Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2002: Results

5. Richard Gere in Chicago- Gere throws himself completely into the role which certainly offers some entertainment even if he over does it at some points.

Best Scene: Give em the old razzle dazzle.

4. Dennis Quiad in Far From Heaven- Quiad is somewhat restricted by the writing of his character but he excels in his portrayal of a very repressed man.

Best Scene: Frank tells his wife about his early vacation.

3. Andy Serkis in The Two Towers- Serkis creates a unique and very interesting character through his portrayal Gollum and his multiple personalities.

Best Scene: Smeagol and Gollum face off.

2. Robin Williams in Insomnia- Robin Williams gives probably his best performance giving a chilling performance as a killer who seems absolutely genuine in his innocence even while admitting he is completely guilty.

Best Scene: Walter Finch tells why he murdered the girl. 

1. Bernard Hill in The Two Towers- This is another very personal choice but I love Bernard Hill's work in the Two Towers. He takes a character that could have been a complete throwaway but instead brings such humanity and power into his role of King Théoden.

Best Scene: King Théoden mourns his son.

Overall Rank:

1. Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York
2. Bernard Hill in The Two Towers
3. Christopher Walken in Catch Me If You Can
4. Robin Williams in Insomnia
5. Christopher Plummer in Nicholas Nickleby
6. Paul Newman in Road to Perdition
7. Tom Hanks in Catch Me If You Can
8. Brendan Gleeson in 28 Days Later 
9. Andy Serkis in The Two Towers
10. Brian Murray in Treasure Planet
11. Leandro Firmino in City of God
12. Brendan Fraser in The Quiet American
13. Timothy Spall in All or Nothing
14. Jude Law in Road to Perdition
15. Daniel Craig in Road to Perdition 
16. Brendan Gleeson in Gangs of New York  
17. Tony Leung in Hero
18. Tom Courtenay in Nicholas Nickleby
19. Chris Cooper in Adaptation
20. Min Tanaka in The Twilight Samurai 
21. Forrest Whitaker in Panic Room
22. Thomas Kretschmann in The Pianist
23. Sean Astin in The Two Towers
24. Dennis Quaid in Far From Heaven 
25. Willem Dafoe in Auto Focus 
26. Alan Arkin in 13 Conversations About One Thing 
27. Tatusya Mihashi in Dolls
28. Gabriel Byrne in Spider
29. Matthew McConaughey in Frailty
30. Barry Pepper in 25th Hour 
31. Christopher Lee in The Two Towers 
32. Ralph Waite in Sunshine State
33. John C. Reilly in Gangs of New York
34. Seu Jorge in City of God 
35. Benedict Wong in Dirty Pretty Things
36. Stephen Dillane in The Hours 
37. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Punch-Drunk Love 
38. Eric Tsang in Infernal Affairs 
39. Brian Cox in 25th Hour 
40. Ralph Fiennes in Red Dragon
41. J.K. Simmons in Spider-Man 
42. Philip Seymour Hoffman in 25th Hour 
43. Cliff Robertson in Spider-Man 
44. Anthony Wong in Infernal Affairs
45. Brian Cox in Adaptation 
46. John C. Reilly in Chicago
47. Ed Harris in Buffalo Soldiers
48. Powers Boothe in Frailty
49. Liev Schreiber in The Sum of All Fears 
50. Phellipe Haagensen in City of God 
51. Scott Glenn in Buffalo Soldiers
52. Brad Dourif in The Two Towers  
53. Douglas Silva in City of God 
54. Mekhi Phifer in 8 Mile
55. Kenneth Branagh in Rabbit-Proof Fence
56. Nathan Lane in Nicholas Nickleby
57. Anthony Hopkins in Red Dragon
58. George Clooney in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind 
59. Jim Broadbent in Gangs of New York 
60. Marcel Iures in Hart's War
61. Ian McKellen in The Two Towers  
62. David Gulpilil in Rabbit-Proof Fence
63. Matheus Nachtergaele in City of God
64. Jamie Bell in Nicholas Nickleby
65. Sean Bean in The Two Towers
66. Willem Dafoe in Spider-Man 
67. Dwight Yoakam in Panic Room
68. Dennis Haysbert in Far From Heaven
69. Max von Sydow in Minority Report
70. Joaquin Phoenix in Signs
71. Denzel Washington in Antwone Fisher
72. Liam Neeson in Gangs of New York 
73. Michael Byrne in The Sum of All Fears
74. Stanley Tucci in Road to Perdition 
75. Richard Harris in The Count of Monte Cristo
76. Ciarian Hinds in The Sum of All Fears
77. Timothy Spall in Nicholas Nickleby
78. Billy Boyd in The Two Towers 
79. Richard Harris in The Chamber of Secrets
80. Frank Finlay in The Pianist
81. Noah Huntley in 28 Days Later
82. Kenneth Branagh in The Chamber of Secrets 
83. David Wenham in The Two Towers 
84. Rutger Hauer in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
85. Christopher Lee in Attack of the Clones
86. Richard Gere in Chicago 
87. Nikolaj Lie Kaas in Open Hearts 
88. Barry Pepper in We Were Soldiers
89. Bruce Willis in Hart's War 
90. Harvey Keitel in Red Dragon
91. Brian Cox in The Bourne Identity
92. Luiz Guzman in Punch-Drunk Love 
93. Terence Howard in Hart's War
94. Michael Wincott in The Count of Monte Cristo
95. Matthew McConaughey in 13 Conversations About One Thing
96. Jared Leto in Panic Room
97. Sergei Lopez in Dirty Pretty Things
98. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Red Dragon
99. Jason Isaacs in The Chamber of Secrets 
100. Colin Farrell in Minority Report   
101. Alfred Molina in Frida 
102. Chris Cooper in The Bourne Identity
103. James Cromwell in The Sum of All Fears
104. John C. Reilly in The Hours 
105. Michael Shannon in 8 Mile
106. Rupert Grint in The Chamber of Secrets
107. Morgan Freeman in The Sum of All Fears
108. John Rhys-Davies in The Two Towers
109. Jeremy Irons in The Time Machine 
110. Peter Stormare in Minority Report
111. Alan Bates in Sum of All Fears 
112. Orland Bloom in The Two Towers  
113. John Turturro in 13 Conversations About One Thing
114. Dominic Monaghan in The Two Towers
115. Karl Urban in The Two Towers
116. Tom Wilkinson in The Importance of Being Earnest 
117. Jeremy Davies in Secretary
118. Guy Pearce in The Count of Monte Cristo
119. Gary Cole in One Hour Photo
120. Tim Blake Nelson in Minority Report 
121. Henry Cavill in The Count of Monte Cristo
122. Christopher Eccleston in 28 Days Later
123. James Franco in Spider-Man 
124. Jeff Goldblum in Igby Goes Down
125. Henry Thomas in Gangs of New York 
126. Luis Guzman in the Count of Monte Cristo
127. Rory Culkin in Signs 
128. Orlando Jones in The Time Machine 
129. Martin Sheen in Catch Me If You Can
130. John Noble in The Two Towers
131. Geoffrey Rush in Frida 
132. Ed Harris in The Hours
133. Jared Harris in Igby Goes Down
134. Olivier Martinez in Unfaithful
135. Rip Torn in Men in Black 2 
136. David Hyde Pierce in Treasure Planet
137. Tony Siragusa in 25th Hour
138. Dermot Mulroney in About Schmidt
139. Dylan Smith in One Hour Photo
140. Michael Madsen in Die Another Day
141. Howard Hesseman in About Schmidt
142. Toby Stephens in Die Another Day
143. Eric Lloyd in The Santa Clause 2
144. Johnny Knoxville in Men in Black 2 
145. Ryan Phillipe in Igby Goes Down
146. Rick Yune in Die Another Day
147. Martin Short in Treasure Planet
148. Rob Schneider in Mr. Deeds

Next Year: 1950 lead

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2002: Robin Williams in Insomnia

Robin Williams did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Walter Finch in Insomnia.

Insomnia is about a homicide detective under investigation by internal affairs Will Dormer (Al Pacino) who is sent to Alaska to investigate the murder of a local teen while he plagued by guilt and the inability to sleep due to the midnight sun. It's an effective thriller even though it unfortunately has Hillary Swank in it who should only be cast in very rare circumstances. 

In 2002 Robin Williams rejected his standard on screen persona with his startling but sympathetic turn in One Hour Photo and in Insomnia. Williams again is playing against his usual type once again, and like One Hour Photo he does not even give a hint of his comedic work. As with many films where the killer is a mystery at least at first, and a famous actor has yet to make his appearance it is fairly safe to assume that he is going to be the killer. Insomnia actually pretty much takes this as a given as the first we even know of Williams it is hearing his voice revealing that he is the killer to Pacino's character. This actually is a pretty interesting way to introduce the character that might have not worked if it wasn't Williams's familiar voice over the phone.

Even though it is only his voice Williams makes a strong impact to begin with with his eerily calm delivery as he speaks. Finch isn't calling Dormer to turn himself in nor is he calling in the often used villain calling the hero routine but rather to make a deal as Finch was a witness to Dormer shooting and killing his partner. William's performance is very interesting in that even his voice is strangely calm there is nothing overtly evil about it either. He finds such startling tone for just his manner in which Finch talks that instantly makes him a fascinating character before we have even met him as Williams opens up with a mystery of this man only leaving us to what to know exactly what is behind the man who speaks in such a gentle way about his murder.

When Dormer finally meets Finch face to face Williams does not disappoint. His Finch is very different from his Sy in One Hour Photo even though it might seem like Williams might tread a little water in his performance but he does not. As Finch there is not anything that would make you instantly pinpoint him as a murderer at least in his style. He is again technically a lonely man, but in this case a very different sort of lonely man. Unlike in his leading work from this year Williams portrays the man who is all alone with a great degree of contentment most of the time. Williams doesn't make Finch seem desperate in any way, and part of what makes this performance so effective is that Williams does not plays Finch as the aggressive killer instead creates a more complex portrait.

When Finch lays out his plans to Dormer which involve framing somewhat else for the murder there is something so strange yet absolutely brilliant about Williams's performance. Everything that Finch lays out he words so nicely and puts it together like a set of plot points they both need to follow to make sure that they both escape any judgment. Why this is brilliant is that Finch himself is a mystery writer and Williams does two things by taking this approach. Firstly he shows that Finch has a certain ego in his writing so much that he will even keep using the writer's lingo and keep a distance even though he is the killer. Secondly though he suggests the way Finch has become since the murder and although it is his very first and now that he can view himself away from it that he could very easily become a serial killer due to his changed nature.

A particularly interesting thing that Williams does here is dominate his scenes with Pacino even though Dormer is the far more volatile one of the two. What Williams does though is basically create the dominance through an odd complacency. As they set up the plan Finch always urges on Dormer one way or another to follow his plan exactly. Williams does this with this odd charisma as even when he is insulted he barely bats an eye always gently pushing his ideas over Dormer's objections. There is also something else there as Finch consistently praises Dormer and his profession as well as trying to convince Dormer to go along with him as a way to do the right thing. Williams is amazing because it is impossible to tell whether he is being genuine in this praise and it comes off as just the easiest way for Finch to control Dormer all the more.

Williams's very best scene is when he tells Dormer about what exactly happened when he killed the girl. Williams lets go ever so slightly of the writer making his own story in this scene, although only ever so slightly. It is a very strange scene but testament to how good Williams is here as he makes you actually sympathize with Finch even though all he is doing is admitting he killed the girl. Again there is something else though as Williams brings just the smallest hint of a seething emotion under neath Finch's almost cherub like smile, and lets onto to where the extreme hatred came from that came when he killed the girl. This scene is incredible moment for Williams because even as he makes Finch seem like a man who did kill by accident what he actually is doing at the same time is showing how Finch is truly reprehensible as he has become a man who can completely rationalize his brutal murder. 

I think Robin Williams probably should contractually obligated to play a potential psychopath as he quite good at it, and it is quite an achievement that he doesn't repeat himself at all in his two portrayals of that sort from 2002. Williams pretty much makes every move you would not expect from Robin Williams playing a psychopathic murderer. In that he downplays everything evil about his character even though it is something that always within his characterization nevertheless. One of my favorite scenes that I think sums up the effectiveness of Williams's performance is late in the film as he and Dormer seem to have fixed everything up just right for themselves. Finch once again plays the nice man saying everything Dormer did was the right thing to do, and Williams is able to be honest with this sentiment even while he actually is not. That dynamic though makes Walter Finch such a chilling character though when he says that he will wrap everything up. Williams in his face gives the face of a man just giving a little bit of comfort, but in his eyes he is man who leaves the possibility that this wrap up probably will mean at least writing just one more murder in to end his story.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2002

And the Nominees Were Not:

Andy Serkis in The Two Towers

Bernard Hill in The Two Towers

Dennis Quaid in Far From Heaven

Robin Williams in Insomnia

Richard Gere in Chicago

Alternate Best Actor 2002: Results

5. Edward Norton in 25th Hour- Edward Norton gives a solid performance, but never one that stands above his film.

Best Scene: Monty speaks with his father.

4. Ralph Fiennes in Spider- Fiennes gives an uncompromising performance delving into the instability of a deranged man.

Best Scene: Cleg tries to reenact his mother's murder.

3. Robin Williams in One Hour Photo-Williams reigns in himself completely giving an nerving yet sympathetic turn as a lonely man with an unhealthy obsession.

Best Scene: Sy's outburst at the police.

2. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai in Infernal Affairs- Leung gives an endearing and moving portrayal of a cop worn away by pretending to be criminal for far too long.

Best Scene: The two moles meet.

1. Ray Liotta in Narc- My win goes to Ray Liotta surprisingly heartbreaking turn as efficient cop who is willing to break too many rules to do what he believes is the right thing. 

Best Scene: Oak recounts what really happened in the tunnel.

Overall Rank:

1. Ray Liotta in Narc
2. Adrien Brody in The Pianist
3. Hiroyuki Sanada in The Twilight Samurai
4. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai in Infernal Affairs
5. Chiwetel Ejiofor in Dirty Pretty Things
6. Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt
7. Nicolas Cage in Adaptation
8. Mads Mikkelsen in Open Hearts
9. Andy Lau in Infernal Affairs 
10. Cillian Murphy in 28 Days Later 
11. Robin Williams in One Hour Photo
12. Ralph Fiennes in Spider
13. Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can 
14. Adam Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love
15. Olivier Gourmet in The Son
16. Sam Rockwell in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind 
17. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Love Liza
18. Bill Paxton Frailty
19. David Gulpilil in The Tracker
20. Leslie Cheung in Inner Senses
21. Greg Kinnear in Auto Focus 
22. Tom Hanks in Road to Perdition 
23. James Spader in Secretary
24. Tom Cruise in Minority Report
25. Viggo Mortensen in The Two Towers 
26. Irrfan Khan in The Warrior
27. Al Pacino in Insomnia  
28. Michael Caine in The Quiet American
29. Campbell Scott in Rodger Dodger
30. Hugh Grant in About A Boy
31. Marek Kondrat in Day of the Wacko
    
32. Mel Gibson in Signs
33. Jason Patric in Narc
34. Edward Norton in 25th Hour 
35. Matt O'Leary in Frailty
36. Sol Kyung-gu in Oasis
37. Derek Luke in Antwone Fisher  
38. Markku Peltola in The Man Without a Past 
39. Jesse Eisenberg in Rodger Dodger
40. Elijah Wood in The Two Towers
41. Steve Coogan in 24 Hour Party People 
42. Mel Gibson in We Were Soldiers
43. Tyler Hoechlin in Road to Perdition
44. Song Kang-Ho in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
45. Nicholas Hoult in About a Boy
46. Javier Camara in Talk to Her
47. Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 
48. Edward Norton in Red Dragon
49. Rupert Everett in The Importance of Being Earnest 
50. Alexandre Rodrigues in City of God 
51. Dario Grandinetti in Talk to Her
52. Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Treasure Planet
53. Joaquin Phoenix in Buffalo Soldiers
54. Shin Ha-kyun in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance 
55. Sergey Dreyden in Russian Ark 
56. Richard Gere in Unfaithful
57. Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears
58. Guy Pearce in The Time Machine
59. James Caviezel in The Count of Monte Cristo 
60. Colin Firth in The Importance of Being Earnest
61. Jet Li in Hero
62. Eminem in 8 Mile 
63. Matt Damon in The Bourne Identity 
64. Colin Farrell in Hart's War
65. Daniel Radcliffe in The Chamber of Secrets 
66. Richard Gere in The Mothman Prophecies
67. Kevin Bacon in Trapped 
68. Nicolas Cage in Windtalkers
69. Charlie Hunnam in Nicholas Nickerby
70. Robin Williams in Death to Smoochy
71. Ewan McGregor in Attack of the Clones   
72. Matt Damon in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
73. Kieran Culkin in Igby Goes Down
74. Edward Norton in Death to Smoochy
75. Mike Myers in Goldmember
76. Stuart Townsend in Trapped 
77. John Corbett - My Big Fat Greek Wedding
78. Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day 
79. Tim Allen in The Santa Clause 2
80. Will Smith in Men in Black 2  
81. Leonardo DiCaprio in Gangs of New York
82. Adam Beach in Windtalkers
83. Adam Sandler in Mr. Deeds
84. Hayden Christensen in Attack of the Clones

Next Year: 2002 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 2002: Robin Williams in One Hour Photo

Robin Williams did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for a few critic awards, for portraying Seymour "Sy" Parrish in One Hour Photo.

One Hour Photo is an effective thriller about a worker at a one hour photo who becomes obsessed with the family of one of his customers who he sees as ideal.

Robin Williams has not been a preferred performer for me, and it is not that I don't think he has talent. He is funny comedian but his style of comedy rarely works within a character, and it can be especially distracting when he throws in a comedic bit in an otherwise straight performance and really breaks cahracter just to have a moment for Robin Williams the comedian. Robin Williams performance here is the first time, out of his performances that I have reviewed, where I can say that he doesn't once fall onto his abilities as comedian, and instead stays with his character for the entire film.

Williams is very much against his usually lively type portraying Sy the man who runs a photo booth in a large department store. Sy is a very lonely man who only seems to take solace in that he is good at his job as well as in the photos of a life he dreamed he had. Williams really reigns himself in as he portrays Sy as a very introverted, and at least at first quiet man. As the worker at the booth Williams puts on a smile to the customers as a good employee should but as well as man trying to be happier than he is. Within his eyes Williams suggests appropriately an anguish and deep seeded sadness in the man that is something almost always prevalent in some way.

Sy is a disturbed man although not disturbed in the way you might expect. He makes copies of the happy photos for himself, but technically speaking his intentions for this are not evil. He has no sinister plans for the father, the mother, or son all he really wants to be is part of their life and apparently would be happy just to be their friend. Williams does well not to try to make Sy any psychopath in this regard and his obsessions with the family are handled in just the right way. Williams most certainly is unnerving in his portrayal as Sy tries to get just the slightest connection with any of the family, but Williams is genuine in Sy's desires which although are off putting are understandable in that it is a lonely man looking for someone to love.

Williams is very good in his creation of Sy as a character because he allows sympathy for the man while at the same time building the unease by establishing that Sy definitely has problems that go even beyond his loneliness. In every attempt just to work his way into his good graces we see the genuine desire just for friendship in Williams's performance so we do feel for him. At the same time Williams though does bring across the unpleasantness of the situation in the way Sy both comes on too strongly each time as well as never seems to be able to connect with them. This dynamic that Williams creates makes every scene where Sy tries to befriend any of the family members particularly effective as they heartfelt while being off putting.

Sy's mental state quickly begins to deteriorate when he fired from his job for making all the copies of the photos, and to only further his distress he learns that his ideal family is less than perfect with the husband being an adulterer. Robin Williams is pent up for most of the film so when he unravels it might have been an easy time to overact, Williams though stays within the character of Sy and is very effective as Sy begins to come up with a very strange plan.Sy slowly begins to unravel to the point he finally seems to snap as he enacts his bizarre plan. Williams is very good because he is careful not to make Sy just an evil psychopath even though he is brandishing a knife. He's quite frightening to be sure because Williams still makes it the same old Sy who has finally let loose his rage.

Throughout the film it is apparent that something in Sy's past has brought him not only to his introverted state, but as well in his obsession with the family. Williams certainly gives subtle hints throughout, but it is more apparent in his last scene as Sy's explains why he did what he did. When Sy opens up this time about himself it is a powerful scene and Williams is heartbreaking as we see exactly what happened to Sy. Although it is not fully explained actually it is made obvious by Williams's flawless delivery of Sy's final speech on how exactly how father's should treat their sons. This is a very strong performance by Robin Williams that drives the film exceedingly well. I won't say Williams's turn even surprised me, as I always thought he had talent, instead this is just a great example of how good he can be when he reigns himself in.

Alternate Best Actor 2002

And the Nominees Were Not:

Tony Leung Chiu-Wai in Infernal Affairs

Robin Williams in One Hour Photo

Ray Liotta in Narc

Ralph Fiennes in Spider

Edward Norton in 25th Hour

I apologize in advance if I left off any of your favorites, but this year was packed.

Best Actor 1987

5. Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam- Williams is given the right part that allows him to show his comedic ability in this film, it is not anything great, but it still is an effective enough performance.

4. Marcello Mastroianni in Dark Eyes- Mastroianni puts a whole lot of effort in his big romantic performance, some of his performance does not entirely pay off, but enough does for this to be overall a charming as well as tragic performance.

3. Michael Douglas in Wall Street- Douglas' Gordon Gekko is not the most three dimensional character, but Douglas is properly commanding and convincing in his entirely villainous role.

2. William Hurt in Broadcast News- Hurt's performance is not all that interesting, but it does fulfill the requirement of his role as the rather shallow newscaster. 

1. Jack Nicholson in Ironweed- Nicholson for me this year stands far and above the rest of the performances. His performance as the homeless alcoholic Francis Phelan is a sad, haunting, memorable performance, that easily is my choice.

Deserving Performances:
John Lone in The Last Emperor

Best Actor 1987: Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam

Robin Williams received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Adrian Cronauer in Good Morning Vietnam.

Good Morning Vietnam tells the story of a anti-establishment army radio show host, who annoys many of the authorities, well being liked by basically everyone else.

Robin Williams has not had the best Oscar record with me, having been under 3 for every single of his nominations so far. Well what do I criticize, well his breaking of character to do his comic routine every so often in his other performance. I also criticize as well just a lack of dramatically convincing portrayal of a character.

What about this time though, well firstly the breaking out of character to do his comic routine is not a problem this time, since the character is a comedian who does a comedy routine just like Williams' own routine. Williams is constantly making his jokes, with his various voices he does, and well as mannerisms, but they are all in that of the character of Adrian Cronauer.

I think how much one enjoys this performance than all depends on how much one likes Williams' comedy routine on a whole, and in particular his material in this film. Well I have never been a huge fan of Robin Williams' comedy, I find some of his work his more enjoyable than others. In this film I would say all his routines are enjoyable, but I never really laughed out loud about them either.

The whole comedy of the character is shown to be a bit of a defense mechanism for Cronauer, as instead of every facing anything completely he tries to change the subject, or defuse a situation with a joke. Now this is displayed, but I did not think the film presented or Williams as some sort of deep pathological problem of Cronauer, but I guess it was still shown. It could have been far more interesting though if Williams had presented his constant use of comedy as something deeper.

The film attempts to become deeper, in the relationship between Williams' character and a young Vietnam man, as well a young Vietnam woman. Williams though still is not really required to show all that much dramatic weight, except for two key scenes. One after a bar he was in was bombed, and Williams is good in showing his struggle to keep up with his good humor on the radio, well clearly thinking of what happened. The other scene concerns him finding out that his Vietnamese friend was the one who bombed the bar. Williams is again good in the confrontation scene but not amazing.

This is not a great performance, but it is well attuned for Williams. Williams mostly uses his comedy, which is his forte, making it so his performance is actually effective enough. His whole character though technically is not a giant challenge for Williams, but at the same Williams is probably the only actor who could have really portrayed the part with his particular amount of energy, and constant comedic attempts. This is not an amazing performance, but it is technically a good displays of Williams' abilities.

Best Actor 1987

And the Nominees Were:

William Hurt in Broadcast News

Marcello Mastroianni in Dark Eyes

Michael Douglas in Wall Street

Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam

Jack Nicholson in Ironweed

Best Actor 1991: Results

5. Warren Beatty in Bugsy- Simply a bad performance which fails at its core. He never finds the right tone for Bugsy, and never seems to be authentic, and many times comes off unintentionally funny in his worst scenes.

4. Nick Nolte in The Prince of Tides- Nolte has a few scenes where he is okay, they are his quiet confession scenes, but everything else he does either comes off as completely false or just weird. He always plays his character artificially and never really gets down to the heart of him.

3. Robert De Niro in Cape Fear. De Niro has some good scenes early on despite his terrible accent, but as the film goes on he simply hams it up way too much.

2. Robin Williams in The Fisher King- Robin Williams at first over plays the role, and cannot stay in character, but as he goes on he gets a bit better in the crazy scenes, and he actually is fairly effective in his quiet scenes.

1. Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs- This ought to be a surprise to no one, but Hopkins by far gave the best lead actor performance nominated this year and he can even be argued as not a lead. Still Hopkins is brilliant in every minute of his relatively short performance. He creates a fascinating, memorable, and truly effective character from Hannibal Lecter. Every scene he handles with perfection, never going over the top, or even seeming calculated since all of his motions are brilliant.

Deserving Performances:
John Turturro in Barton Fink

Best Actor 1991: Robin Williams in The Fisher King

Robin Williams received his third Oscar nomination for portraying Parry a mentally unstable homeless man in The Fisher King.

The Fisher King is better than Bugsy, and The Prince of Tides, since it does not fail completely and it attempts at something a little more original, but it does not succeed enough for me to say it was really a very good film.

Robin Williams plays Parry who actually does not show up too quickly in the film. It focuses largely on Jeff Bridges who plays a Howard Stern esque shock jock Jack Lucas. Parry shows up to save Jack after he is attacked by two hoodlums. When Williams first showed up I really was very annoyed. When he initially shows up, he goes for pure Williams Shtick. He does some voices that are suppose to be funny, and does a Williams seen to its most annoying. He does not create a character in these first scenes but instead tries just for comedy through his usual type of routine.

Williams though after these initial scenes does change his method of portraying the character a little bit differently. I felt he started to tone down the Williamsisms and tries harder to be a real character. He does not fully succeed at this but I am glad that he tries to create a person with Parry rather than just a routine. He is suppose to be a man who becomes mentally unstable after seeing the brutal murder of his wife, and he is suppose to be almost blocking those memories by creating another personality. At times his crazy acts seem forced crazy, and really do not hold any truth to them, a few times Williams pulls them off but most of the time he does not find the proper authenticity for Parry's madness.

Williams' best scenes are though when he tones it down and acts much more quiet. He actually is pretty good in the scene where he tells of the Fisher King. He suggests more about Parry with his brief quiet scenes than his over the top loud scenes. He has a few scenes like this besides that one where he is effective, he also is effective do to that reason with his romantic interest played by Amanda Plummer. He is never perfect in the role but when he is quiet he fines a subtler strand of the character that works well. Unfortunately he really does not have enough scenes that really on this better technique. Most of the time he does the obvious crazy that just never is that well done. Overall an okay performance, that is weakened especially by the beginning where he does not really stay in character. 

Best Actor 1991

And the Nominees Were:

Robert De Niro in Cape Fear

Warren Beatty in Bugsy

Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs

Robin Williams in The Fisher King

Nick Nolte in The Prince of Tides

Here is the special Halloween edition of Best Actor, since there is not anything scarier than Bugsy, The Fisher King, and the Prince of Tides.

Best Supporting Actor 1997: Results

5. Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting- Williams although struggles a bit to be wholly believable in terms of the "history" of the character, does fantastic in articulating the character's wisdom through difficult experience.

4. Greg Kinnear in As Good As It Gets- Greg Kinnear is very good in all his scenes and shows the changes of his character well, even in amidst of bad writing.

3. Anthony Hopkins in Amistad- Hopkins is very good as John Quincy Adams, playing the part as it should be played, with a very good final speech.

2. Burt Reynolds in Boogie Nights- Burt Reynolds is very good in Boogie Nights making Jack Horner into such a loving and caring father figure.

1. Robert Forster in Jackie Brown- Forster plays his role pitch perfectly sharing marvelous chemistry with Pam Grier.

Deserving Performances:
Kevin Spacey in L.A. Confidential

Best Supporting Actor 1997: Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting

Robin Williams won an Oscar from his fourth nomination for portraying Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting.

Robin Williams plays the psychotherapist who helps Good Will Hunting (Matt Damon) deal with his past, and attempt to help him forge his future. Maguire is a movie psychiatrist in all regards, revealing a bit too much to his patient and also getting a little unrealistically close to him too.

Upon reflection on Robin Williams's acting career, I think what you saw was a performer with tremendous talent, but the question was how one utilized, or in fact, regulated that talent. Williams has old standards and style of improvisation, which sometimes was ideal, like in the comic DJ character in Good Morning Vietnam, but other times it seemed the main character he was portraying took a backseat for Robin Williams the comedian to ply his trade for a scene or even for a moment. Williams's two best performances, in turn, stand as his work in One Hour Photo and Insomnia, not because they were against his comedic type, but rather because he was dialed into those characters the entire time. His performance in Good Will Hunting is his most famous dramatic turn, but in turn, I think it is a combination of the strengths of his work as a dramatic performer, while also being the elements that sometimes hold down hold back his dramatic acting. 

Re-watching the film I'll concede that I treated his performance as a monolith, a mistake I'll quickly admit to in my earlier reviews, as one bad scene doesn't make a performance bad, and to write off the entirety of a performance for one scene, isn't quite ideal. Although I'll revisit still the scenes that don't entirely work for me. One is in that Robin Williams the comedian moment, not actually the farting scene, where Sean describes his wife's habit of farting while being a Robin Williams improvisation, I think he does successfully fashion this moment through the character of Sean Maguire. He avoids fully going into Robin Williams Schtick, it is a moment fashioned to be funny but it comes from a more measured delivery for the most part, except for a brief moment where he replays a moment from the past. In that quick moment he becomes the comedian and is a little insincere whereas the rest of the bit, is a bit, but a bit that comes from Sean, not from Williams. The other moment like this is in part of Sean telling Will about when he first met his wife. In a scene that is mostly in character, however, the framing device of a Boston Red Sox game is delivered very much as Williams doing Robin Williams describing the game with that Williams's energy and less so again the psychiatrist Sean Maguire telling this part of the story. 

The other major negative that I'll mention, in what otherwise is a strong scene for Williams is the moment where he first meets Will, where he deals with Will's hostility through light self-deprecation and gentle openness until Will attacks Sean on his wife leading Sean to physically grip Will and say "I will end you". Although the rest of the scene is well performed, that moment feels like acted intensity by Robin Williams rather than genuine intensity with the delivery, in particular, feeling a bit much. Having said that the lead-up to that is well performed from the ease of projecting the sincere care in Sean for his potential patient to his slow exasperation when Will attacks the raw nerve of his deceased wife. All around that is good acting by Williams in revealing that trauma. There are definitely other strong moments in Williams's performance. The most noted being his park monologues about Will's lack of experience with life, and in that Williams is terrific in delivering the monologue with both an earnest inspiration and heartbroken trauma in Sean. He reveals the character's pain and his wisdom at that moment quite effectively. There are other good moments in which Williams articulates that note of the warmth of the character, with his strain, his encouragement, and his struggle. These moments are well-realized and Williams's playing into the inspirational Williams style in a way that works. Having said that I still don't love this performance, as, like Damon, I don't buy the Southie background within Williams's performance. He's supposed to be "one of the guys" and that rings hollow. Williams doesn't quite pull it off, he's not bad, but it's not quite there. We see this, particularly in his scenes with Stellan Skarsgard the math professor who discovers will. It is supposed to be the working-class sensibility against the snob in a sense. Williams though never is convincing in the working-class Boston manner leaving something amiss. Having said that he is good though still in portraying his passion in defending Will against the other man's prejudices, the dynamic isn't wholly realized. I'll admit looking back my feelings having changed much. I'll just grant I didn't give enough credit to what works here, and there are definitely elements that work quite well within Williams's performance. There elements that don't as well, but again not a monolith. There are genuine moments of poignancy that Williams delivers in crafting the wisdom of the character that should be regarded properly, even if I still must state my reservations in the "character breaking" moments, and the fact that I never quite believe Williams as a man born and raised in South Boston.

Best Supporting Actor 1997

And the Nominees Were:

Robert Forster in Jackie Brown

Anthony Hopkins in Amistad

Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting

Burt Reynolds in Boogie Nights

Greg Kinnear in As Good As It Gets

Who do you pick? What do you predict my ranking will be?

Best Actor 1989: Results

5. Tom Cruise in Born on the Fourth of July- I will give Cruise credit for trying but he never quite succeeds.

4. Robin Williams in Dead Poet's Society- Williams is okay as the supporting part of the inspiring teacher but his character just does not have a lot of depth.

3. Kenneth Branagh in Henry V- Branagh is very good as Henry, although he is slightly too theatrical in a few scenes, but he also has some truly great scenes that make up for it.

2. Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy- Morgan Freeman is incredibly good, and his chemistry with Jessica Tandy is perfect. He gives an incredibly charming and entertaining performance.

1. Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot- Day-Lewis is brilliant and completely compelling in the challenging role of Cristy Brown. Day-Lewis succeeds in every way and gives one of the greatest performances put on film.