Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1978: Bruce Dern in The Driver

Bruce Dern did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying The Detective in The Driver.

The Driver, which follows a, well, driver (Ryan O'Neal) who is a getaway specialist, was much derided in its time. Although I will say unfairly, I mean the technical virtues of the film alone should've guaranteed it some praise, but I'll say it was before its time. As the film exists purposefully as a specifically cinematic piece, and makes no illusions regarding this fact. The overused criticism of "style over substance" too often ignores that style itself can be enough, particularly if it is the intention of the piece. That is the case for the Driver, which I suppose I will defend as a proper strictly cinematic work by director Walter Hill, that could only exist as a film, and does so with spectacular style. Although I will say this approach was in a way perfected in its spiritual successor of Drive, though by adding a bit more direct substance, I still think it stands well as the purest form of this approach. A film that exists through the language of film.

Speaking to the film's minimalist approach is right within the script that names each character as their role, rather than a person. The approach being to make an action picture distilled to its purest form. Bruce Dern is quite simply ideal for this type approach, as the pseudo antagonist to the driver as the detective trying to catch. This is because if the character itself might be limited, you have a performer like Bruce Dern who is quite simply always a character. The challenge presented to Dern being to make something out of a purpose archetype of the dogged detective who do what it takes to catch his man. I will say many a performer likely would've been completely forgettable in this role, but this part is just right for the always at least a little off-beat Dern. This is as in a way one will take notice of the detective, just as we see him passively playing pool in the opening scene, because well it's Bruce Dern. Bruce Dern is more than just casting though, as he is an actor, who importantly doesn't quite approach a scene like anyone else, much in the same way of say a Christopher Walken, his co-nominee from 1978 for the actual Oscar. This as he questions witnesses looking at a lineup, Dern's slightly manic eyes, and posture almost like a pecking bird, offers us a bit more of an indecisive character within the detective. This is technically as the detective is merely just asking questions, but Dern does far more with it than that. Take as he attempts to interrogate the driver after the first heist of the film, and Dern just owns the dialogue he has, and the scene. This in bringing that bit of mania in his expression as he speaks of his wish to catch the "cowboy that's never been caught" with a delighted glee, that creates a greater sense of obsession than is honestly in the dialogue. Dern makes investigation scenes have something extra to them, as he can add that color to any line, even just remarking on the size of a gun, or just in that atypical physical manner of his that skews things just a bit, while still definitely delivering on the direct point of the role. This in bringing a bit more ego in the detective as he lays down his trap, and boasts about his method. One of Dern's best moments being talking directly with the Driver and commenting on the driver's life. Dern has the right degree of fun with it, showing in turn that the detective loves the chase a bit, and gets a kick honestly out of playing the game with the Driver. Dern in a way showing the needed performance even in the Detective's own action scene of sorts, by bringing to life the dogged determination and frustration of the moment as we follow him nearly silently trying to catch a crook. Dern effectively becoming the protagonist in a way, if only for a scene. My favorite moment of his performance though being the ending, helped by a great edit, where the driver goes to attempt to pickup what he thinks is illicit payment to only find himself surrounding by cops lead by the detective. Dern leading with the right smug posture. What's best about it though, as both men find they were had in some way, Dern delivers a slight modesty in his final lines even a sense of understanding in his eyes as they both accept their "loss". Dern makes the most out of the type, he's given here, making more than there is in the right way, as offering essentially the character for the role.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1978

And the Nominees Were Not:

Barry Bostwick in Movie Movie

Bruce Dern in The Driver

Yaphet Kotto in Blue Collar

Christopher Plummer in The Silent Partner

Scott Reiniger in Dawn of the Dead

Alternate Best Actor 1978: Results

5. Steve McQueen in An Enemy of the People - McQueen doesn't fail entirely in his against type performance, but at the same time it isn't a complete success.

Best Scene: Speech.

4. Elliott Gould in The Silent Partner - Gould delivers a terrific atypical turn as the lead to a thriller who is a bit more calculating than the average "wrong man".

Best Scene: Needing a new key.

3. Harvey Keitel in Fingers - Keitel delivers a fantastic turn of a man defined by a strange pull between a world of art and a world of violence.

Best Scene: Visiting his mother.

2. Alan Bates in The Shout - Bates delivers a wholly a captivating portrayal of a man seemingly empowered by a life of mistakes, and a man broken by them.

Best Scene: The shout.

1. Richard Pryor in Blue Collar - Good predictions Michael McCarthy and GM. Pryor proves his abilities are far greater than he was given credit for, in his dynamic, intense, and downright powerful portrayal of a man fed-up by the system he is stuck in.

Best Scene: Explaining his compromise.

Updated Overall:

Next Year: 1978 Supporting (found a lineup)

Alternate Best Actor 1978: Elliott Gould in The Silent Partner

Elliott Gould did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Miles Cullen in The Silent Partner.

The Silent Partner is a very underrated rather good thriller about a bank teller secretly stealing money from the bank/a bank robber Harry Reikle (Christopher Plummer looking his most Michael Fassbenderesque) during a heist.

One of the features that makes this film standout within its genre is one Elliott Gould in the central role. Gould being one of the atypical leading men that helped define the seventies. Here in the role the "wrong man" more traditionally although the twist here, provided well by screenwriter Curtis Hanson, is here he is the right man in a way. We open though in the film with the more expected point of our Hitchcockian style hero, seemingly just minding his business as usual. Although this unusual hero, is indeed that, as we have Gould providing a bit of an off-beat presence, not quite as off-beat as his brilliant Philip Marlowe from The Long Goodbye, however similar in terms of the way Gould takes an atypical approach. This time again an effective approach in this sense, as he doesn't overdo the idiosyncrasy, however creates a proper sense of Miles as this bookworm type, most interested in a new fish than anything else. Gould is fantastic early on though is as much as he is effective as seeming a man of no importance on the cursory surface, we are immediately granted his greater intelligence and ability early on. This is almost entirely played in his eyes, and brilliantly so. Whether this be his quick calculating glance at an unused robbery note to the bank, or his examination of his attractive co-worker Julie (Susannah York) who he is acting as a false date for so his boss can attempt an affair with her, Gould grants a greater sense into the mind of Miles, even as he stays the slightly affable dullard for most.

The film doesn't stop to take a moment where Miles goes, okay I'm going to steal the bank money by tricking a robber, but we wholly granted a sense of why through Gould's nuanced performance. This in just fantastic moments of examining the man he knows is the robber as he shows the man breaking the idea down, and then conducting this certainty in his manner of a man who is deciding to take something for himself for once. This is where we get some really terrific work from Gould as he provides a different type of hero for a Hitchcockian style thriller, in that Miles isn't the tricked every-man, but rather the manipulative genius usually left to the villain. Gould though manages to create something notable in crafting the calculating method of Miles, largely through a lot internalized moments in his performance. This in he presents a man who rarely shuts off, with this careful examination of things, and does so much in his work in just reactionary moments that gives a different flavor to this thriller. This as even when we see him interact with the bank robber Reikel, and attempt to draw him away from his trail, there is this wonderful lively sense in Gould's work. This in showing a guy very much working on sort of outside his typical bounds with a bit of energy within that idea, but also very much the sense of assurance in the man in trying to make things go according to plan for himself. I love the way that Miles in a way would basically always have the upper hand if it weren't for the fact that Reikel, unlike Miles, is more than willing to use violence to get what he wants.

Now within this idea Gould also finds well the way Miles grows from the experience, as his success with the plot seems to grow this even greater confidence with a bit more willingness to step forward. Gould doesn't show a completely changed man, but rather a man who is more willing to put forth the qualities he already had properly. This is perhaps best shown in what was for me the true hidden gem within the film, that of the character of Elaine played by Celine Lomez. A woman who initially lies about being a worker at the rest home for Miles's ailing father, but Miles soon deciphers is working for Reikel. Miles though romances her anyways while revealing his cards to her and they genuinely fall in love. Gould has great chemistry with Lomez, and most importantly shows so well the sort of ability of Miles to be both charming while conducting himself with this specific calculation. Their chemistry goes beyond their romance though as the two end up scheming to help secure the money Miles stole again, in a scene that is a highlight of the film. This in the playful chemistry they have that is so terrific, with Gould playing back but also being careful, while Lomez puts on the part of a harmless bank costumer while trying to hide her greed. It's a marvelous scene that honestly makes their relationship work so well, that I do wish things had gone differently for the rest of the film. Not in a way that hurts the film, rather the two really strike up an essential endearing connection that wished the two could've ridden off into the sunset together. This is, that while he did find good chemistry with York, which is more compromised naturally as Gould shows Miles to be always a bit compromised in their scenes together, it just doesn't have that spark he has with Lomez. Not a criticism of the film, or Gould's performance however. Now as terrific as Gould is finding this sort of new approach for the thriller hero, he is also great in the more expected material. This in just pulling us into Miles, as the great "heroic" performances should, and most importantly developing each stage of the plot. This in creating the real human connection in reflecting the fear and tension of dealing with Reikel at times, as well as the heartbreak and anger in reaction towards the man's more heinous actions. Gould draws us into Miles's experience like the best Hitchcockian style heroes, and pulls us right into this plot in the best of ways. This is a very strong performance from Elliott Gould as he does offer a bit of a nice variation on this type of character, while also fulfilling the needed expectations of such a role.

Alternate Best Actor 1978: Richard Pryor in Blue Collar

Richard Pryor did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Zeke Brown in Blue Collar.

Blue Collar is a terrific film following three fed-up auto workers who discover corruption in their union.

Richard Pryor was and is known as a legendary figure in the world of stand up comedy. Sadly his cinematic career pales in comparison to this, as he seemed largely misused by Hollywood for much of his career. Notable examples of this being Superman III, or in the same year as this film in The Wiz. This where executives seemed to say "you're funny be funny", in poorly thought out scenarios that expected Pryor to make something out of nothing, honestly frequently less than nothing. Sadly any chance for Pryor to really find a better path for himself was cut short by his drug addition and failing health. Now there were examples of films that found some decent material for Pryor to work with, although even these were typically pretty limited roles, Blue Collar however stands in a completely different league here, as a film that seemed to understand an even greater potential in Pryor than one might've expected. Now interesting enough, from the outset of the film, it kind of pulls you into thinking this might be more an expected, if a bit grittier, comedy of some working class guys. This with perhaps Harvey Keitel, filling in the Gene Wilder role, though with an actor like Keitel in that role, that perhaps tells you a little bit that might not be the case after all. Early on though we do get a bit more of Pryor's expected comedic presence as they complain about their conditions and the Union that seems to only serve themselves. These early moments though being in more jesting frustrations, with some nice chemistry in creating a general camaraderie between Pryor's Zeke, Keitel's Jerry and Yaphet Kotto's Smokey as work buddies. Pryor nicely bring a comic charm to these early moments with the guys just hanging early on, and we are granted a sense of friendship in mutual misery, which is realized in joking at their mutually difficult plight.

We are granted though that this will be a bit more in an early scene, where we see Zeke with his wife and family at home, when an IRS agent comes back for a bit of additional auditing. Now initially we do get a bit of comedy as Zeke claims a bit of additional children and Pryor is hilarious as he names off some additional well known names as some extra kids, while his wife grabs a few extra kids from the neighborhood to "fill in". It's a good comic setup and works in that sense. Although as the IRS man presses Pryor naturally and quite powerfully segues to something far more serious as Zeke speaks his difficult plight of having so little money to begin with and just scraping by. Pryor is quite simply incredible in the moment as the years of frustration are brimming in his eyes and his voice being so moving as there is such a sense of defeat even in the anger of his delivery. Honestly watching this scene ought to shatter anyone's image that all Pryor could be is funny, as there is such a real raw power to the scene that is remarkable. This is as Pryor not only brings such an intensity to the moment, but we are granted a real sense of the man's history of just getting beaten down by one thing after another in the nature of that intensity found in his performance. This made all the more potent as Pryor rips the rug out from under us, because in the scene we begin laughing but are shocked into seeing the real tragedy of Zeke's life. This is but a preview in a way to his performance however, as we see this early instance of the real anger that goes beyond just complaints shared between friends.

There is then the progress of Pryor's work which shows this growing sense of aggravation in the man. Early on we still have moments of a more expected presence of Pryor with that comedic edge, that is well realized by him here. That is he offers a light comic edge, he doesn't overplay the moments, making Zeke just a naturally kind of funny guy, rather than giving an overtly comic performance. It's used so well though because in turn we see the anger as all the more dynamic in his performance. This in that as the story goes on, and the three men find evidence of the union corruption, and the situation only becomes more sever. Pryor is outstanding in the moments of realizing such searing hatred towards the foreman and his union rep, showing a man who has just had it with his experience. It is raw, but also we see the tiring quality within Pryor's work. There is a remarkable degradation in the man as no matter what they try nothing seems to change. There's a great moment where Zeke is brought in to deal with an issue between him and the foreman. Pryor is outstanding in creating this scene as one of endless frustration and hate of the man just festering as his demands are forgotten, while everyone else's seem easily satisfied. Every word Pryor brings an ache of the lies and waste of time. His reactions filled with just defeat towards the union rep, of a man who knows he will get no help from any side, and can only resort to outrage.  The union no way intimidated or changed by their evidence instead seek ways in which to deal with the men in some ways, violennt if necessary.

This begins first with negotiation for Zeke however, who they offer a position to be the new Union rep. Although we do have a fantastic moment in the heartbreak Pryor delivers as he learns of corruption's violence, this as his eyes fill with disbelief at the action, and a sense of defeat though within his whole existence, Zeke ends up taking the position. This is much to Jerry's dismay who question Zeke's choice, in a downright amazing scene for Pryor. Pryor is brilliant in this scene as he brings such a vivid sense of the broken fight as speaks of his choice. Pryor so humanizes this decision though that you wholly understand Zeke in the moment even as he basically joins in the corruption. There is such devastation in his eyes, and honesty in his voice though as Pryor speaks to his family's struggle because of his race, and it is with such genuine sense of a life of frustrations that we see this decision. Pryor is downright heartbreaking in the scene as in the moment he fully realizes a man who has been struggling for an inch, and as he explains what he is willing to compromise for that inch, it is difficult to quickly damn him as Pryor makes it so real in the all to human explanation. He is devastating to watch to watch in the scene, as the whole life of desperation is wound within his expression as Zeke makes his decision. This leaving Jerry in a precarious situation, who refuses to compromise leaving him no choice but to go to the FBI lest be murdered by the corrupt Union. This leaving a moment of confrontation of Zeke and Jerry in factory. This scene is incredible as Pryor and Keitel, are again so exceptional in the scene by making it so honest. We see a fight in this scene that could only exist between former friends, as the venom in each other and the sense of betrayal each exude seems to go their very core. Their intensity is messy in creating such a sense of each man taking all of everything that happened on each other in the moment, in what is also a heartbreaking scene, as we see all that old camaraderie gone, purged from them due to the corrupt system, but making the fight all the more abrasive and personal. This as both seem to not only be lashing out at each other but within it every thing they've gone through in life. This is a great performance by Richard Pryor. This as he peels away his expected presence, to give such a convincing and shattering depiction of a man being swallowed by the system. It's a shame his career didn't allow for more chances like this, as this shows he was far more capable than just being a funny man.

Alternate Best Actor 1978: Harvey Keitel in Fingers

Harvey Keitel did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Jimmy Fingers in Fingers.

Fingers is the original film about a man caught between a world of crime and musical aspirations.

I say original film, as I previously reviewed Romain Duris in The Beat That My Heart Skipped, the perhaps more artfully directed remake of the film from 2005. Both are good films though in their own right (though the sex scenes might tell you a little too much about its writer/director), and to inhabit slightly different experiences almost entirely realized within the central performance. Where Duris gave a strong portrayal of a normal guy caught up into a very difficult situation, Keitel doesn't something entirely different with the part. I'll admit when going into watching the film I thought I was more likely going to see a variation on Keitel's work in Mean Streets, which would've been closer to Duris's eventual approach, but Keitel genuinely surprised me.  Where Duris portrayed a man who understood his situation in a sense, even though he was often powerless to deal with it, Keitel portrays a man who in unaware of it. This is fundamental in his approach to the part though which is that Jimmy might be a bit mentally ill, or at least mentally off from the duality of being raised by his criminal father and musician mother, who also appears to be a bit mentally off herself. Keitel's performance then is just not of this hood, or even conflicted hood. It is rather revealing of his Jimmy Fingers as a man wholly out of place in his existence in a way, though technically fashioned by that existence.

Keitel doesn't portray the character as having two sides, at least not exactly. We open the film as he is practicing Bach on the piano. Keitel portraying the uproarious passion of the man within it. This passion for music though doesn't stop once he stops playing. This as we instantly see him trying to entice a young woman while dragging along a radio that is constantly playing some his favorite music. Keitel excitedly speaks every word as Jimmy speaks about the music he loves so much. It is without hesitation that we see this passion from Keitel, where he emphasizes in a way that for Jimmy music is this essential part of him. He speaks of it as though others should just understand at as he does, and his eyes blaring with this rich sense of belief in every word of his. This in portraying Jimmy as just not a music lover, but also as this believer that everyone around him ought to love music as he does. Keitel's performance managing to find this natural, by in a way making it somewhat mentally off, in one way or another, in these moments. This isn't to say he undercuts the passion, quite the contrary, but rather he expresses a man who finds music as the truth of his life and life in general. This though with a lack of awareness that others do not share this same treatment, and showing essentially an anger when there are others who do respect the art as he does.

The scenes where Jimmy speaks to his father (Michael V. Gazzo) Keitel does not hide his excitement at the prospect of the audition, something this father is even generally supportive of. In this time though we also have his father give Jimmy two money collection jobs, as basically his muscle. This may seem at odds with the artistic man that is Jimmy in the opening scenes, however that would be misguided.  Instead at the first money pick up job, it is with his radio that we're storming in. This where Keitel is beaming as he explains his love of the song coming from the radio, and just trying to inquire ways of how his radio can be supported. The man, who owes Jimmy's father money though doesn't relent to that, or Jimmy's initially gentle demands for the money. Jimmy in turn then violently accosts the man, and what is so unnerving in this is how natural Keitel makes it. It isn't a shift rather it is the same passion within the man, though now for different purpose where Keitel delivers the same intensity found in his love of music, now for violence. Keitel delivers on that menace but what makes it remarkable is how it segues in the moment with such ease as Keitel portrays Jimmy's as singular, despite the two interests seem at opposite ends of one another. This is made all the more clear when he gets into a violent argument with men questioning his radio, where Keitel's snap of threatening the man as this near instinct of a man who has this specific sensitivity.

The sensitivity that Keitel does not turn into making a "good" man but rather the man that he is. This as we see him in any instance, including his interactions with women. Keitel portrays this desperate need for some deeper show of affection, that is palatable and seething in these moments. There is a distress in his eyes of a man looking for some greater connection that he never finds. The same can be seen within when we see him playing piano, and now failing to do so for an audition. Again Keitel emphasizes the frustration in his passion that seem displaced, and in his failure to direct it in a away for others to understand. We find that though with his scenes with his father and his one important scene with his mother. His father who in general is more open, though prompting Jimmy to commit more violent acts, and his essential scene with his mother. In both there is a searing need in Keitel's eyes of a boy just looking for approval in his parents, with very differing expectations, and in turn grants sense to the man who thrusts himself so fiercely into a life of both art and violence. Keitel manages to create then this strange, yet convincing, extreme of the man who in a way becomes deranged by the oddness of the arithmetic that makes up his life. Keitel finding these emotional extremes then in the end believable fashion, as we see the man throwing himself still into song, but then just the same as we see his violent acts at the end of the film. Keitel defines Jimmy as a man defined by his passion, and does so powerfully whether it be through an elegant concerto or a brutal murder.

Alternate Best Actor 1978: Alan Bates in The Shout

Alan Bates did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Charles Crossley in The Shout.

The Shout is an odd film, in that way only 70's films would be odd, about a drifter, who claims to have a mystery power, coming into the lives of a married couple (John Hurt and Susannah York).

Alan Bates appearing as the mysterious stranger Crossley, actually begins the film seemingly in not at all mysterious circumstances. This as he is simply one of the men keeping score at a cricket game on tranquil grounds, but I suppose if Tim Curry is helping you keep score there might be something up. Bates appears to speak of something being not quite right within his own performance, and not just alluding to his haggard appearance and clothes that doesn't seem to fit his surroundings in the least. Crossley begins though to speak of telling his fellow scorer, which Bates textures with a grim and foreboding quality as he speaks, to tell the story of man whose wife loved him, however things didn't turn out well. A quiet mania in Bates's eyes as he speaks, and in turn crafts quite the intriguing starting point for this story. This story that seems tranquil enough at first as we meet experimental musician Anthony (Hurt) being prodded along to church by his seemingly loving wife Rachel (York). After church though he runs into Bates's Crossley who fashions here a presence that is alien to the majority of his role. This in delivering this innate intensity in his startling manner. Bates's oddly shaken manner and ghastly eyes allude to some strange state of this man before we even learn much of him. His first words though are to the nature of the soul, which Bates delivers in this fascinating way of speaking to himself as much as speaking to anyone else. This sort of self-pondering of a man who doesn't seem entirely there, and even Bates's expression seems to evoke a man's mind having been permanently transplanted elsewhere.

Bates's work evokes a man who has been through some horror, however he has come through it with a strange combination of illumination and trauma. Bates's carrying this magnetism here even as he walks as a drifter along the road next to Hurt, before showing up at his house and instantly inviting himself back in. Bates's performance is off-putting in his initial conversations, though that is an understatement, as he quietly delivers these odd statements with alluring yet chilling quality within each word. There is though this near detachment that Bates brings as though Crossley is reciting stories of the past. These stories that begin to take a bit more shape as he describes his time in Australia which included murdering of his own children. Bates delivers this simply as part of the story with this particularly eerie conviction of this sentiment of leaving no trace of one's self. It is said as though it would be any part of the story, though not quite just a sociopath, but rather this darker measure of the man who seems to view his existence within some alternative lens. Bates work is altogether brilliant in this scene though as he manages to create this odd supernatural creature within Crossley, while also still revealing a tangible humanity within him. This balance, that I wouldn't quite describe as elegant, but is nonetheless fascinating to watch within Bates's performance. This as Bates Crossley as though a person whose achieved some separate plane of existence in the current state, though having achieved this through some experience that placed him there.

This continues as Crossley speaks to Anthony of the titular shout as some ability he has learned from aborigines, a yell that kills those who hear it. Bates speaks again of it as this almost idea of a religious experience as he apparently invites Anthony to listen, while also warning him of his dangers. The actual shouting scene being brilliantly performed by Bates in his movement though as though he is conducting the earth itself as something in his control, before committing this extreme upheaval within himself before yelling out much to Anthony's horror, despite taking precautionary measures beforehand. Bates becomes increasingly this nefarious force beyond this point, this in portraying Crossley as an interloper manipulating Anthony and Rachel as he sees fit. Bates's work in itself is incredible here, this as he offers this sort of mesmerizing command within his own presence. This even in his disheveled appearance, Bates presents this ominous power that exudes from him every second he is onscreen. This continues though as he speaks to Rachel of essentially casting a spell of lust on her, which too Bates delivers with this combination of a more genuine lust but also this demonic allure as his eyes create an unnerving quality. This as we see their tryst it is a strange affair, still so effectively performed by Bates, as he presents Crossley's interactions with an animalistic Rachel, less as man loving a woman, but rather almost an owner conducting his pet to lavish and worship him. There is almost disgust in Bates as he compels this behavior in Rachel, without a sense of any joy or genuine pleasure from the experience. Bates portraying Crossley as seeming beyond that idea.

This experience though seems to bluntly end though as Crossley is arrested, though then we are shifted back to the framing device where that cricket field is beset by a storm, and it becomes clear we are on the ground of some type of asylum. Well here comes my interpretation on my end, and best that I do is offer my take on that. Although either way Bates's performance is outstanding here, what I see is the story he tells is of an imagined version of the man entering into the lives, likely of those he is jealous of or has imagined lives of for him to be jealous of. This is befitting that we have a mentally ill man crafting a version of himself whose mental problems provide almost some supernatural ability to change and control the lives around him. Bates in those scenes showing a man whose broken state empowers him, fitting to a mad man creating a fantasy that supports his existence. This then is in sharp contrast to the man we cut back to essentially having a mental breakdown back at the game as he is unable to finish his story. Bates delivers something particularly important then in this scene as he no longer has that power within his presence, and rather portrays a straight mania. This fear within the man of being taken away and controlled by others in this attempt to escape. Bates in this scene just showing a man who is mentally ill and terrified within this state. This in a way though the same man of his story deep down, but now without a power from his illness. Although technically in some ways a brief performance, this is a an amazing performance by Bates. This as he manages to make something vivid within the concept of the character and not get lost within it. This as his work in itself is compelling but goes beyond that in crafting a captivating portrayal of technically the ravings of a mad man as a cohesive idea.