Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2016: Results

13. Yoshi Oida in Silence - Oida gives a moving depiction of the quiet earnest devotion of one of the most devote Christians in Japan.

Best Scene: Ichizo pleads for someone to join him.

12. Shinya Tsukamoto in Silence -Tsukamoto along with Oida gives a moving depiction of a devoted Christian particularly as he faces certain demise.

Best Scene: A final hymn.

11. Alden Ehrenreich in Hail Caesar! - Ehrenreich gives a very funny performance by being so earnest in his approach to a singing cowboy who tries to be an actor.

Best Scene: Would that it were so simple.

10. Harvey Scrimshaw in The Witch - Scrimshaw gives an effective natural depiction of a boy in an unnatural situation that is absolutely haunting in his final moments.

Best Scene: Caleb wakes up.

9. Damian Lewis in Our Kind of Traitor - Lewis gives an incredibly compelling performance that works so well within the certain constraints he purposefully sets up for his refined government agent.

Best Scene: Hector tells about his son. 

8. Tadanobu Asano in Silence - Asano gives an extremely incisive yet somehow funny portrayal of a man viciously needling his hostage in order to break him. 

Best Scene: The interpreter meets Rodrigues.

7. Ralph Ineson in The Witch - Ineson gives a powerful depiction of a man essentially coming to terms with his own desperate state, and losing his delusions of grandeur.

Best Scene: William's prayer at night. 

6. Stellan Skårsgard in Our Kind of Traitor - Skårsgard is asked to do a lot in short order, yet he matches the challenge while giving an incredibly poignant portrait of a man doing whatever it takes to save his family.

Best Scene: Dima says goodbye to Perry.

5. Yosuke Kubozuka in Silence - Kubozuka gives a haunting portrayal that grants a heartbreaking understanding of what seems to be a wretched man.  

Best Scene: Kichijiro's first Confession.

4. Liam Neeson in Silence - Neeson in only a few scenes leaves such a considerable impression through his subversion of his usual role as the confident mentor by instead portraying a sad broken man being forced to destroy his own teachings.

Best Scene: Ferreira meets Rodrigues.

3. Issey Ogata in Silence - Ogata gives a truly menacing yet somehow also absolutely hilarious portrayal of a persecutor with a unique yet brutally effective method of destroying his foes.  

Best Scene: A story of Concubines. 

2. Sam Neill in Hunt for the Wilderpeople - Sam Neill delivers his best performance giving such a hilarious yet heartwarming portraying an irascible old man finding a connection with a troubled boy. Neill balances the various tones of the film brilliantly to be both very funny yet incredibly touching in depicting Uncle Hec's personal journey during his more literal journey through the bush.

Best Scene: The Boar. 

1. Ben Foster in Hell or High Water - Good prediction Michael McCarthy, and Luke Foster gives yet another great performance to his ever growing list of them. He gives an entertaining yet edgy depiction of an outlaw, yet he underlines it all with just a heartbreaking portrayal of man who has only ever found any use for himself as a criminal. Although this was a strong year for the category I have to admit this was an easy choice for me. Not just because this is a great performance, it is, but it hit me on an even more personal level than a good performance already hits you on.

This is not something I mentioned in my review but will I now. Foster's realization of Tanner went even further for me as he so reminded of my own older brother with whom I share a similair relationship to that Toby shares with Tanner, though far less extreme and in different circumstances of course. The little nuances and details of such relationship were there for me, and it connected with me on an even deeper level because of that. I simply cannot deny something like that.

Best Scene: The brothers say their goodbyes.

Overall Rank:

1. Ben Foster in Hell or High Water
2. Sam Neill in Hunt for the Wilderpeople
3. Issey Ogata in Silence
4. Tadanobu Asano in Harmonium
5. Mahershala Ali in Moonlight
6. Liam Neeson in Silence
7. Yosuke Kubozuka in Silence
8. Stellan Skårsgard in Our Kind of Traitor
9. Hugo Weaving in Hacksaw Ridge 
10. Ralph Ineson in The Witch
11. Tadanobu Asano in Silence 
12. Damian Lewis in Our Kind of Traitor
13. Woody Harrelson in The Edge of Seventeen
14. Harvey Scrimshaw in The Witch
15. Alden Ehrenreich in Hail Caesar!
16. Christopher Lloyd in I Am Not A Serial Killer
17. Ha Jung-woo in The Handmaiden
18. Farid Sajadhosseini in The Salesman
19. Shinya Tsukamoto in Silence
20. Yoshi Oida in Silence 
21. Gil Birmingham in Hell or High Water 
22. Sharlto Copley in Hardcore Henry
23. Jack Reynor in Sing Street
24. Macon Blair in Green Room
25. Tracy Letts in Christine
26. Nick Offerman in The Founder
27. John Carroll Lynch in The Founder
28. Cho Jin-woong in The Handmaiden
29. Toby Kebbell in A Monster Calls
30. Jun Kunimura in The Wailing
31. Jared Harris in Certain Women
32. Alan Rickman in Eye in the Sky
33. Donnie Yen in Rogue One 
34. Tom Bennett in Love and Friendship
35. Adam Driver in Silence
36. Shia Labeouf in American Honey
37. John Goodman in 10 Cloverfield Lane
38. Andre Holland in Moonlight
39. Ma Dong-Seok in Train to Busan
40. Glen Powell in Everybody Wants Some 
41. Jovan Adepo in Fences
42. Kurt Russell in Deepwater Horizon 
43. Ralph Fiennes in Hail Caesar!
44. Roger Guenveur Smith in Birth of A Nation
45. Patrick Stewart in Green Room 
46. Kevin Costner in Hidden Figures
47. Aaron Paul in Eye in the Sky
48. Mykelti Williamson in Fences
49. Sebastian Stan in Captain America Civil War 
50. Alan Tudyk in Rogue One
51. Jharrel Jerome in Moonlight 
52. Taiyō Yoshizawa in After the Storm
53. Tom Wilkinson in Denial
54. John Gallagher Jr. in 10 Cloverfield Lane
55. Craig Robinson in Morris From America
56. Lucas Dawson in The Witch
57. Stephen Henderson in Fences
58. Barkhad Abdi in Eye in the Sky
59. Bradley Whitford in Other People
60. Daniel Bruhl in Captain America Civil War
61. Mads Mikkelsen in Rogue One
62. Luke Bracey in Hacksaw Ridge 
63. Evan Peters in X-Men Apocalypse
64. Byung-hun Lee in The Age of Shadows
65. Tom Holland in Captain America Civil War
66. Alessandro Nivola in The Neon Demon
67. Kevin Spacey in Elvis & Nixon 
68. George Clooney in Hail Caesar!
69. Liam Neeson in A Monster Calls 
70. Barry Shabaka Henley in Paterson
71. Billy Crudup in Jackie
72. John Leguizamo in The Infiltrator
73. Frank Langella in Captain Fantastic
74. Peter Sarsgaard in Jackie
75. Keegan Michael-Key in Don't Think Twice
76. Ethan Hawke in The Magnificent Seven 
77. Chadwick Boseman in Captain America Civil War
78. John Hurt in Jackie
79. Billy Crudup in 20th Century Women 
80. Max Baker in Hail Caesar!
81. Michael Fassbender in X-Men Apocalypse
82. William Jackson Harper in Paterson
83. Bill Murray in The Jungle Book 
84. Russell Hornsby in Fences 
85. Blake Jenner in The Edge of Seventeen
86. Rene Auberjonois in Certain Women
87. James McAvoy in X-Men Apocalypse
88. Anthony Mackie in Captain America Civil War
89. Adam Driver in Midnight Special  
90. Paul Rudd in Captain America Civil War
91. Kanji Furutachi in Harmonium
92. Luke Treadaway in Ethel & Ernest
    
93. Ralph Fiennes in Kubo and the Two Strings
94. Riz Ahmed in Rogue One
95. Byung-hun Lee in The Magnificent Seven
96. Masatoshi Nagase in Paterson 
97. Hugh Jackman in Eddie the Eagle
98. Mike Birbiglia in Don't Think Twice
99. Channing Tatum in Hail Caesar!
100. Idris Elba in The Jungle Book  
101. Hayden Szeto in The Edge of Seventeen
102. Mads Mikkelsen in Dr. Strange
103. Lucas Hedges in Manchester by the Sea 
104. David Wenham in Lion
105. Jiang Wen in Rogue One
106. Brendan Gleeson in Live By Night
107. Toby Jones in The Man Who Knew Infinity
108. Sam Worthington in Hacksaw Ridge
109. TJ Miller in Deadpool
110. Jimmy O Yang in Patriots Day
111. Charles Berling in Elle
112. Michael Shannon in Nocturnal Animals
113. Simon Pegg in Star Trek Beyond
114. Toby Jones in Anthropoid
115. Colin Farrell in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 
116. Oscar Kightley in Hunt for the Wilderpeople
117. Aaron Eckhart in Bleed for This
118. Colin Hanks in Elvis & Nixon
119. Rhys Darby in Hunt for the Wilderpeople
120. Jeremy Renner in Captain America Civil War
121. JK Simmons in Kung Fu Panda 3  
122. Stefan Kapicic in Deadpool
123. Ben Kingsley in The Jungle Book 
124. Michael Sheen in Passengers 
125. Hwang Jung-min in The Wailing
126. Joel Edgerton in Midnight Special
127. Tyler Hoechlin in Everybody Wants Some
128. Michael Parks in Blood Father
129. Shingo Tsurumi in The Age of Shadows 
130. Aidan Gillen in Sing Street
131. Corey Stoll in Cafe Society 
132. Jaden Piner in Moonlight
133. Ben Mendelsohn in Rogue One
134. Robert Picardo in Hail Caesar!
135. Joe Cole in Green Room
136. Kyle Chandler in Manchester by The Sea
137. Alex Wolff in Patriots Day
138. Themo Melikidze in Patriots Day
139. Benedict Wong in Dr. Strange 
140. Callum Turner in Green Room
141. Ed Skrein in Deadpool
142. Keanu Reeves in The Neon Demon
143. Timothy Spall in Denial
144. Frank Grillo in Captain America Civil War
145. Bryan Cranston in Kung Fu Panda 3
146. Matthew Goode in Allied  
147. Chiwetel Ejiofor in Dr. Strange
148. Mahershala Ali in Hidden Figures
149. Bill Camp in Midnight Special
150. Mahershala Ali in Free State of Jones
151. Jared Harris in Allied  
152. Laurence Fishburne in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 
153. Ciaran Hinds in Bleed For This
154. Jemaine Clement in Moana 
155. Kevin Bacon in Patriots Day 
156. Nicolas Cage in Snowden
157. John Goodman Patriots Day
158. Ben Foster in The Finest Hours  
159. Babak Karimi in The Salesman
160. Laurence Fishburne in Passengers
161. Jonas Bloquet in Elle
162. Ciaran Hinds in Silence
163. JK Simmons in Patriots Day
164. Woody Harrelson in Triple 9 
165. William H. Macy in Blood Father
166. Jeremy Irons in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
167. Kodi Smit-McPhee in X-Men Apocalypse
168. Ethan Suplee in Deepwater Horizon 
169. Jay Hernandez in Suicide Squad
170. Karl Urban in Star Trek Beyond 
171. Tye Sheridan in X-Men Apocalypse
172. Clancy Brown in Hail Caesar! 
173. George MacKay in Captain Fantastic
174. Rhys Ifans in Snowden
175. Robert Seeley in The Love Witch
176. Aaron Eckhart in Sully
177. Daniel Grao in Julieta
178. Chiwetel Ejiofor in Triple 9
179. Laurent Lafitte in Elle
180. Karl Urban in Pete's Dragon
181. Zachary Quinto in Star Trek Beyond
182. Jeffrey Vincent Parise in The Love Witch
183. Harry Lloyd in Anthropoid
184. August Diehl in Allied  
185. David Costabile in 13 Hours
186. Anthony Mackie in Triple 9
187. Ken Stott in Cafe Society
188. Simon McBurney in Allied
189. Wyatt Russell in Everybody Wants Some
190. Bradley Cooper in War Dogs
191. Karl Geary in I Am Not a Serial Killer 
192. Graham McTavish in The Finest Hours
193. Norman Reedus in Triple 9 
194. Chris Messina in Live By Night
195. Jeremy Renner in Arrival
196. Chris Cooper in Demolition
197. Keanu Reeves in Keanu 
198. Robert Redford in Pete's Dragon
199. Ryan Guzman in Everybody Wants Some
200. Keith Carradine in A Quiet Passion
201. Edgar Ramirez in Gold
202. Mark Strong in Miss Sloane 
203. Stephen Fry in Love and Friendship
204. Anthony Head in A Street Cat Named Bob
205. Vince Vaughn in Hacksaw Ridge
206. JK Simmons in The Accountant 
207. Chris Tucker in Billy Lynn's Halftime Walk
208. Idris Elba in Zootopia
209. Jai Courtney in Suicide Squad
210. Kevin Pollack in War Dogs
211. Christopher Lambert in Hail Caesar!
212. Ewan McGregor in Miles Ahead
213. Michael Shannon in Loving 
214. Sam Waterston in Miss Sloane
215. Steve Carrell in Cafe Society 
216. Sam Shepard in Midnight Special
217. Anton Lesser in Allied 
218. Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nocturnal Animals 
219. Jon Bernthal in The Accountant 
220. JK Simmons in Zootopia
221. Clifton Collins Jr. in Triple 9
222. Method Man in Keanu 
223. Anton Yelchin in Star Trek Beyond
224. Choi Woo-shik in Train to Busan
225. Jason Mitchell in Keanu
226. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo in The Magnificent Seven
227. Andrew Scott in Denial
228. Forest Whittaker in Arrival
229. Michael C. Hall in Christine
230. Don Wycherley in Sing Street
231. Eric Bana in The Finest Hours
232. Chris Gethard in Don't Think Twice
233. Steve Martin in Billy Lynn's Halftime Walk
234. Matthew McConaughey in Kubo and the Two Strings
235. Kim Eui-sung in Train to Busan
236. Scoot McNairy in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 
237. Martin Sensemeier in The Magnificent Seven
238. Johnny Depp in Yoga Hosers 
239. Christopher Walken in The Jungle Book
240. Tracy Letts in Indignation
241. Chris Hemsworth in Ghostbusters 
242. Keith David in The Nice Guys
243. Idris Elba in Star Trek Beyond
244. John Lithgow in The Accountant 
245. Armie Hammer in Birth of a Nation
246. Zach Woods in Other People
247. Dylan Minnette in Don't Breathe
248. Andy Garcia in Ghostbusters
249. Gian Keyes in The Love Witch
250. Peyman Moaadi in 13 Hours
251. Wes Bentley in Pete's Dragon
252. Justin Long in Yoga Hosers 
253. Matt Bomer in The Nice Guys 
254. Michael Stuhlbarg in Arrival
255. Robert Glenister in Live By Night
256. Michael Sheen in Nocturnal Animals
257. Will Smith in Suicide Squad 
258. Oscar Isaac in X-Men Apocalypse
259. Beau Knapp in The Nice Guys
260. Luke Evans in Girl on the Train
261. Michael Stuhlbarg in Miss Sloane
262. Chris Cooper in Live By Night
263. Ezra Miller in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
264. Daniel Zovatto in Don't Breath
265. John Malkovich in Deepwater Horizon 
266. Nick Kroll in Loving
267. Vin Diesel in Billy Lynn's Halftime Walk
268. Aaron Paul in Triple 9 
269. Jim Parsons in Hidden Figures
270. Vincent D'Onofrio in The Magnificent Seven
271. Diego Luna in Blood Father
272. Armie Hammer in Nocturnal Animals  
273. Forest Whittaker in Rogue One 
274. Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
275. Jackie Earle Haley in Birth of A Nation
276. Jacob Latimore in Collateral Beauty 
277. Justin Theroux in Girl on the Train
278. Bill Murray in Ghostbusters 
279. Judah Lewis in Demolition
280. Peter Sarsgaard in The Magnificent Seven
281. Ralph Garman in Yoga Hosers
282. Joel Kinnaman in Suicide Squad
283. Tyler Posey in Yoga Hosers
284. Jesse Eisenberg in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
285. Matthew Maher in Live By Night
286. Simon Helberg in Florence Foster Jenkins
287. Jared Leto in Suicide Squad
288. Edward Norton in Collateral Beauty
289. Austin Butler in Yoga Hosers
290. Christian Madsen in Mr. Church
291. Neil Casey in Ghostbusters
292. Michael Pena in Collateral Beauty

Next Year: 1937 though I'm going to take a break until after the Oscars.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2016: Stellan Skarsgård and Damian Lewis in Our Kind of Traitor

Stellan Skarsgård did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Dima in Our Kind Of Traitor.

Our Kind of Traitor is somewhat effective though standard John Le Carré adaptation about an English School Teacher and his wife being caught up in the dark world of illegal finances after accepting to do a favor for a strange man. 

Our Kind of Traitor seems kind of strange in that the two actual leads of the English teacher Perry MacKendrick (Ewan McGregor) and his wife Gail (Naomie Harris) are the most bland characters in the film. There are two supporting characters though who seem like they should be the leads the first being Stellan Skarsgård's as the strange man with information. Stellan Skarsgård is an actor probably best known for his long list of shady supporting roles from one despicable man to the another. This seems like that may be the case again as his character of Dima randomly appears in a bar and approaches McGregor's Perry. Skarsgård is an actor who you just can't naturally trust. Skarsgård even sets up his Dima a little differently than usual, playing essentially a bro-russian, as he insists that Perry come to a party with him. Skarsgård's always has that certain sinister glimpse in his eye though, that suggests there's gotta be something up. Intentional or not, I'd say intentional, Skarsgård's very presence crafts a certain tension early on in these scenes as it seems like there's something afoot even if it is hard to know what.

Dima seems harmless enough, and a funny thing is Skarsgård wins you over a bit too just as he does Perry. His whole larger than life enjoyment of life becomes a little endearing after you've spent enough time with him. After he gets to know Perry a bit better though he reveals himself to be more than meets the eye, though not in the way a Stellan Skarsgård character generally is. Suddenly Skarsgård changes gears severely as Dima explains his dire situation, where he will be forced to transfer all of his funds to his old boss's son before he and his family will be killed. Skarsgård manages this switch incredibly effectively as he brings that fear in his voice and eyes as he pleads with Perry for help. Skarsgård in doing so also explains a bit of just how big he is the rest of the time, showing that Dima is very much putting on an act as though he blissfully unaware what is going to happen to him very soon. Skarsgård manages in just a few moments to grant a very real urgency to the film by managing to make Dima surprisingly sympathetic in such short order.

Again the film does seem just slightly curious in that Skarsgård should be the lead of the film, it is his character who is the most important, yet he is indeed "supporting" the far less interesting Perry. Skarsgård though is still essentially required to do everything a lead must do just in far more limited screen time and perspective. In that we get a quick snippet of Dima's past when he was recruited into the Russian mob, now this is perhaps one of the easier elements to provide as Skarsgård does always have that duplicitous look about him. This continues further though as we are only given a slight sense of Dima's relationship with the man who intends to kill him and his family. This is basically all given to a single scene where Dima mocks the man with a story about when the man was as a boy. Now Skarsgård is great in the scene doing so well to portray the vicious hatred Dima has for the man while coating with just enough of a still semi-pleasant facade on the surface. Again just a snippet yet Skarsgård in that snippet conveys wholly the sense of disdain and betrayal Dima has suffered given that he was a real friend to the man's father. Skarsgard heavy lifting continues also to establish a real sort of connection between Dima and Perry as well. He pulls it off though, again through so little, but in his direct interactions Skarsgård conveys so effectively the man's gratitude to him, bringing a real warmth as he thanks him again and again for his help. The main crux of the story though is Dima attempting to save his family by trading inside information to the British government. It is with this that Skarsgård is the beating heart of the film. The whole sense of real desperation and concern is realized so powerfully by Skarsgård's performance. He handles it well by showing the internalization of it when Dima is attempting to keep his facade up, but is incredibly moving when he reveals just the increasingly fearful man who who will do whatever it takes to save his family. It may be a little odd how Skarsgård has to fulfill so many aspect of the role so swiftly, yet he does so brilliantly. This is a great performance. If we did not believe Dima and his struggle the film would have faltered entirely. Skarsgård elevates it through his honest emotional performance.

Damian Lewis did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Hector in Our Kind of Traitor.

The second supporting character who seems like he should be lead is Damian Lewis's Hector. Lewis comes into the film after Perry attempts to deliver Dima's request to the British government. Lewis is the MI6 agent in charge of the investigation. Though his name is Hector this seems to perhaps give Lewis a chance to give his own take on Le Carré's longtime lead, George Smiley. Hector too is a bi-spectacled spy with a very exact sort of personal style. I will say now Lewis is becoming an actor I'm eager to see more of, as he often brings something special to his roles. That is the case here as his whole presentation of Hector is rather engaging. He goes about crafting his own sort of Smiley with his excessively refined English accent, and his whole manner. Lewis projects the right sort of cool confidence that seems a requirement for a man of his position within the more modern world of espionage. This is a performance though that just is magnetic, the moment he steps in to question McGregor, Lewis is instantly compelling to watch.

In the early scenes it appears as though Hector is very much a man with just a plan of action that he intends initiate with cold efficiency. Lewis's performance is rather marvelous in just making this style of Hector quite charismatic in sort of strange way reminiscent even of Gary Oldman as Smiley in Tinker Tailor, in that there is just something so remarkable about watching the man work. Hector though isn't quite that powerful though as he goes about some risky maneuvers in order to get the information he needs. Lewis's performances is very astute in the way he plays within this sort of stricture that he has set up with Hector. Lewis manages to play just within the margins of this, in just a slight turn of the mouth or a just a small movement  in his eyes. In these early scenes there is the hint of the smallest desperation in voice, covered up by his usual assurance, as Hector decides to go with the mission despite not receiving proper clearance for it. It is rather fascinating to watch Lewis work here because he never does break out of the refinement of the character, yet as soon as conveys the frustrations in Hector towards his boss at not being able to pursue the case he doesn't seem cold after all. Lewis's work in itself has this efficiency in emotion, since you always understand how Hector is feeling even though he technically never raises his voice beyond a certain point nor does he really lose his composure.

He has this precision that it so captivating to watch. So many of the highlights belong to Lewis. Even in some exposition particularly in the scene where Hector lashes out against the amorality of the business he is trying to prevent, Lewis makes it absolutely engrossing through his dynamic delivering. He infuses with such a real intensity, a real outrage, yet still so calm all the same. There is just a bit of explanation to further motivations, really just one scene, where Hector explains how he believes his own son was targeted by one of the corrupt officials he's trying to take down. Again just in the margins does Lewis reveals the sadness, only in them does he, his Hector is never emotional yet you always understand him. There is a scene at the end of the film where Lewis is just examining and object and finds something important. Silent scene that could be nothing in the wrong hands. Lewis reveals all of Hector's thoughts just through the slightest glimpse of joy, making a far more satisfying scene than it would have been otherwise. As with Skarsgård Lewis does so much heavy lifting within the film to elevate past just a very routine thriller. Although I won't say the film quite completely escapes that qualifier, their work far surpasses it.  

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2016

And the Nominees Were Not:

Stellan Skarsgård in Our Kind of Traitor

Damian Lewis in Our Kind of Traitor 

Sam Neill in Hunt For the Wilderpeople

Ben Foster in Hell or High Water

Alden Ehrenreich in Hail Caesar!

Ralph Ineson in The Witch 

Harvey Scrimshaw in The Witch

For Prediction purposes:

Skarsgård from Traitor

Ineson from the VVitch

 And they also were not:

Shinya Tsukamoto in Silence

Yoshi Oida in Silence 

Tadanobu Asano in Silence

Liam Neeson in Silence 

Issey Ogata in Silence

Yosuke Kubozuka in Silence

For prediction purposes:
 
Tsukamoto out of the villagers.  

Alternate Best Actor 2005: Results

5. Cillian Murphy in Breakfast on Pluto - Murphy is convincing in his challenging role managing to be both humorous and heartwarming though the film doesn't seem to use his work to its fullest potential.

Best Scene: Kitty visits his mother.

4. Romain Duris in The Beat That My Heart Skipped - Duris gives moving portrayal of man wavering from a life of violence to a life of something more.

Best Scene: The final scene. 

3. Daniel Auteuil in Caché - Auteuil gives a compelling performance that effortlessly brings the needed complexity to his character's terrible situation.

Best Scene: Georges is confronted by the son. 

2. Damian Lewis in Keane - Lewis gives a harrowing and emotional resonate portrayal of  a mentally disturbed man.

Best Scene: Keane tries to find the kidnapper. 

1. Byung-hun Lee in A Bittersweet Life - Lee gives a downright brilliant performance. He is the badass lead you'd expect in such a role but goes even deeper to give a surprisingly heartbreaking and humane portrait of a man granted just a glimpse of a better life. 

Best Scene: The final scene. 

Updated Overall

Next Year: 2005 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 2005: Damian Lewis in Keane

Damian Lewis did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying David Keane in Keane.

Keane is an interesting character study about a disturbed man.

Damian Lewis plays the title character. Lewis is an actor I have to say who has somehow flown under my radar for some time. Now that I'm actually starting to catch up with some of his work though I must say I'm finding him to be an immensely talented actor. This role presents a challenge as the film bares so much on Damian Lewis's performance. We follow David Keane in an intimate fashion and I mean intimate. This is even more so than in the normal character study or even the typical one man show, as the camera itself never wavers more than a few feet from him with so many of the shots staying directly on him. In the early scenes of the film we follow David just as he goes about his day. We are not given his backstory. We are instead dropped right into this man's life without any preparation. Quite simply this is where everything could have gone wrong for the film and for the central character if it was the wrong actor in the role. Luckily it is Damian Lewis who absolutely inhabits this character, which is essential given the condition of the man.

The film opens with David asking employees at a train station if they've seen his daughter. Lewis is heartbreaking from the outset as his pleas for some sort of information are harrowing. There is such a palatable desperation in his voice as he attempts to find any solace which they cannot offer him. We continue to follow the man and it becomes clear he is mentally ill. The mental illness that Lewis manages to depict is a different sort than is often focused upon in films, in fact David Keane feels more like a character we might just meet just for a scene in most films. Lewis reveals a far messier type of illness as he so effectively shows the disjointed mental state of David. Lewis never forces this rather making his randomness feel so natural. In fact Lewis is so good he is indeed rather hard to watch as he portrays the struggle for the man to keep himself together for even the most basic tasks. Lewis's physical manner, and behavior always reinforces the jumbled state of a man who struggles to think clearly.

We first follow a day in his life as David pays for his rent, buys drugs, and randomly looks for work. Lewis shows though in these actions that it even goes deeper than his mental problems, as he brings this almost constant sense of distress in the man which alludes the loss of his daughter many years ago. Lewis takes this idea through David's day as many of his acts seem an attempt to find some sort of solace. Lewis reveals a strain in David as he makes this attempt for some sort of ease whether it is using drugs, having sex with a random woman, or in one instance just trying to listen a song at a bar. Lewis is harrowing to watch as he exudes such pain in David in his futile attempt to calm his mental state. The bar song scene is especially powerful as Lewis brings such a raw desire in David as he tries to take in the song as much as he can, while still showing that it never quite brings David what he is looking for. This sort of changes when David befriends a mother (Amy Ryan) and her young daughter (Abigail Breslin).

Lewis excels in these scenes as he shows a greater comfort in David in these interactions, though the disturbed nature of the man is never forgotten. Lewis shows just a bit of ease in David, but he simply still is a mentally unwell. As he finds out more about them though, David begins to believe that the mother might be abandoning her daughter. This is unsaid yet made through Lewis's performance. Lewis conveys this as he brings the growing paranoia back to David once again, and begins to lose his stability. Lewis is terrific as he creates this as a thought in David that gradually grows, and only builds his inability to keep himself together. Lewis's work is deeply moving though in his interactions with the young girl, as he brings such a warmth as we see David as the father he was meant to be if his own daughter had not been stolen from him. Even as his intentions become problematic, since David tries to use her as a bait of sorts as he believes that the person who abducted his own daughter still frequents the same train station, Lewis strangely reveals a noble intention. Lewis only reveals a very earnest desire for some sort of closure but is given none. Lewis's work though is truly affecting though as he still reveals only the love of a father as he decides to do the right thing. This is a striking performance, and the film frankly would not have worked at all if it were not for Lewis. If for a moment this felt like acting it would all fall apart in a moments notice. Lewis's work though always feels real, and carries us through this man's troubled life. 

Alternate Best Actor 2005

And the Nominees Were Not:

Cillian Murphy in Breakfast on Pluto

Daniel Auteuil in Caché

Romain Duris in The Beat That My Heart Skipped

Damian Lewis in Keane

Byung-hun Lee in A Bittersweet Life 

And

Tony Leung Ka-Fai in Election