Alternate Best Actor 2004: Results

 9. Gael García Bernal in The Motorcycle Diaries - Creates a striking portrait of a man finding his path, convincing as a man but also granting the traits that would create the myth essentially. 

Best Scene: "Political Speech"

8. Irrfan Khan in Maqbool - Gives a captivating take on the oft played character even if the adaptation makes it all in a bit of a rush. 

Best Scene: Making his final decision. 

7. Christian Bale in The Machinist - Bale gives a compelling depiction of the character's mental anguish within his often noted physical transformation. 

Best Scene: Paranoid outburst

6. Shah Rukh Khan in Swades - Khan gives a properly charismatic and moving portrayal of a man finding his path in life. 

Best Scene: Entertaining during a power outage. 

5. Mads Mikkelsen in Pusher II - Mikkelsen gives a moving portrayal of man going from a thug looking for acceptance towards attempting to find a better life through self-improvement. 

Best Scene: Learning about his son.

4. Yuya Yagira in Nobody Knows - Yagira gives a wholly honest portrayal of both the enforced responsibility of an adult and the frustrated boy within. 

Best Scene: Confronting his mom

3. Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou - Murray on the surface gives a very funny Bill Murray deadpan performance, but at the same time a powerful portrayal of a man coming to terms with his mortality. 

Best Scene: "I wonder if he remembers me".

2. Tony Leung in 2046 - Leung delivers a great follow-up performance because he successfully expands the role but also powerfully never loses the strength of his original work, by presenting a man still ever haunted however has to continue to live on.

Best Scene: Rejecting Bai Ling.

1. Paddy Considine in Dead Man's Shoes - Good predictions Luke, Jonathan, Tony, Perfectionist, Lucas, A, Harris, Brazinterma, Omar, Tahmeed & RatedRStar. Despite being the theoretical "hero" Considine delivers an absolutely terrifying but also deeply emotional portrayal of a man with a single unrelenting focus. 

Best Scene: His "Party".

Updated Overall

Next: Backlog

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. 

Alternate Best Actor 2004

 And the Nominees Were Not:

Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice

Christian Bale in The Machinist

Gael García Bernal in The Motorcycle Diaries

Mads Mikkelsen in Pusher II

Paddy Considine in Dead Man's Shoes

nor

Irrfan Khan in Maqbool

Tony Leung Chiu Wai in 2046

Yuya Yagira in Nobody Knows

Shah Rukh Khan in Swades

Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

Predict either set or both.

And an out of competition review of Daniel Brühl in The Edukators.

Alternate Best Actor 2013: Results

10. Alden Ehrenreich in Beautiful Creatures - Ehrenreich brings such a genuine charm and sincerity in his work that he manages to make up for a mostly bland part. 

Best Scene: The course of his life.

9. Domhnall Gleeson in About Time - Gleeson gives an appropriately charming and endearing turn that manages to balance the film's tone nicely.

Best Scene: Final talk with dad.

8. Toni Servillo in The Great Beauty - Although I had no great affection for his film, Servillo managed to carry me through it in his charming and reflective portrayal of a man trying to find meaning in hollow extravagance.

Best Scene: Finding a great beauty.

7. Sol Kyung-gu in Hope - Although somewhat underused by the film he's in, Sol does deliver in granting the appropriate heartbreak and anger in a father's reaction to a true horror being inflicted upon his family.

Best Scene: Shifting his daughter to another room. 

6. Terence Stamp in Song For Marion - Stamp delivers, even when his film gets a bit corny, offering a genuine portrayal of grief that rises above his material.

Best Scene: "Goodnight My Angel"

5. Ethan Hawke in Before Midnight - Hawke gives an excellent turn continuing naturally in his "maturation"  of Jesse especially in how that is reflected with his chemistry with Julie Delpy as Celine.

Best Scene: Hotel room fight.

4. Simon Pegg in The World's End - Pegg delivers an overtly hilarious performance as a man still living as a high school rebel, though is equally heartbreaking in revealing the sad truth of such a state.

Best Scene: Nothing got better.

3. Christian Bale in Out of the Furnace - Bale gives perhaps his quietest turn and one of his most powerful as a man defined by hardship essentially fulfilling a personal duty through revenge. 

Best Scene: Listening to the tape.

2. Christoph Waltz in The Zero Theorem - Waltz gives a turn completely unlike his Oscar winning ones, through his moving depiction of  of the struggle of an extreme introvert while maintaining the humanity needed for the film's surreal journey.

Best Scene: Turning Down Bainsley's Offer.

1. Masaharu Fukuyama in Like Father. Like Son - Good predictions Michael Patison, Charles H., Luke and Tahmeed. Fukuyama gives a great naturalistic turn that manages to give such a restrained yet truly poignant portrayal of a father coming to term with his faults through some very unlikely circumstances.

Best Scene: Reuniting with his son.

Updated Overall

Next: Supporting 2013

Alternate Best Actor 2013: Christian Bale in Out of The Furnace

Christian Bale did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Russell Baze in Out of the Furnace.

Out of the Furnace is a particularly frustrating watch as there is so much potential within it, however its missteps leads it to fall short of greatness, even goodness quite honestly.

Christian Bale's performance stands perhaps as the greatest testament to the potential of the film, in his portrayal of a Pennsylvania industrial worker Russell Baze. Bale's work here from the outset is fascinating as he's known for his transformative turns, often in a way that brandishes that idea. Now technically this is that, in his wiry frame, southern accent and general demeanor. Not a moment of Bale's work, however feels like a facade. The entirety of it has this deeply lived in quality within his work, a performance that just evokes years of a hard life in every harried breath and exasperated words. Bale's portrayal isn't that of a man who is tired of life, but rather evokes the idea of a man who has lived this hard life, and will continue to live this to do. The history he bares on his brow from the second we see him here, in his richly textured work that just makes Russell Baze evoke this place, and even poverty of its setting, far more so than is even achieved within the film's writing or direction. Bale is locked in within this character, and the depth of this performance is quite frankly this consistently compelling element, within a story that may not be worthy of it.

Well in that we have Bale here who just lives within this character in such a remarkable fashion, as Bale does play so close to the chest, fitting of a man of few words and even fewer prospects. One of the essential elements of Bale's performance though is that he doesn't portray a dismay over this, though does not hide the wear of this either. It is a particularly powerful juxtaposition all just within Bale's performance. In that we do see a man living his life with a real essentially stability, even within the hardship of dealing with his dying father, and generally poor means of existence. Bale's work is though with a contentment of the existence that in itself carries with it a definite power. He is able to convey a man who not only has settled rather has never even minded the idea of anything other than this place and time for himself. This is in Bale's performance that carries the weight of the life, but not with a shame within it. This is a carefully realized work that is downright marvelous, as he does express a certain, I wouldn't quite say joy, but there is a warmth even within the harshness that exists within the presence of Russell as portrayed by Bale.

Russell's life quickly becomes worse however through the first bit of unfortunate luck as he accidentally kills two people in an auto crash after having been drinking. This scene of this discovery is a testament of the strength of Bale's performance in the moment. This is as his reaction to the moment is not this big cry of anguish, but rather this beautifully internalized distress as in the scene he slowly conducts this slow realizes building in the man's painful realization of what has transpired. This lands Russell in jail, a plot point almost brushed by in the film, essentially to fulfill a plot point. Bale though does not treat it as a plot point, and is again terrific in portraying Russell's state of being in the prison. Again the restraint is so important in his performance portraying the man as again living it, with a bit more understated concern, however mostly with the same understanding of a man whose life hasn't exactly been anything life affirming to begin with. When Russell explains to his brother (Casey Affleck) that he barely even considers it a hardship, the hope in his voice Bale brings such a truth within it fitting to a man whose always known a similar state.

Russell is eventually released from prison which after he gets out he has more losses the protagonist of an old fashioned country song, as his girlfriend (Zoe Saldana) has left him, his brother has been traumatized by war and his father has died. That's a whole lot, and quite frankly the pace of how each of these is handled should have little to no effect. Bale's work however grants a weight to each and every one of these moments no matter how rushed they are. Bale's portrayal though intends to find the detail within it, even when the material itself rams it through within the narrative. Again Bale's work carries such a conviction of this person, that he manages to brings into the intimacy of the man's mind and the way he deals with the tragedy of his life. Bale brings such a calm nuance in his moment of hearing of his father's death that reveals the real heartbreak, but with also the resigned expectation of a man who has long sense known it was coming. Bale delivers this even with the far more superfluous element of the girlfriend who has left him for the local police chief (a laughably bad Forest Whitaker).

That is essentially made in a single scene of him randomly running into her. Bale's outstanding however he in bringing this hesitant energy, an excitement that he shows Russell almost doesn't know what to do with as he essentially pledges his love for her. Bale brings such an almost endearing unease by making this so genuinely disjointed as this quieter man where such an experience is almost against his nature. Bale in this moments reveals all the greater vulnerability of such sincere love, which is quickly stopped when she reveals she's pregnant from her new relationship. Bale's breakdown is absolutely heartbreaking, in one moment of more overt anguish, that Bale makes natural given his state of vulnerability. He plays it brilliantly though showing how all his losses hit him in this time of realization, granting in this breakdown as a moment of Russell essentially giving into all those feelings that lay dormant within him. I'll admit there is no reason I should've cared at all about this relationship based on the direction and editing of the film, however Bale made me care by offering such a sincere portrayal of what the relationship meant to Russell that he is able to overcome the shortcomings of the film.

The final loss though is in his brother whose experiences in war, a particularly poorly realized element overall, has left him traumatized and searching for a strange relief through bare knuckle fighting/gambling. Bale nonetheless grants a gravity to this situation through his effortless portrayal of his chemistry with Affleck. Bale has never been known as the warmest performer, and nor is Russell what one might say is a cheery character to say the least. It is then so very notable how Bale in these interactions is able to emphasize, in his eyes, and the absolute concern in his voice how much Russell loves and cares for his brother, as his brother goes to the void. There is a moment where his brother reveals all his pains, and though it theoretically should be Affleck's scene, Bale is the who leaves the lasting impression through nearly silent yet oh so poignant portrayal of Russell taking in each word while not knowing what to say. Eventually this leads to yet another loss when a series of events leads to his brother's death by the hand of essentially an evil hillbilly drug dealer by the name of Harlan DeGroat (Woody Harrelson).

When initially told of the news, Bale's performance again is excellent as these circumstances are not of the personal space, as manages to essentially tell it all within his subdued expression. Bale's work though again expresses wholly the anguish even as he does not shed a single tear at the news. His face though just carries that little bit more of wear as there is yet another burden placed upon the man. What follows is a rather typical revenge plot as Russell goes about first seeking out his brother, who he doesn't know is dead initially, then seeking revenge against DeGroat. Bale delivers the needed substance within his own performance, regardless of the material. Bale doesn't portray this as a typical anger, but rather with an intense, yet all the same, subdued conviction. Bale depicts the vendetta less as a personal need, but rather as this duty to his brother. Bale through this, finds a real emotional potency within this attachment to his brother at every point, and a real pathos within the act of violence as he goes to kill DeGroat. In the final moments of the film when he finally confronts DeGroat, Bale's eyes do nearly all of the speaking in his moment. There isn't an overt hate, but rather this incredible calm that evokes the remembrance for his brother more than any other emotion. It is extraordinary as Bale manages to bring the emotional turmoil within the moment of being this avenging angel, and finding a power in it, even with Forrest Whittaker being in the background of the scene and nearly sabotaging through his unintentionally hilarious delivery. This is an outstanding performance by Christian Bale as he delivers such a vivid work that exists beyond the trappings of the plot. His portrait of this man has a life and depth to it that exists beyond the confines of the film, He is able to realize Russell in a way that alludes to a greater potential of the material that is not realized within the film itself. Bale manages though to bring that potential to life within his own work, to the extent it overcomes those weaknesses through one of his most subdued and strongest turns.

Alternate Best Actor 2013

And the Nominees Were Not:

Toni Servillo in The Great Beauty

Domhnall Gleeson in About Time

Christoph Waltz in The Zero Theorem

Simon Pegg in The World's End (feat. Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz)  

Sol Kyung-gu in Hope

Predict these five or those five, or both:

Alden Ehrenreich in Beautiful Creatures

Ethan Hawke in Before Midnight

Christian Bale in Out of the Furnace 

Terence Stamp in Song for Marion

Masaharu Fukuyama in Like Father, Like Son

Best Actor 2018: Results

5. Viggo Mortensen in Green Book - Mortensen gives one of the least impressive turns of his career as he's stuck as a broad comedic caricature between two jarring tones of a buddy comedy, and a serious drama.

Best Scene: Writing the final letter.

4. Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody - Malek does his best to enliven the film's surface depiction of Freddie Mercury, as he manages to realizes the power of the man's personality and stage presence, even though not his voice.

Best Scene: Telling the band about his diagnosis.

3. Christian Bale in Vice - Although he's in a terrible film, Bale manages to give a convincing realization of the personal style of Dick Cheney, and manages to find at least some depth to the character even though this is limited by the terrible script he's working with.

Best Scene: Comforting his daughter.

2. Bradley Cooper in A Star is Born - Cooper, despite a few missteps and missed opportunities, gives an effective realization of the rock star personality and presence of his character, while also powerfully expressing the inner demons that haunt him.

Best Scene: Telling his brother the truth.

1. Willem Dafoe in At Eternity's Gate - Good prediction Matt Mustin, Dafoe easily wins this lineup for me in his heartbreaking yet also in some ways inspiring portrayal of Vincent van Gogh as a man who experiences reality in a different form.

Best Scene: Confession about cutting his ear.

Next: 2018 Supporting

Best Actor 2018: Christian Bale in Vice

Christian Bale received his fourth Oscar nomination for portraying Dick Cheney in Vice.

Vice is a terrible film about the rise to power of Dick Cheney.

Vice being terrible is not from a single minor element, but from so many bad, or poorly executed ideas all smashed together like a jigsaw puzzle constructed by an infant. Sadly this is an infant who is constantly condescending to you how brilliant their jigsaw puzzle is and how stupid you are for not noticing how the pieces "should" fit together. Mind you this infant also claims that at the start of the puzzle making that he really was just guessing for the most part, but then at the end tells you all his choices are vetted facts. Of course when writing about this film I will need to digress now and again, as it is hard to not just constantly express my disdain for the overall film. I'm not strictly here for that, though this is going to come up a lot, as I'm here to discuss Christian Bale's performance in the film. This being Bale's second Oscar nominated turn directed by the infant...I mean Adam McKay, and the second where he plays largely a dramatic role despite being in the film that often leans towards the comic in tone, though very poorly mind you. There are a few performances though that are over the top and playing for the laughs, however Bale's isn't really the case, outside one minor detail that I will get to. Bale's here to give us the man that is Cheney, or at least the one allowed by McKay's film.

Cheney was previously portrayed, effectively, by Richard Dreyfuss in the more subtle examination of the Bush administration W. and you know when Oliver Stone is more subtle than you, you might  want to look at yourself carefully in the mirror. Any who, Dreyfuss is in an approximate type of Cheney as in if you hear the casting, you say " that makes sense". Bale on the other hand doesn't remotely look like Cheney or share any of the same mannerisms, so no matter what this was going to be an extreme transformation, which is essentially Bale's trademark at this point. This of course begins with the physical, which at this point it seems like he would amputate his fingers if a role called for, given the extent of weight he puts on here to be the right physical approximation of Cheney. There is more work though to done as Bale seeks to become a full embodiment of every little tic, from his way of tilting his head away from those he's speaking to, his grumbling from the side of his mouth, and just even his exact way of breathing. Bale hits each and every mark in this regard, and feels especially comfortable with these mannerisms, aided by some careful makeup, as the older Cheney. His younger Cheney is less clearly defined, but that has more to do with the script. I have no criticisms here as Bale successfully becomes Cheney physically more or less, and I do think it is beyond a parody impersonation.

I can certainly praise more about Bale's work in terms of his surface performance. Bale, as Dreyfuss did, captures this certain power of personality that is not related to charisma. Bale rather evokes this same sort of internalized determination in his delivery of Cheney's recommendations that seem so assured, that it makes it convincing he could persuade. His persuasion is not through charming those around him, it is rather being seemingly "right" in what he is telling them, and evoking this confidence in a very specific way. This being this quiet in many ways understated certainty. This in part comes from that delivery but also just physical confidence. In a way Bale successfully makes the less appealing physical marks of the character work towards this. In that many of his behaviors like not always looking people in the eye, and speaking out of the side of his mouth, that could be more of a more retiring sort. The power though is within that conviction that Bale realizes in this method, essentially as a man who doesn't need to face you constantly, as he knows, or at least believes he's above you, and doesn't need to speak loudly or directly at you, because he knows you will listen.

Now with Bale really all set to explore Cheney, having his surface qualities down, he just needs a good script to work with to make this an outstanding piece of acting, sadly he's got Vice's. I'll say the comedic tone attempted by the film isn't even the problem with this as Bale plays it straight, all except for the moments where Cheney is having a heart attack where he underplays his own concern. This is over the top by being so quiet as he shows so little worry at it, but I'll be perfectly honest, his delivery of these moments were the only things I found remotely funny in the film. Bale otherwise is consistent with the character as a mostly serious representation of the man, this is even with some terrible "bits" that McKay throws in there. The worst of them being having Cheney and his wife Lynne (Amy Adams), go into a bit of Shakespearean blank verse (not soliloquy as the film says, because it's not one person talking to him or herself) to dramatize his decision to take the vice presidency under George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell). This is frankly an embarrassing scene for both actors however Bale pushes himself through it with as much dignity as he can by just trying to deliver the words as naturally as he can. That is perhaps misguided on his part as it is still atrocious, and both actors look bad doing it.

Thankfully Bale doesn't have to deal with too many horrible bits along the way, but he does have to make sense of McKay's version of Cheney. McKay knows he's angry at Cheney, but just like an infant, his response comes off as more of tantrum than a well reasoned dismantlement of the man. A part of this is in the motivation of Cheney throughout the film. McKay decides to say Cheney's doing it solely for power to the point he shows Cheney becoming a Republican because he likes Donald Rumsfeld(Steve Carell)'s personal style. He goes so far to even have a moment where he asks Rumsfeld "what they believe". This is a ridiculous sentiment, and historically untrue, but above all it's just nonsensical to make this accusation. As a person who has firm beliefs can be just as horrible as someone who doesn't care, as you know this guy Adolf Hitler, had some very strong beliefs, yet still was a nadir of humanity. Anyway this leaves part of the film with Bale just doing this imposing force of "evil" act, and essentially every bad decision ever made, including the creation of ISIS, was done by Cheney's meddling according to McKay. Now that is a problematic in many ways, but one of the major ones is it basically makes the narrative, "Cheney did this, then this, then this, then this, then this, then this, then this" without any real insight into a single element of his political career. Bale in turn doesn't get enough of a chance to really do much past the surface other than portray the brutal force of will that is the man. Bale makes an impact with this to be sure, as his aforementioned realization of Cheney's personal style is effective. It sadly leaves thought the rise to power a rather bland one with Bale rarely getting to really sink his teeth into a scene to explore the character beyond a cursory point.

Of course McKay, I think accidentally, has another possible motivation or by way of only a single draft of the script I would imagine. This being the idea that he's doing it all for his family. This would at least explain the inexplicable, historically and otherwise, inclusion of a very thin conspiracy theory that Lynne Cheney's father killed her mother. I think this is in the film to show Cheney's protective spirit towards his family, though this is rather muddled if that was the case. I honestly don't think it quite as McKay seems timid to the idea of the scenes between Cheney and his family, since he doesn't know what to do with the idea of the loving father, going so far to fully support his lesbian daughter despite it not being politically viable for him. Having said that, while McKay doesn't know what to do with it, Bale does. In his scenes with his daughters, old or young, Bale brings a notable vulnerability and shows just the purest warmth of a father's love. I will especially give him credit in his scenes of comforting his daughter when she comes out to him, or his scene of near heart failure. Bale doesn't wink in the slightest just bringing the deepest tenderness in the moment, honestly depicting a father's love even if the man is questionable otherwise. McKay of course feels he has to lampshade that even with his laborious ending where he tries to argue a case for Cheney's betrayal of his daughter afterall, though this is an especially poorly written bit to which Bale has little involvement.

Anyway I think a far more compelling narrative could've been created stemming from Cheney seeking to protect and build his family no matter the cost if it had been better supported by the script. As Bale is most compelling in this regard, and this seems like a more believable motivation, than just a guy who wants power for the sake of it. This is as it fails to explain why he would be so specific in his endeavors involving the war on terror, McKay seems to suggest he abuses the power just to do so I guess, not for any personal reason, which is pretty dumb. The alternate motivation does work though, and again it genuinely seems like this Bale's take, despite McKay's efforts otherwise, when we arrive to Bale's last scene in the film, which was evidently Bale's idea. It's a legitimately great scene for Bale, from the outset when we see a reporter talking to him. This is the one scene we get to see Cheney fully in the public eye, and Bale's great in putting on the false bit of affability in his slight smile, trying to be a little less coldhearted. He of course then breaks the fourth wall, Bale's idea, but the speech, and Bale's approach plays into that more potent motivation for Cheney's actions. This idea that his "protection" of his family essentially goes to these extremes to destroy all enemies domestic and especially abroad. Bale reveals this quite effectively in his emotional break as this unrepentant, vicious, yet honestly passionate portrayal of the man's conviction to his beliefs. It has a real power through Bale's delivery, that offers a greater depth than he was allowed to reveal for the majority of the film. This brief scene makes me wish that Bale had been in a far better film about the subject. Bale is on point, and at times finds more than is on the page, and often independently rises above his material. Although the weaknesses of this film limit what Bale can do with the character, it is a good performance in an atrocious film.

Best Actor 2018

And the Nominees Are:

Viggo Mortensen in Green Book

Christian Bale in Vice

Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody

Bradley Cooper in A Star is Born

Willem Dafoe in At Eternity's Gate

Alternate Best Actor 1987: Results

10. Gaspard Manesse in Au Revoir Les Enfants -Manesse gives a fine natural turn however his performance is largely limited as the perspective of a mostly naive young boy.

Best Scene: The ending.

9. Steve Martin in Roxanne - Martin gives a surprisingly respectful sendoff of the Cyrano character re-imagined as a fireman, though I perhaps wish he stayed even truer to the spirit of the original.

Best Scene: Smelling fire.

8. Joe Mantegna in House of Games - Mantegna is limited by the character however he gives effective portrayals of the many different sides of a con man, from the sucker, to the smooth operator, and even just the slime ball beneath it all.

Best Scene: "Thank you sir, may I have another"

7. Klaus Kinski in Cobra Verde - Kinski as usually makes an impact in his emotionally raw turn however his work is constricted by the film's distant perspective character.

Best Scene: How to spear

6. Martin Short in Innerspace - Short gives an absolutely hilarious portrayal of an especially unlikely hero, but he also naturally finds some dramatic substance in his character's journey towards confidence.

Best Scene: The dream in reality.

5. Christian Bale in Empire of the Son - Bale gives a dramatic and compelling portrayal of the gradual maturation of a young boy through the horrors of war. His work though often seems strangely at odds with Steven Spielberg who seems often too timid to make a story about the loss of innocence.

Best Scene: After the bombings. 

4. Terry O'Quinn in The Stepfather - O'Quinn is in a garbage film however he breaths a genuinely chilling life into a man who thrives on the love of family but does so through killing them.

Best Scene: Who am I?

3. Cary Elwes in The Princess Bride - Elwes gives a somewhat underrated turn, in a highly regarded film, as his work captures just the perfect tone between earnest charisma, and sly comedy.

Best Scene: "Drop your sword"

2. Richard E. Grant in Withnail and I - Richard E. Grant delivers a marvelous feature film debut in his varied comical, yet not without pathos, portrayal of an actor trying his best to play the play that is his life.

Best Scene: Hamlet in the rain.

1. Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart - Rourke tops this list with ease in his charismatic yet also brilliantly exhaustive portrayal of a vicious mental and moral decay of a man as he descends towards hell.

Best Scene: "I know who I am"

Updated Overall

Next Year: 1987 supporting

Alternate Best Actor 1987: Christian Bale in Empire of the Sun

Christian Bale did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Jamie "Jim" Graham in Empire of the Sun.

Empire of the Sun is a somewhat curious attempt by Steven Spielberg into straight drama as his love of adventure and whimsy seems to muddle his intention of a loss of innocence through the story of a English boy in Japanese occupied China during World War II. The film is not without merit, however.

One of those merits is perhaps in the partial discovery of the talented Christian Bale. Obviously an actor who went onto acclaim in adulthood through his intense portrayals with a particularly extreme physical commitment to his roles. It is interesting then to look at Bale here who we see in the early scenes of the film as a soft spoiled school boy blissfully unaware in initially British controlled China. Although Bale is playing a bit of a brat this strangely enough is probably one of his most charismatic performances. He manages to not become excessively petulant in the portrayal of the character's attitude. Instead he makes it rather a natural curiosity within the character that includes seeing what he can "abuse" within his power he has in his initial privilege. Bale though establishes it well though with a more sympathetic child like wonder in the boy as he watches the culture around him, and becomes fascinated by aircraft. Bale brings the right specifically childlike wonder that sets up Jamie as very much interested in what surrounds him even if initially detached from it.

The film shifts itself quickly when the war directly hits China and Jamie is soon disposed from his world of luxury. He is separated from his parents and left to fend for himself within the war torn setting. Bale is excellent in these scenes in capturing the less focused intensity of the fear of the boy as he goes around looking for help. To the point he goes to a random self-centered ex-patriot named Basie (a kind of a miscast John Malkovich), whom he immediately looks up to. Bale plays this fascination with Basie well making the boy's loyalty to the obviously morally questionable man believable. He makes that fascination just so earnest and even heartfelt showing this innocence in his attitude suggesting the boy just simply must believe the man will help him. Of course the two quickly end up in a prison camp, and Basie nearly leaves Jim behind when they are about to be transferred to an internment camp. Bale has a great moment where he begs and pleas to go with him. Bale makes properly so messy of just this boy breaking down. He is decidedly not calculated in this which allows the moment to find the right naturalism as he shows it to still be Jamie as a boy just pleading for help from his new "father".

In the internment camp is where the problems in tone really arrive as Spielberg can't decide what film he is trying to tell with a strange mix of scenes. Spielberg himself seems to innocent to allow the innocence to go. In that we get Jamie, now Jim far more worldly as he survives in the camp. He only goes so far with this though still keeping it a boy playing a game of survival more than maturing to a survivalist. Bale's performance frankly conveys the themes little better as he fashions those softer side to bring a more inherent intensity, and even toughness in his portrayal. He brings a confidence within the tempering of emotions that effectively shows the boy beginning to understand the world he exists in. The film though shifts this with still those moments of wonderment in his moments of scrounging, and anything involving planes in the war. In these moments Jim is still fascinated by them, in nearly a childlike way, but with that greater intensity. The message Spielberg is trying to imply is perhaps a touch too vague, but Bale's portrayal of Jim's sincere devotion to aviation almost as a religion is remarkable. The passion is only more intense now, and Bale carries these moments to the point that they do have power even when their purpose is somewhat questionable. Is the idea that he's using these to hide his anguish, the film kind tries this but doesn't really pull off the idea very well. This is not a knock against Bale's work though as his moment of fully breaking down after a moment of jubilation is brilliantly performed. Again he excels in making it feel so authentic in the moment of Jim's painful realization of what he's lost, as this emotional turmoil, though the film fails to fully utilize this properly.

The film's ending is a particularly muddled element as Spielberg refuses to "grow up" despite wanting to tell a story of the loss of innocence. We see this through the whiplash in his direction that leaves Bale in a bit of strange place as Jim. In that we will have one scene of extreme horror in the sudden shooting of a young Japanese man that Jim desperately tries to resuscitate. Extremely well performed by Bale as he captures something childlike in his manic delivery that has this painful hope in it, wishing it like a child would. We then will get a strange moment of whimsy when he uncovers Basie's scrounged supplies and uses the old internment camp as a pseudo playground. The scene posits Jim fully as just a boy, and is out of place. There is nothing wrong with the way Bale captures the excitement however it is not natural by design. Spielberg kind of wants to make Come and See, but seems to timid to commit to the proposition. This becomes far more evident in the final scene which switches again where we meet Jim in an orphanage. There the loss of innocence is shown and Bale is terrific in bringing the intensity in thousand yard stare, almost an indicator of the nature of his future performances. Bale does capture that loss of that innocence of the boy's curiosity, however the power of that is lost because Spielberg frankly bungles it. None of this is Bale's fault, as he gives a very good performance here that actually illustrates the central conceit better than the film does, to the point the film gets kind of in the way of his performance.

Alternate Best Actor 1987

And the Nominees Were Not:

Cary Elwes in The Princess Bride

Joe Mantegna in House of Games

Richard E. Grant in Withnail and I

Steve Martin in Roxanne

Gaspard Manesse in Au Revoir Les Enfants

Predict those five, these five or both.

Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart

Terry O'Quinn in The Stepfather

Klaus Kinski in Cobra Verde

Martin Short in Innerspace

Christian Bale in Empire of the Sun