Alternate Best Actor 2006: Results

10. Matt Damon in The Departed - Damon actually is good being a despicable worm you want to see get his comeuppance, but he's never more and the potential seemed to be there in the role.

Best Scene: Sullivan and Costigan in the Elevator.

9. Hugh Jackman in The Prestige - The main reason he's so low is merely his extra character in the film where he goes a little too broad. He's great though in portraying his character's great showmanship and his underlying obsession.

Best Scene: Angier confesses the truth about his "trick".

8. Jean Dujardin in OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies - This is just a really fun performance as Dujardin as he brilliantly replicates while satirizing 60's James Bond. 

Best Scene: The real version of his time with Jefferson .

7. Keanu Reeves in A Scanner Darkly - Reeves gives a powerful depiction of a man who slowly loses his mind through his drug addiction while still trying to be an undercover cop.

Best Scene: Bob's break down.

6. Cillian Murphy in The Wind That Shakes the Barley - Murphy gives a great performance not as a larger than life freedom fighter, but as an average man doing what he believes in.

Best Scene: The execution.

5. Ken Watanabe in Letters From Iwo Jima- Watanabe manages to show the commander of men, but as well the man behind the uniform.

Best Scene: The General and the Private meet for the last time.

4. Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed - DiCaprio gives a compelling portrayal of the intensity and pressure of an undercover cop.

Best Scene: Billy's visit to the psychiatrist.

3. Christian Bale in The Prestige - Christian Bale gives a memorable portrayal of a peculiar obsession and his duplicitous work makes the film's twist particularly effective.  

Best Scene: Borden meets Lord Caldlow.

2. Clive Owen in Children of Men - Clive Owen gives a powerful portrayal that makes his character's personal struggle resonate even though the film rarely focuses on that.

Best Scene: Theo watches his friend's execution.

1. Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others - Good Predictions Luke, Anonymous, Kevin, mcofra7, and  Psifonian. Mühe gives an exceptional performance as he so poignantly and convincingly portrays the transformation of a man from a heartless cog in a machine to a good man. 

Best Scene: The second interrogation.

Overall Rank:

1. Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others
2. Clive Owen in Children of Men
3. Christian Bale in The Prestige
4. Ben Affleck in Hollywoodland
5. Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed
6. Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland
7. Daniel Craig in Casino Royale
8. Ken Watanabe in Letter From Iwo Jima
9. Cillian Murphy in The Wind That Shakes the Barley
10. Keanu Reeves in A Scanner Darkly
11. Aaron Eckhart in Thank You For Smoking
12. Jean Dujardin in OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
13. Hugh Jackman in The Prestige
14. Adrien Brody in Hollywoodland 
15. Josh Hartnett in Lucky Number Slevin
16. Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond
17. James McAvoy in The Last King of Scotland
18. Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson
19. Edward Norton in The Painted Veil
20. Peter O'Toole in Venus
21. Sebastian Koch in The Lives of Others
22. Denzel Washington in Inside Man
23. Clive Owen in Inside Man
24. Hugo Weaving in V For Vendetta
25. Edward Norton in The Illusionist 
26. Greg Kinnear in Little Miss Sunshine 
27. Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction
28. Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible III
29. Matt Damon in The Departed
30. Patrick Wilson in Little Children
31. Richard Gere in The Hoax
32. Djimon Hounsou in Blood Diamond
33. Ryan Reynolds in Smokin' Aces 
34. Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa
35. Luke Wilson in Idiocracy
36. Kazunari Ninomiya in Letters From Iwo Jima
37. Mark Wahlberg in Invincible
38. Will Smith  in The Pursuit of Happyness
39. Josh Hartnett in The Black Dahlia
40. Hugh Jackman in X-Men: The Last Stand
41. Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
42. Owen Wilson in Cars 
43. Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights in The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby
44. Matt Damon in The Good Shepherd
45. Brandon Routh in Superman Returns 
46. Ben Stiller in Night At the Museum
47. Tim Allen in The Santa Clause: The Escape Clause
48. Robin Williams in RV
49. Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Next Year: 2006 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 2006: Jean Dujardin in OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies

Jean Dujardin did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath the titular character of OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies.

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is a funny movie about basically a French James Bond, although the character technically predates Bond, who must foil an evil plot in Cairo.

Jean Dujardin does seem as a perfect French Bond, especially for the Connery type of character. Dujardin just has that look about that says international secret agent the moment you look at him. Dujardin is such an exceedingly charming performer here with that smile of his that's just perfect to say the least. Dujardin frankly makes suaveness look so easy as he carries himself with that secret agent cool to such a degree. His whole manner is just right that Dujardin makes the OSS 117 seemingly quite cool although this is part of what makes his performance work so well here. The thing is OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is less like Goldfinger or Dr. No, and much more akin to Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. His intent is also much closer to Mike Myers's performance from that film than it is Connery's from the Bond, but the great thing is, unlike Myers, Dujardin definitely has the look down.

As he proved later on even more successfully in his international breakout work in The Artist Dujardin is a master physical performer. The collaboration between director Michel Hazanavicius and Dujardin really could not be more perfect. Where Hazanavicius is so consummate in terms of recapturing the visual styles of old, Dujardin is equally so, if not perhaps more so, in capturing the performance style of old. Although yes Connery's performances had a different less absurdest intent, Dujardin is fantastic in the way though he just brings about the essence of that work. The physical movements just have this certain rhythm about them, and there is just something how he maneuvers within the camera just so brilliantly captures the way suaveness was portrayed back in the 60's. It's amazing how Dujardin is able to accomplish this and really I'd love to see him tackle on another style of performance in the future.

The thing is OSS 117 is not exactly a great spy, although he somehow manages to get the job. He's a bit of an idiot to say the least although not exactly quite in a normal way. I mean he does kinda seem to have spy abilities. This is a great combination by Dujardin here because he probably could play a more serious version of the character we not too many tweaks. This is particularly great early on when you see kinda the cracks in his character and its almost a bit hard to notice them at first because Dujardin almost always carries himself with that same confidence you'd expect from a Bond like character. He delivers his lines often with a great assurance that this is a slick costumer who knows exactly what it is that he's doing. This causes it to be particularly funny when he slips up such as showing his obvious lack of knowledge when it comes to dealing with the assignment he is on, or even something rather simple like thinking that Egypt still would have a pharaoh in the 20th century.

OSS 117 isn't just an idiot but he's more than just a little bit of a jerk to. He has a constant disregard for any foreign society or religion and seems to specifically avoid attempting to learn or appreciate anything about it. In addition to that he even forgets his supposed friend that he believes he is avenging in his current mission, while harboring thoughts about his friend that seem a little too strong so to speak, although OSS 117 would vehemently deny any such accusations about his sexuality. On top of all that OSS 117 does not even mind punching out a woman or two if they were to get in his way. The thing Dujardin is absolutely hilarious in depicting all of this since he shows that his behavior barely even seems to phase him. What is so great about Dujardin's performance, and what really makes it so successful at being comedic is that he almost always somehow stays very charismatic and still feels like a James Bond type.

Dujardin consistently brings out the humor out of every situation where it his through the way he so sincerely plays the brazen stupidity in OSS 117's words, but also makes so many of his action scenes comedic gold just by the way he performs them. I have to say I particularly enjoyed the scene where he takes down all the men in the message parlor, there's just something especially funny about the way Dujardin does it. This is just a very entertaining performance by Dujardin and it is something special as broadly comic performances go. Dujardin goes the extra distance with his work as he pretty much doing something to entertain every second he's on screen. Although this is certainly a technical achievement so to speak in his great replication of a certain type of performance, but most of all this is just a really fun performance to watch.

Alternate Best Actor 2006

And the Nominees Were Not:

Hugh Jackman in The Prestige

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed

Ken Watanabe in Letters From Iwo Jima

Clive Owen in Children of Men

Jean Dujardin in OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies

Predict Those Five or Predict These Five:

Christian Bale in The Prestige

Matt Damon in The Departed

Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others

Cillian Murphy in The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Keanu Reeves in A Scanner Darkly

Or predict both separately if you want. I'll give you two requests.

Best Actor 2011: Results

5. George Clooney in The Descendants- Clooney as usual for him fails to find conviction in his performance. He has a strange lack of consistency and has some very bad moments that are suppose to be his money scenes.

4. Brad Pitt in Moneyball- Brad Pitt gives a fine leading performance here that is effectively charming and entertaining.

3. Demian Bichir in A Better Life- Demain Bichir gives a heartfelt and incredibly moving performance that only ever relies on bringing out genuine emotions in every moment of his film.

2. Jean Dujardin in The Artist- Jean Dujardin gives simply a wonderful performance that is a unique achievement to behold. He never fails to entertain as well as create a powerful portrait despair as well it is truly great work.

1. Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy- Gary Oldman has the greatest of challenges with his almost emotionless part, yet he makes a compelling and very convincing characterization. His performance improves for me each time I have watched it. A very difficult decision to be sure and I certainly thought between these top two for quite a while. Both give superb performances, and again I have no real reason for picking Oldman over Dujardin, I think they are equally good in their challenging roles, but I am forced to pick one.

Deserving Performances
Ryan Gosling in Drive
Brendan Gleeson in The Guard

Best Actor 2011: Jean Dujardin in The Artist

Jean Dujardin won his Oscar from his first Oscar nomination for portraying George Valentine in The Artist.

The Artist depicts the fall of a silent star and the rise of a talkie star.

Jean Dujardin is the first actor since Lewis Stone in the Patriot to be nominated for a silent film, and if he were to win he would be the first winner of that sort since Emil Jannings's double win. Jean Dujardin has apparently reminded many people of silent stars like Douglas Fairbanks for example. I actually must disagree and say he actually reminded most of relatively early sound star Fredric March, and George  Valentine after all shares many similarities with Fredric March's character in A Star is Born, they are both originally popular romantic leading men and are eclipsed by a woman they helped get her start, and they both fall into an alcoholic despair over their loss of stardom although the eventual fates are considerably different although they come close to being the same.

For some reason I always felt Dujardin felt to me more like an early sound star than a truly silent star only because I suppose many silent stars tended to overact a lot, they weren't all Emil Jannings after all, and to me he gives a performance Fredric March sort of gives if you turn off the sound in their films, after all I just find that both Dujardin's and March's face of distress is exactly the same. Anyway though it is really better than Dujardin portrays the part in this manner rather than replicating some of the more dated aspects of the silent period, instead he finds a way to make the essence of the best qualities of old Hollywood.

In the first section of the film when George Valentine is still the great star Dujardin is just a ball of energy. He is about as charming as one could possibly be with the simple joy he shows in every moment as he performs. His smile is about as wide as a smile can be and he just is a bright spot on screen perfectly capturing the sort of charisma of a star of that period without ever making it feel like he is trying to merely imitate one of those stars either. He simply becomes the star which is an outstanding achievement to behold, and it is an essential element for the film itself.

After his fall from stardom which happens rather quickly George Valentine falls in despair. Dujardin excels in this part of his performance just as well as he did when George Valentine was on top, and actually Dujardin perfectly brings out the sadness in Valentine with performance by showing just what a difference there is between his happiness and sadness. It is true that Dujardin change is rather abrupt but it is entirely fitting since George Valentine's fall from stardom happens almost overnight.

Dujardin is extremely effective in his portrayal of the fallen Valentine who never falls in delusions like say Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd, instead he falls into deep despair over his loss. Dujardin is terrific in showing the slowly intensifying despair in his performance, and although silently he perfectly conveys everything that is going through George over every that he lost. There is a great intensity to Dujardin in these moments that brings to life just how troubled George Valentine has become, and he Dujardin effectively works toward the final climax of George's despair exceedingly well.

Dujardin throughout this film gives a compelling and entertaining performance that is easy to follow throughout  George Valentine's tribulations. I must say interestingly enough the part of his performance that I was at all disappointed by was, and this is a spoiler, when he finally does say his single line. The only reason is his single line is with his native french accent and I was perhaps a bit disappointed by this. Not that Dujardin says incorrectly or anything I just don't think the french accent fit the star he was the rest of the time, he just does not look like the successful sound french actors in type like Maurice Chevalier or Charles Boyer, he looks like Fredric March. This is really beyond even a nitpick though.

The artist is a film that really could have been either made or broken by its lead performance. Frankly it would have easy for the actor in this role to have just seemed like some sort of cheap imitation of an actor of the period the film depicts. Dujardin's magnificent performance though completely meets and overcomes all the obstacles of the part.  He simply is a star in this film he never lets you question it from a moment, and the idea that this is an entirely silent performance never matters for a moment. Dujardin brings just as much in fact far emotional power and even charm in his performance than many performances that never stop talking. Dujardin's work here is a truly unique achievement.

Best Actor 2011

And the Nominees Are:

Brad Pitt in Moneyball

Jean Dujardin in The Artist

George Clooney in The Descendants

Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 

Demian Bichir in A Better Life

I break my scheduled reviews of supporting 95 to return once again to Best Actor. I actually did not except to do this yet, and would have held off since I thought Michael Fassbender was going to be nominated, and I have not seen Shame, but now I have seen all of these performances.

Supporting will wait because I have yet to see Extremely Loud, or My Week with Marilyn, but I do think I will probably write a deserving performance for Albert Brooks.