my Alex In Movieland awards, 4th edition: Episode 4/4: Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress
It was the year of the Supporting Actress, which for me I think was the strongest acting category of the 4. The leading men also made a comeback in quality, after last year.
List of eligible/seen films (62):
50/50, The Adventures of Tintin, Albert Nobbs, Anonymous, The Artist, Beginners, A Better Life, Bridesmaids, Carnage, A Cat in Paris, Certified Copy, Chico & Rita, Contagion, Coriolanus, A Dangerous Method, The Descendants, Drive, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hanna, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Help, Hugo, The Ides of March, The Iron Lady, J. Edgar, Jane Eyre, Like Crazy, Margaret, Margin Call, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Meek’s Cutoff, Melancholia, Midnight in Paris, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Moneyball, The Muppets, My Week with Marilyn, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Potiche, Puss in Boots, Rampart, Rango, Real Steel, Rio, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Scream 4, A Separation, Shame, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Skin I Live In, Super 8, Take Shelter, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Tree of Life, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, W.E., War Horse, Warrior, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Weekend, Young Adult
And my choices:
BEST ACTOR
1. Jean
Dujardin – The Artist
He carries the film with an unmatchable charm and
literally almost no words. Perfect fit for the role and makes it all feel
memorable.
2. Gary
Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
He is a master doing some of his finest work. As
always, he creates a character that is fascinating, intimidating, and delivers
a breathtaking monologue.
3.
Michael Fassbender – Shame
It feels like he understands the drama of the
character and he plays perfectly the emotional struggle of this troubled man.
Both desirable and to be pitied.
4. Tom
Hardy – Warrior
You can always count on Tom Hardy to be better than
the material given. He creates a touching performance, and the fighting scenes
are breathtakingly acted from his side.
5. Joel
Edgerton – Warrior
He gives the most rational performance of the film
and he’s a great match for Hardy: he rises to the challenge and nails both the
emotions and the physical aspects of the performance.
6. Hunter McCracken – The
Tree of Life
7. Brad Pitt – Moneyball
8. Michael Shannon – Take
Shelter
9. Woody Harelson – Rampart
10. Thomas Horn – Extremely
Loud & Incredibly Close
almost there: Ewan McGregor - Beginners, George Clooney - The Descendants, Tom Cullen - Weekend, Ralph Fiennes - Coriolanus, Joseph Gordon-Levitt - 50/50.
BEST ACTRESS
1. Meryl
Streep – The Iron Lady
From a technical perspective, this is perfection,
making for some of the best aging acting
seen on screen. Her performance is hypnotizing; I couldn’t take my eyes off
her.
2. Viola
Davis – The Help
Undoubtedly, she is the heart of the film and creates
a very likeable character. The strength of the performance stands in some key
heartbreaking scenes, acted to perfection.
3.
Charlize Theron – Young Adult
She was the dark horse on my list: a performance
like I’ve never seen before from her – she’s sexy, bitchy, natural and most of
all: surprising. Her final scenes are a delight.
4.
Charlotte Gainsbourg – Melancholia
While most seem impressed by Kirsten, I was all
about Charlotte
and the fascinating arc of her character. She brings just enough emotion, just
enough hysteria to make it all work.
5. Tilda
Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin
The writing is not in her favor, but you can always
count on Tilda. She controls the film mostly in the quiet moments, and you can
feel the fear and the frustration of her character.
6. Rooney Mara – The
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
7. Glenn Close – Albert
Nobbs
8. Juliette Binoche – Certified
Copy
9. Saoirse Ronan – Hanna
10. Kirsten Dunst – Melancholia
almost there: Mia Wasikowska - Jane Eyre, Michelle Williams - Meek's Cutoff, Felicity Jones - Like Crazy, Elizabeth Olsen - Martha Marcy May Marlene, Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Brad
Pitt – The Tree of Life
A career-best performance from Brad, who shows
maturity and a strong understanding of such a difficult, nuanced character. He
made me feel, which is in tone with the movie’s theme.
2.
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
A classically-written dramatic role of a dying
person, done very well. He gets a couple of key emotional scenes done
wonderfully, as you’d except given the experience.
3. Albert
Brooks – Drive
A very clever performance, that fits well inside
the movie. It’s a sly role, a nuanced villain, and it takes a smart actor to
play it. Brooks does well.
4. Ralph
Fiennes – Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows: Part 2
To me it’s the essential villain of the past
decade, even though I’m not a fan of series. With the help of fantastic
make-up, Fiennes creates a fascinating, terrifying villain, like no other.
5. Colin
Firth – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
One of the few performances inside the film to show
more emotion: when the storyline reaches his character in the end, he really
delivers.
6. Kenneth Branagh – My
Week with Marilyn
7. Kevin Spacey – Margin
Call
8. Ben Foster – Rampart
9. Nick Nolte – Warrior
10. Max von Sydow – Extremely
Loud & Incredibly Close
almost there: Michael Fassbender - Jane Eyre, Patton Oswalt - Young Adult, Jeremy Irons - Margin Call, Matt Damon - Contagion, Ezra Miller - We Need to Talk About Kevin
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1.
Jessica Chastain – The Tree of Life
Just like her co-stars, she is breathtaking without
much use for words. She is the undeniable soul of the film, and such a
necessary presence.
2.
Jessica Chastain – The Help
It’s a performance that might seem a cliché on
paper, but quickly turns human, surprising and complex when Jessica’s assigned
the part. She’s superb.
3.
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Undoubtedly, she’s the MVP of her movie, and every
time she’s on screen it’s smile-inducing: she handles the dialogue, creates
comedy like a pro.
4. Sareh
Bayat – A Separation
She creates the most emotional scenes inside the
film, with apparent easiness and an undeniably realistic acting style. Her last
scenes are heartbreaking.
5. Carey
Mulligan – Shame
She holds her own when sharing the screen with
Fassbender. Carey creates this fragile, unstable character that becomes
memorable with its predictable tragedy.
6. Jessica Chastain – Take
Shelter
7. Allison Janney – The
Help
8. Octavia Spencer – The
Help
9. Kate Winslet – Contagion
10. Anjelica Houston – 50/50
almost there: Cate Blanchett - Hanna, Judy Greer - The Descendants, Sandra Bullock - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Charlotte Rampling - Melancholia, Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs.
Final thoughts:
BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR:
(tough to pick one) Brad Pitt – The Tree of Life
BEST ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR (ANY CATEGORY):
Terrence Malick as the Director of The Tree of Life.
Recap of the winners of the Alex In Movieland Awards 2011:
Best Film: The Tree of Life
Best Director: Terrence Malick, for The Tree of Life
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, for The Artist
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, for The Iron Lady
Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt, for The Tree of Life
Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, for
The Tree of Life
Best Original Screenplay: Bridesmaids
Best Adapted Screenplay: Moneyball
Best Cinematography:
The Tree of Life
Best Original Score: The Artist
To check out previous editions, click somewhere on the right.
Thanks for reading :)
