persuade the man by first saying it’s twisted that he’d be made manager of the store over him or to blame him as an armed thief. Chalamet delivers both with the confidence of someone who knows he will be traveling to fame and fortune in England for the ping pong championship.
In England we have Marty at his most extreme, something Chalamet wholly owns and is magnificent in just essentially playing to the Icarus note of a man flying way too close to the sun. Something we get immediately with the ego he just is weaponizing in different ways. The first in demanding that the hosting official give him more expensive lodgings with the Marty negotiation tactic of arguing his own importance which Chalamet sells with the most boldface belief in himself, though not as an underdog but as just basically the ultimate dog. Something to be fair to a certain extent we can see when he is playing and we see him dominate his official games and Chalamet’s performance in every game in the film is essential. As these first games it is with determination but also a breezy assurance of someone who absolutely believes he’s unstoppable. A confidence that only expands as we see him interviewed by the local press, where Chalamet’s performance is an incredible bit of almost a conductor of his environment. Where his delivery of his totally false backstory is run out like a 100% pure perfect liar. His fake bit of false sleeping when asked about his past, is an exceptional bit of physical work just illustrating the livewire of energy that is Marty. Along with his totally inappropriate bit about finishing off his next opponent reigning champion Bela Kletzki (Géza Röhrig), and holocaust survivor, where in that glint in Chalamet’s eyes you see the combination of provocateur and promoter, who wants to play into the heel angle with a sense of fun but also a sense of not quite knowing his limit.
The lack of limit only goes further as he spots famous, though past her prime, actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), where Marty’s hubris essentially only grows as he purposefully calls her to get her attention and to also brag about himself. Chalamet is great in the scene though in finding this perfect blend between charm and wholly being a pest as he talks to her. As he manages to put this wild mix between his intrigue, the playfulness of each question to her, and even the pronouncement of himself as being a celebrity himself, which he is in his mind. Even the way Chalamet speaks into the phone brings the impish quality of Marty alive as someone who believes himself on top of the world. Which to Marty he seemingly is as we see him play at again Kletzki so well that he even takes a moment to do a playful serve round where the two do various trick shots. Chalamet is amazing in the scene because you do see the exhilaration of Marty’s mastery in the moment, but more importantly we do see very much the showmanship of the moment. Chalamet is very entertaining as Marty in this scene in doing every little over the top of bit that manages to be both silly while showing off the considerable talents of Marty in this particular field, which as boon Kay Stone also watches the performance much to her delight.
Along with Kay, Marty also purposefully also calls for the attention of her husband pen businessman Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary), by buying their dinner while Marty himself is dining with Kletzki. A series of contrasts as we get the beautifully humble man that is Kletzki, who you can see is just happy to be alive in many ways against Marty, where Chalamet is beautifully still in full self-absorption mode which is particularly hilarious when he shamelessly claims how he cares so much about pens towards Rockwell, which Rockwell does not buy though does become somewhat intrigued by the apparent success of table tennis to some degree as Kletzki recounts his own tale of being given “lighter” duty in the holocaust due to the game. And I love the quick chemistry between Chalamet and Röhrig, where the latter is just appreciating a new friend, where Chalamet does tip toe around some genuine appreciation for the guy while also still playing up the heel and always downplaying the guy’s heel which Keltzki takes with good humor. As we get to the peak of Marty’s ego though as Kay comes to see him for sex in the night, and Chalamet’s reaction in this scene is an extraordinary depiction of pure uncontrolled ego. As we do get a brief reaction of “can’t believe this happening” but the key is where he looks at himself in the mirror instead of at Kay, and where he conveys Marty fully believing himself to be on top of the world in every respect.
Which Marty hits a wall in that respect as he meets his most severe competition in Japanese player Endo (Koto Kawaguchi), where the game is completely different now articulated brilliantly in Chalamet’s performance, which was all about floating about the competition here now it is genuine and we see every bit of effort and frustration. Chalamet shows the building up intensity of the man who thought he was the best being hit consistently with the thought that he’s not, and you see specifically in his eyes the ego clashing with the notion that only infuriates him all the more. Till he loses completely and Chalamet unleashes the disbelief fitting the size of Marty’s ego in the moment of a volcanic rage not unlike John McEnroe where none of it is at himself, it is all at everything else for why he lost. The burnout only continues back in New York where Rockwell presents him an opportunity to play a fixed exhibition game with Endo, to which Chalamet brings the stinging anger of the loss, along with the ego bruised however in delivering the words in with a bit more ire as he rejects Rockwell’s offer, with really his demand that he buy him a meal with the venom of someone who truly can’t help himself. Which only continues as his Uncle immediately has him arrested/fake arrested to get Marty to settle down, where Chalamet is most evoking previous Safdie leads in getting that extremely specific anxiety inducing tension of just getting in and out of the argument so naturally in this incredible state of messy frustrations….that results in Marty loses any money he had and running from his uncle/police to find his own way to the world competition.
We follow them as Marty attempts to find some way of getting his money. His first option teaming up with his fellow tennis player friend Wally (Tyler Okonma) who have such great chemistry that honestly they could’ve made just the film a series of hustles from the two and that would also have been an amazing film. Instead we get one hustle, where Chalamet’s terrific in playing the part of a different type of hectoring person as just the constantly annoyed guy wanting to play table tennis and frustrated by everything. A wholly different kind of frustration and desire even to play, and where physically I love how awkward he positions himself at the table in the setup, as he presents himself as an obnoxious racist towards Wally, where the two build up a crowd to get them to make a big bet to prove this fake version of Marty wrong. The two create the natural juggle of the circumstances and make it wholly believable that the hustle would work. Followed by the sheer joy of the two as they run along Wally’s car without gas, and Chalamet brings such a winning delightful sense of the friendship with Marty and Wally along with just the sheer jubilation of their triumph…which doesn't last too long as they need to make a hasty escape when their marks catch them driving off together.
While all this is going on, Marty finds Rachel now quite pregnant with his child, and we see him juggling with her too where I think Chalamet balances a sense of the complication within the relationship. As you see him going through his head moments of interacting with her with hesitation to being held down by her advances, yet his passionate charge when defending from her oaf husband (Emory Cohen) does have a sincerity, and even at his most dismissive, Chalamet brings a great nuance of Marty fighting with himself in these moments to what degree he will allow himself to feel towards her. What we see though, as the two attempt to retrieve a potential money avenue from Abel Ferrara, which one should never try to get money from Abel Ferrara, by finding his dog that Marty lost after promising to take the dog to the vet. Although in this endeavor we get a deeper chemistry between Chalamet and A’Zion, where you see in their mutual conning ability, or attempting to con ability, a connective energy where in a way she’s perfect for him. Something that becomes more clear when it is even revealed that she made up a black eye from her husband just to get Marty’s attention. I love Chalamet’s subdued reaction that isn’t rage, rather almost respect for the play as it is 100% something Marty would do. But even with the trick, his feelings towards her are tested when Ferrara threatens her with violence unless they show him where his dog is, which leads to her being wounded in the interaction and takes her to emergency surgery in the hospital. Where Chalamet is great in these moments shows more directness of love towards her then the rest, yet still with just enough hesitation of the ambitious Marty who can’t go all the way in this relationship.
Marty’s last option for a way to the tournament is between the wife and husband of Kay and Rockwell. The former where we get a bit more sexual encounters and each time, Chalamet showing very much Marty’s acceptance of being the sex objection for her desires while playing up just being the show of it. Which almost works as she offers him a valuable necklace, which sadly quickly must be used to pay off cops who catch them having sex in the park, leading to Chalamet’s absolutely hilarious delivery of shamelessly just asking for another one as though absolutely nothing had happened. Which due to her own personal comeback falling apart, she can’t be reached, leaving only Rockwell, where once before Marty ticked him off more by trying to get a meeting by lying about knowing his dead son, where Chalamet’s performance brings a slight bit of humility, not much, in trying to apologize for his actions, which Rockwell doesn't accept. But on the same night as failing to get the necklace with Kay, Rockwell appears to be the only option for him. Chalamet’s outstanding as basically losing all the ego and just such emotional desperation as Marty throws himself essentially on the mercy of the court of Rockwell. Chalamet’s running from one apology to the next, at Rockwell’s demand, is just such a point in seeing Marty very much of the earth in this moment and not a hint of hubris. Chalamet articulates every bit of humility coming out of Marty, which he shows so effectively as basically a painful experience of a man whose nature is opposed to such an idea. Which sadly for Marty, ends with a literal paddling of his naked behind by Rockwell as a punishment in order for Marty to get a trip to Japan and fees for the show with Endo.
Where we get a showcase for Chalamet where we get a different heightened version of Marty, from the actually pompous Marty of earlier, as now we get the glimpse of his playing the “pompous American” to the Japanese crowd, emphasizing a purposeful heel attitude in every movement and expression. Wonderfully playing each bit of the oversell and being essentially the “fool” that everyone wants him to be, especially Rockwell who is getting a bit too much joy out of Marty looking the fool as he loses to Endo in a fixed game. We see Marty willingly accept the humiliations, even though due to failing to pay a fee to the organization won’t even be in the actual competition, until there is an extra wrinkle of demanding that Marty also kiss a pig in front of the crowd. Chalamet’s reaction is great as we see the humbled in many ways Marty reflecting to himself and finding just essentially the breaking point. Making one more break that will get him in trouble, but Chalamet importantly conveys a difference in this act as he tries to get the crowd to demand an actual game. Chalamet’s amazing as he manages to balance a sense of some modesty and we see a different more empathetic passion as he pleads for the real game. Which Endo agrees to, and Chalamet’s performance throughout is exceptional. Capturing every dramatic bit largely in his physical work where everything he is doing is filled with determination and the sense in his eyes the ferocity needed to prove himself in this moment, even though it only truly has meaning to him and Endo. Building along with the editing, and music the tension towards the victory, where Chalamet makes you feel every step and makes Marty is most likeable in this moment where Marty is purely playing for the spirit of the game. And though a quick moment, an essential one is after winning, his wish of good luck to Endo in the actual tournament is delivered with absolute sincerity, though combined with the edge of sadness of someone who knows he won’t be there. Speaking of a combination of emotions, the final moment of the film is Marty returning home after Rachel has given birth seemingly accepting his responsibilities as a father. An extraordinary scene for Chalamet as he manages to allow for interpretation while not being vague in the least in the scene of Marty’s reaction to his child. As his reaction is so deeply profound as we see Marty looking as a child, there is joy, happiness, yet his tears speak to an existential sorrow of seeing what his future will be, which is this child not the “greatness” he believed in. It should be clear by this point that I love everything about this performance, which is a live wire of star charisma, packed in such a captivating character, where he creates such compelling dynamics throughout the film and crafts a potent portrait of the rise and fall of the dream of one man. I never thought Chalamet was untalented, in fact I have been previously impressed, and yet he even surprised me here with just the way he grips the screen and doesn’t let go of it for even a second.
Thursday, 29 January 2026
Best Actor 2025: Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent
Wagner Moura received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Armando Solimões aka Marcelo Alves in The Secret Agent.
Wagner Moura joins the small ranks of actors nominated for a wholly international non-English Language film, interestingly with many companion qualities on the surface to Leonardo DiCaprio’s nominated work, though stylistically very differently as he also plays a man who goes into hiding with technically an assumed name after losing the mother of child. Although beyond the description this is a very different performance and for much of the film his performance very much is bringing to life the reality of the situation, which is an interesting aspect given many aspects of this film have a degree of surrealism from director Kleber Mendonça Filho. Moura’s performance is distinctly and often subtly about dealing with the reality of the dictatorship very much as an anchor point. An aspect established in his first scene where he stops at a gas station seeing a dead man just lying on the ground, from a supposed failed robbery, meanwhile the cops stop by at the same station not to take care of the body or even address the robbery, rather to just hector Moura’s Armando a bit and steal what bit of money he has. Moura’s performance captures the reality quite effectively however as a man who has to keep together and find a way to exist within the pressure that if he showed too much sympathy he’d be in trouble with the cops. Moura’s performance is able to express the quiet dismay at the police but also his eyes show a greater distress in seeing the body so carelessly kept rotting away in the sand.
We follow Armando as he goes to Recife and lives in a refugee apartment essentially along with other refugees run by the idiosyncratic Dona (Tânia Maria). There he catches the eye of Claudia (Hermila Guedes) with whom he quickly begins a sexual relationship. An aspect where I wouldn’t describe it as a romance rather kind of empathy understanding of time and place. Where Moura doesn’t suggest some switch to a new love but rather just the innate attraction to a beautiful woman and an understated yet still palatable connection based upon their mutual situation. We follow Armando as he reconnects with his son Fernando, a kid who due to his age is more interested in seeing the movie Jaws than is really all too aware of all the present situations. Moura though is quite effective in creating the natural sense of the relationship between the two. You see the sense of unqualified love for his son, and really the attempts at bringing just a bit of levity as the dad trying to be the fun dad even though he’s in a circumstance that really prevents him from being the dad he’d like to be. Moura playing the levels where you sense his want to just be there for his son so purely meanwhile having the emotional struggle of the death of his wife and trying to speak to his son about the situation in as calm of a way as he’d understand.
His son is currently being watched by his father-in-law Sr. Alexandre (Carlos Francisco) who runs the local movie theater. We get another relationship between the two that is rather interesting as Moura in part has moments of a better sense of history as he can’t help but bemused by a woman possessed by the screening of The Exorcist, and we get the connection the two share in their mutual love for Fernando. There’s a complexity though where Alexandre questions if Armando cheated on his daughter while they were married. Moura plays the moment in a very fascinating way because he doesn’t definitely answer the question yet he gives a complex response. Where you see a certain defensiveness, also shame, however not shame of necessarily a cheater but rather just a man feeling guilt over his deceased wife in general. Moura creates the sense of really how much he did love her yet still presenting some conflicting feelings of how he failed her in some ways, which is left open to interpretation though I took it more of his failures to protect her. The common trait consistently in this moment as we get in so many moments though is of creating such a remarkable detail in a man who in a way we only get a brief glimpse of yet Moura intends to tell us a whole life.
A lot of Moura’s performance is reactionary despite being the lead yet that isn’t in any way a criticism or a limitation. Rather Moura takes into the details of his world by conveying it through his powerful eyes of watching the world around him. As we follow him as he has a job setup at archives, where he intends to find some kind of documentation on the life of his own mother while also avoiding the law, unfortunately the corrupt police chief occasionally uses the building to look more official and is stationed nearby. Moura’s performance takes it all in quite naturally where we get his bits of bemusement at coworkers being attracted to him, his quiet concern but also befuddlement at seeing the sloppy yet oppressive operations of the police near him. Moura in each beat manages to highlight the humanity of the situation by so empathetically conveying what he’s going through in this curious state. A state that isn’t all sadness, there’s moments of joy but it is also just a constant struggle. A struggle that gets greater because the police chief takes a liking to Armando, much to his own chagrin. Moura’s terrific in his finding the face of a man just going along not to upset the chief, who likes to go around hassling a local German mainly, and seeing the understated disgust he manages to hold behind it all, with a bit of concern for his safety. Moura’s performance works very much in the margins here and brilliantly so as we very much live within his headspace.
We eventually learn what is behind this whole situation and what is really going on in the deep recesses of Armando’s mind when he meets with a resistance group attempting to help him while also documenting his story. This is one of Moura’s most expressive scenes and he does not waste it as Armando begins to speak of how he got here due to his former days as a college professor where his views contrasted heavily with a visiting powerful executive Ghirotti. Moura’s delivery of explaining that he’d kill the man with a hammer is so powerful because he's been such a normal calm guy before this point, but also we see just how much pain from the past is in this single statement. Pain from the interaction we will soon see but also pain for what this man represents to him. We see in flashback a bit of a different man in Armando, and not just the beard. Moura shows an interesting alternative of the man in a way seemingly weighted by his own political passions a bit more in his interactions with the man where he makes it quite openly clear in his reactions even when he doesn’t say it. Moura shows the man ready to make a statement even if he keeps a certain fitting college professor's dignity in these moments. There is also less of a sadness about him given his wife is very much alive, and while the focus of these scenes isn’t strictly on their relationship the two performers quickly, without any fuss, grant you a sense of their ease together.
Within the flashback you see as Armando makes his disagreements with Ghirotti known with an academic but still passionate candor. Unfortunately Ghirotti doesn’t take it as a respectful disagreement as he, and his equally horrible son, continue to prod Armando and his wife, and so far as to make it wholly personal leading to a physical confrontation. Moura in the scene projects directly his support and care for his wife, and the quiet disgust of the man. The reaction though is of someone with certainty of their belief but also levity of believing that they express themselves freely. Ghirotti however doesn't allow that as he has hired hitmen to kill Armando’s for the disagreement. Back to the present Moura’s reaction is outstanding where we see his genuine disbelief that anyone would go to such a measure mixed within the existential horror and a degree of just being lost in how his world could suddenly come to such a strange place. The group leaves Armando with the warning and the promise of escape however only after a few days. Where Armando continues to try to exist best he can. Where we have a great moment where he and the other refugees bond over their situations. Moura’s delivery of his situation as a man marked for death is amazing because there’s so much sadness to it, a bit of almost comic reaction to the ridiculousness of the idea, but also the painful glint of hope as he shares his struggle with others in a similar situation with such sincere warmth.
We follow Armando through one more day which begins with a nightmare where he sees different aspects of his life with the reminders of the death threat and Moura’s heart wrenching in his awakening as he gives the most potent reaction in the film. As Moura isn’t just a man waking up from a nightmare, there’s all the pain and fear he’s going through, all releasing itself as he screams without conscious control. Armando continues on however as we see him going about still trying to find the document on his mother to prove her existence, where Moura’s simple yet profound delivery emphasizes just how much the document means as a memorial to her. We also have a truly moving moment where his father-in-law comes to show him a message from Fernando that essentially says he wishes to live with his dad. Moura’s understated reaction of just deep affection, sadness but also love is just so beautifully rendered in seeing how much joy Armando gets from his son wanting to go with him. In the reaction Moura conveys both the sense of love for his son but still the stinging loss of his wife and really his family from the circumstances he lives in now. Speaking of the circumstances, unfortunately a hitman shows up eyeing Armando, where Moura’s performance suddenly becomes the lead to the thriller that the name of the film might suggest. Where Moura takes you through every emotional beat as he keeps the calm manner yet in his eyes you can see the intensity of his anxiety, which he attempts to alleviate by asking the corrupt chief for help. Which results in a bloody gunfight between the chief’s men and the hitman, which Moura’s reactions again are so key in embodying the horror of the moment, though also that they need to survive. As he makes you feel every step of his throughout the scene building to the pressure of making the call and pleading to make his escape.
The film abruptly cuts to the present day where we find researchers uncovering Armando’s sad story that ends like Llewelyn Moss in No Country For Old Men, with an onscreen death. Which in a way reflects the real purpose of Moura’s performance which is to make you fully understand this life, the fears, the loves, the moments of happiness, just the moments of observation and understand the loss of a single life within this cruel system. BUT, Moura also plays one more part as he also plays the older Fernando in the modern day, now a doctor who speaks to the researcher for a bit. It’s a brief secondary performance, unlike Jordan though it is interesting that he connects to another lead from this year, where Moura doesn’t waste the opportunity to present a very different man in Fernando. He doesn’t simply make him the father, we see the son with a different timbre of voice, different physical manner and just spirit. Not in an overly showy way but a way where you accept him as the son not the father. His scene is brief but well observed where Moura’s delivery offers a combination between a nostalgia for the joy he can feel from the time and the deep existential sadness connected to the fact that he has no conscious memories of his father. Moura’s very moving because you just sense the wishes of having been able to know his father but also the calm acceptance of the man now living on with the blunt truth that Armando is a memory he’ll never have. Both performances offering a beautiful testament to a central idea of the film, of the importance of a single victim and how it echoes through time.
Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Best Actor 2025: Michael B. Jordan in Sinners
Michael B. Jordan received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Elijah "Smoke" Moore and Elias "Stack" Moore in Sinners.
Michael B. Jordan takes on the fairly unique Oscar nominated role of playing two roles, where both roles are substantial parts within the film. Jordan’s performance is also unique because the effect of having him twice on screen is frequent within the film to the point you don’t really even think about Jordan playing both parts because the effect is seamless. The film though early on makes the clear distinction between the brothers as we first have the wide brimmed Stack with red highlights and the capped Smoke with blue highlights. This distinction is emphasized all the more by the first scene where the two go about buying what they think is a local sawmill from a white landowner. The first question being if they’re twins, to which Jordan as Smoke stays silent, while Stack smiles and says “Nah we cousins” with a slightly more pronounced southern accent that feels wholly natural, which pretty much tells you so much about both men in this quick action. Essentially Jordan is tasked with two distinct types of performances to lead the film, with Stack he’s basically asked to pull out all of his charisma into the role, meanwhile as Smoke he’s asked to be the stoic somewhat cold protagonist. Two separate challenges that often intertwine with each other as contrast.
As Stack Jordan very much runs away with the role and that is all there is to it. There’s so much energy he brings that also feels so easy from him in creating the state of the expression of the guy who seems to want to accentuate the fun to be had in life as the starting point. Jordan commonly fits just this sly smile and just eagerness to roll with everything. Jordan delivers on such overwhelming charisma for the role where he is just shining in every scene he’s in until the switch of his character occurs. Where we see the spark in his eyes as most eager to start the juke joint as the most pleasurable of endeavors to him. Establishing a strong sense of his style and relationship as we see with their young cousin Sammie (Miles Caton), where Jordan brings such a strong sense of older brotherly warmth towards the younger Sammie and you can wholly sense how he just wants the best of him. Even his “well get him back in one piece” to Sammie’s strict religious father is with an earnest protective quality for him. Contrasting that strictly his Jordan’s more subdued work as Smoke where he keeps an often sullen expression and limited words to begin with but the deliveries he does have are sharp and direct. Where with Stack we saw the love, Jordan conveys a cold protection with harsh overtones of tough love. Such as when Sammie finds a snake in their hidden truck and Jordan makes his delivery of telling Sammie to step aside in frankly a dismissive way which effectively illustrates Smoke contrasting approach.
Within the setup of the film with both men moving to run errands to set-up their grand opening we get the disparate approaches to wrangling what they need. With Stack we get a bit more charm with the casual ease in which he broaches musician Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) to perform for the night, just through a slight smile and the enticing promise of beer with a bit of wink. We see him recruit a bouncer in Cornbread, where Jordan with a knowing smile both makes fun of Cornbread while also promising the strongest of sexual favors from his wife. Both deliveries Jordan realizes with the same charismatic ease of someone who knows how to pester then pester right to charm with that distinct sense of joy in each moment. Contrasting Stack’s easygoing manner we have Smoke go into town to buy supplies and set up a few things with the local shopkeep. Jordan’s performance in these moments I do think is less interesting than his work as Stack, and yes Stack is the showier role, however there is a way to be great when stoic, and I don’t think Jordan quite gets there. Rather he’s wholly fine in just projecting that direct coldness, that goes so far as to kneecap a local who tries to steal from his truck. Jordan emphasizes very much just the severe directness of Smoke as a man with a purpose, which while not but the stoicism didn’t quite sing for me in the same way he does with his charisma as Stack. One reason for the separation being that Smoke killed their father when he beating Stack. Which is a great scene for Jordan as Stack managing to start with the typical joking way before naturally segueing to a bit more somberness where we sense his respect for his brother and also his own hardship even if he's not anchored by it in the same way as Smoke.
Throughout this sequence we also are introduced to the two disparate love interests of the twins, for Stack we have Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) and for Smoke we have his estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku). With Stack, Jordan and Steinfeld’s chemistry is one of the extremely sexually charged where both are constantly doing with each other’s eyes what Bob Ferguson was going to do with Willa’s friend in One Battle After Another. Capturing just really their intense attraction, complicated by Mary's mixed but mostly white ancestry, where even that Jordan plays the notion of just wanting to give her up for her sake with an atypical but convincing moment of a bit of meekness from Stack. Rectified as we see convincingly just from that attraction which Jordan and Steinfeld realize with considerable ease. Contrasting that is the relationship between Annie and Smoke which is strained by the death of their child. Something that might speak to Smoke coldness in general however again I will say the actual scene between Mosaku and Jordan isn’t one of my favorites for the latter. Jordan brings a sullen face, but I feel he doesn’t quite find enough of expressing the internalization of his deep pain. Particularly the moment where he explains his struggle to come back to where there’s all that pain, a moment that I do feel from Mosaku’s performance but Jordan’s performance left me wanting more. It feels the moment to most crack open the stoic a bit, or show it truly festering underneath within the moment and I just don’t fully see either. And again I don’t think he’s bad, but it feels like a moment for something truly profound that I don’t think his performance entirely delivers on. It might stand out more to me because I think there's moments from Creed where Jordan is able to play this type of note far more successfully than he does here.
Throughout the opening night then we get the continuation of Jordan bringing such energy and fun with Stack, including a bit of extra empathy towards unpaying customers that Jordan all brings so naturally, and then we have that consistent sullen intensity of Smoke making the hardest rules and choices throughout the night. Unfortunately the night brings more than a lack of profits, we also get the entrance of vampires led by Remmick (Jack O’Connell). Where sadly they turn both Mary and Stack. Saddest of all because I’ll admit I kind of think this makes Stack suddenly the less interesting character as the puppet of Remmick, though Jordan does make the most of his dancing at Remmick's behest scene where he’s having the time of his life and that’s pretty great. But beyond that we just basically get evil Stack where Jordan delivers enough at being slightly maniacal as Remmick’s puppet but not as interesting as what came before. Conversely however I find that his performance as Smoke takes hold a bit more in bringing the commanding presence as his calm leads the other humans in dealing with their supernatural threat. With some striking moments of basically now revealing the emotion a bit more clearly in directly playing the grief of seeing his family and friends die, particularly in his moving reaction to having to kill Annie, though I’ll admit I’m a little taken out of the scene just because it seems like all the vampires decide to just let them have their emotional moment for reasons unknown, and also greater expression of real concern for Sammie throughout. Jordan holds together as the heroic lead in this section effectively, where the intensity does come to life more and we see the emotion fueling that intensity right till the end.
Where Jordan has an especially striking moment of protecting Sammie at the end, where he conveys quickly in his eyes the sense of relief in finding no bites on Sammie and also watching in horror as the vampires all burn alive. Followed by the climax after the climax where Stack battles the Ku Klux Klan that had been sent to kill the twins. Jordan’s compelling in again bringing emotion within the action scene and finds more emotion in his final moments after Smoke is fatally wounded in the battle and sees a vision of Annie and their child. Jordan’s depiction of his relief and acceptance is good, even if maybe not quite as powerful as the film intends. As much as I wasn’t wowed by much of Jordan as Stack as a vampire, I will say thankfully he does have a great scene in the film’s epilogue, where the surviving vampires of Mary and Stack visit an aged Sammie (Buddy Guy). Although not fully explained by the film one can assume that Stack is released from the vampire hive mind as Jordan plays the scene much more like Stack was in the early scenes of the film, with the caveat of a bit of sorrow of the immortal having lived decades as a vampire. Jordan delivers a wonderful sense of nostalgia towards Sammie’s music and even that warmth again towards his now older appearing cousin, and the simple appreciation of the man’s music once again. Followed by maybe Jordan’s single best moment which is his wistful agreement with Sammie over how happy the vampire day was before the vampires showed up. Jordan’s moment brings so much heart, so much regret, so much pain, but also a sense of love as he recounts it being the only day he felt truly free. It’s an outstanding final moment, in a very good set of performances. And I do hate how it feels like a damning his performance by merely thinking it is very good, given I don’t think Jordan is ever bad here, he goes from fine to great, and in a way the “fine’ moments stand out because he’s also great.
Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Best Actor 2025: Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another
Leonardo DiCaprio received his seventh acting Oscar nomination for portraying "Ghetto" Pat Calhoun aka "Rocketman" eventually known as Bob Ferguson in One Battle After Another.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays technically the lead of the film however it is not your usual lead in the way that his character exists within the narrative. As we initially more strongly follow Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) where DiCaprio “Ghetto” Pat is essentially a newer member to the revolutionary group the French 75, offering explosives for the group. DiCaprio's performance in the initial scene however is actually quite important and interesting as we see a certain timidity at first as he offers what he can do with a slight hint of fearing potential rejection. They take on what he can do and he helps them in a successful operation where what DiCaprio portrays, along with Taylor, is the adrenaline rush of the act. Where DiCaprio rages his passion about the revolution before raging just as passionately that he loves black women himself as Perfidia begins to passionately make out with her. Although honestly Taylor dominates the lust essentially and it is a fascinating alternative where DiCaprio shows the surprise but also the joy of being “taken” by her intensity. Where we briefly see their passions together for each other and the revolution, where DiCaprio’s performance just accentuates the idea of being swept along with it all. Unfortunately we see just as naturally the decay where basically the high of their initial discovery of sex and the revolution wears off. DiCaprio’s great in showing the strange state of maturation where in his eyes and reactions you see the timidity to say what he needs to say to his wife, even after she becomes pregnant, DiCaprio’s performance accentuates more so now a calmer concern with life.
Although I do need to mention just a brief detour in this section of DiCaprio’s performance isn’t comedic yet except his one scene with Sean Penn as Col. Stephen J. Lockjaw who is also having sex with Perfidia, where Lockjaw randomly talks to Pat at a grocery store where he proclaims his love of “black girls” to him, and DiCaprio gets all the credit in the world for his pitch perfect “WTF” reaction to him during, for him, a totally random encounter. Back to the main though is Perfidia continuing to be fall on revolutionary even after their daughter is born, and in their big fight, you see the two sides where DiCaprio’s performance accentuates a desire now for normalcy where there is the come down from the revolution and the desire just to raise his child. DiCaprio doesn’t suggest that Pat was lying previously but does show someone who was swept up who is no longer swept up, now just wants to live a life. An idea Perfidia doesn’t accept leading to her arrest and the destruction of much of the French 75, where Pat and his daughter Charlene are sent into hiding, with the new names of Bob and Willa Ferguson. Meanwhile Perfidia disappears altogether, leaving Bob and Willa to live normal lives on their own.
We have a time jump and with that we have a massive performance jump from former ardent revolutionary to caring father to now…burnout. And honestly the whole swing of DiCaprio’s performance is a magnificent one as he becomes nearly fully comic, though a very specific note that he manages to excel with here in portraying this as the result of years of drugs and paranoia where we now have Bob as he is called in such a different state. Something we see right away at a parent teacher conference where DiCaprio’s work is already amazing where his dazed look of only half listening to the teacher, where he then needs to randomly speak his bona fides as a revolutionary, although delivered in the most messy of ways, as Bob needs to note the “right history” and Ben Franklin was a slave holder. DiCaprio’s great because he shows that Bob does believe in that passion in some truly messy way that he has no grasp of whatsoever, but the more overriding quality is that dazed look where he seems barely awake as the teacher is trying to tell him about his daughter. We find Bob’s more common experience in his morning conversation with Willa, now played by Chase Infiniti, where she grills him a bit on what he was doing the previous night. DiCaprio’s delivery is wonderful in the meek attempt to try to put a bit of dad bluster in defending himself so half-heartedly, yet is more convincing as the child trying to explain away his bad behavior of drinking and driving as anything but.
DiCaprio finds the artistry of playing the burnout as manages to be very funny while also believably playing into the state of this man who is always at least half high/half drunk and fully paranoid at only having memories of his old life while attempting to be a dad sorta. An excellent moment for DiCaprio to run with as Willa’s friends come over to pick her up for a dance and DiCaprio gives us a masterclass in how to be as unhip as possible. From his immediate overblown reaction to them pulling up, with one of my favorite line deliveries of 2025 “and they just have a red car like that, driving a little loud don’t yah think?” which DiCaprio manages to make speak to Bob’s constant state of concern and paranoia, while also just being hilarious as a dad wholly out of step with everything. Followed by just as wonderfully his asking for clarification on the gender state of one of her friends, because DiCaprio again manages to be so perfectly painfully awkward even as Bob theoretically is trying to connect. Of course less connective is talking to one of her friends where DiCaprio is comic gold where we see the pure classic dad come out as he threatens the friend if he’s to violate his daughter at all, where DiCaprio’s strong arming is such a bit of great ridiculousness amplified only by his repeated stumbling use of the word “Homie” one too many times.
Unfortunately for Bob and Willa, Stephen J. Lockjaw in the hope of becoming a Christmas Adventurer needs to erase all evidence of his relationship with Perfidia, which sadly may include Willa herself, and leads to Stephen using a crackdown on Bob and Willa’s hometown in order to find Willa. Where Bob gets a warning call from the remnants of the French 75, and DiCaprio’s reaction to the call is outstanding because he’s basically waking up twice, once literally, second to basically his past in a way where you just see the memories going through his eyes as he’s trying to recall the old passwords before setting off to find a rendezvous point with Willa and the French 75, unfortunately for Bob Lockjaw is at his front door leading to a sudden escape. Where we go from struggling dad to now man on the run, though Bob is hardly Richard Kimble when it comes to being a fugitive. Rather what DiCaprio runs with is the physicality of the already paranoid man on the run, where every movement is a turn to look for something to get him, which to be fair is true, yet amplified to an extreme, before we get Bob’s first phone call to the revolutionary hotline. DiCaprio illustrates the struggle of Bob with such magnificent detail as even he gets the first couple right you see how he’s pulling it deeply in drug rattled memory banks, until he gets stuck and I love his delivery as purely like someone on a customer service line just trying to get past the red tape rather than any sort of responses to a secret organization.
Luckily for Bob he finds the best person to discover in a crisis Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio del Toro) who is Willa’s karate Sensei. Where we then get basically such a great duo act between del Toro’s calm and DiCaprio being anything other than calm. Del Toro’s movements of knowing exactly what to do make for perfect contrast against DiCaprio being all over the place, always slightly scared, and being completely lost in every scene as he is constantly looking in every direction and is moving in anywhere other than a straight line. Sensei thankfully is able to hide Bob away and give him a chance to make another phone call to the revolution organization, where DiCaprio again delivers a masterclass on the frustrations of customer service. I love his expressions as you just feel the volcanic level of annoyance every time the speaker keeps insisting on the “what’s the time” password, but DiCaprio naturally weaves in the actual palatable sense of distress of not being able to find his daughter in certain moments where he’s on the near breakdown as he fails to come up with the name. DiCaprio marvelously does a natural switch up though when essentially he asks to speak with the “manager” who happens to be one of his old comrades and he finally gets the rendezvous point. DiCaprio brings the right type of bluster as Bob is filled with a bit of confidence from the minor victory and even getting to chew out Comrade Josh who had been the unhelpful revolutionary service representative.
I love the beat we get as Sensei sends him off with a mission and his own rifle to escape, where we get a quick bit of Pat Calhoun as DiCaprio brings out his old revolutionary spirit to give a bit “viva the revolution” praise. Unfortunately Bob’s newfound confidence is premature as he almost instantly falls off a building and is tased and arrested by the local police. The comedown unfortunately is quite severe as Bob pronounces himself as “Batman” in the most sorrowful delivery of a man completely lost again while being arrested. Thankfully for him Sensei’s influence stretches him far enough to get released from prison and Sensei goes about delivering Bob himself to the rendezvous point. Here’s where we get perhaps DiCaprio’s greatest scene where we get Bob probably closest to his sober self as DiCaprio brings such a subtle quiet contemplative emotion as he thinks about the failures of his relationship with Perfidia as well as his less than perfect state with Willa. DiCaprio’s delivery of “I can’t do her hair right” is just so heartbreakingly delivered by DiCaprio. As he conveys so deeply his own feelings of failures as a dad yet within that moment he also conveys really how deeply he truly cares about Willa despite all his flaws. A moment that speaks to the strength of DiCaprio’s work because there is no clash with the comedy of his pratfalls rather it all feels different aspects of the same man.
The finale of the film is an interesting anti-action hero situation for DiCaprio because while he technically is the “hero” of the piece as he goes about running to save Willa, what we see him do is always being a few steps behind. DiCaprio though is terrific in being the less than ideal hero, as his moment of trading shots with the army, then trying to track down an escaping Lockjaw, who has Willa, DiCaprio’s performance punctuates the less than ideal warrior Bob is well conveying consistently his emotional need to desperately find the daughter he loves. He manages to convey though some semblance of courage now in Bob and not quite as paranoid, even if not exactly a precise operator. As Bob doesn’t exactly save the day, Willa ends up escaping and stopping a man from killing her, but Bob does what is maybe most necessary, which is to be there. Where DiCaprio makes the most of the reconciliation scene where he manages to speak of all the fears and screwups in his emotional exhaustion, yet within it there is the palatable need to find his daughter and just see her again. It’s a moving scene where DiCaprio finds the fundamental truths of Bob that no matter all his flaws, he does love his daughter and will be there for her. In the final scene of the film, DiCaprio’s great actually in the simplicity of the choice, which is just emphasizing that Bob is a bit more put together not wholly, but more so his reactions to Willa are with calm, support and understanding. He’s not putting a lot on it, and it is the perfect choice to make a deeply moving final moment to both their relationship and the film. After not being impressed by his last two performances, this is a full return to form for DiCaprio. This is a great performance from DiCaprio, one that makes great use of his comedic sensibilities but with a strong sense of tone. Where DiCaprio manages to create a funny portrait of a burned out former revolutionary, but with his as essential genuinely moving undercurrent of the depiction of the struggle just to be a dad.
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