OVP: Best Actor (2016)
The Nominees Were...
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences
My Thoughts: We move forward with the 2016 Oscars this week into Best Actor, a contest that was far more competitive at-the-time than it looks in hindsight, considering Casey Affleck ended up with the trophy that most assumed he'd win the day Manchester by the Sea came out. Part of that had to do with Affleck's personal problems, but I also do think even in a normal year we would have seen two of these men start to pop in a way that we hadn't before in terms of "competitiveness."
One of those two guys is Denzel Washington. Washington is a strange bird in that he regularly works in commercial fare, and yet is never punished for it when it comes to the Oscars. Most actors (looking at you Tom Cruise, but Tom Hanks would also fit into this bill) who toe-the-line between commercial and artistic fare occasionally are snubbed for their returns to Oscar-bait films, perhaps to say "don't take it for granted you can always come back" but that's not the case for Washington, who always makes it back. Even if he was being punished, it's hard to imagine that happening for Fences, where he brings a fire and fortitude to his Troy Maxson that makes you think it was almost written for him (and not a thirty-year old play). There are moments where Washington should modulate his performance (remembering, perhaps, that he is not playing to a standing-room only audience at the Cort), but in the scenes where he's great (like "the daughter" scene), he's giving some of the best work of his career.
The other actor who conceivably could have dethroned Affleck is Ryan Gosling in La La Land. People talk about how Leonardo DiCaprio was going to be the "next Paul Newman," frequently dismissed despite putting in killer work for years, but doesn't it feel like Gosling fits that fate more? Gosling somehow can't even get nominated for his best work (Blue Valentine, Drive, First Man). Gosling tries to capture the mood of La La Land, and in his acting he does that. There's a sense of the mood that Chazelle was trying to accomplish there. Unfortunately, in a movie that wants us to indulge in numerous flights-of-fancy, the singing isn't up-to-snuff, and as a result I never got into this the way that other people do, even though I give Gosling's work overall a thumbs up and love him as an actor in general.
Gosling & Washington both were obvious threats for the win, but that doesn't mean that Affleck wasn't deserving. An actor of tics and nervous introversion (so different than the bravado confidence of his brother Ben), Affleck is perfectly cast in Manchester by the Sea as a man who cannot get past the grief of his family dying in a fire, even when he is given a new chance to be a savior for his young nephew. The scenes with Michelle Williams late in the movie are my favorite part of the film, and of Affleck's performance, the inability of him to forgive himself showing in his face, because that would be to acknowledge that life could move on-it's a heartbreaking performance, fully-realized, and the best thing he's done in his career.
The last two nominees are more after-thoughts, though considering the lock-step aspects of this lineup through the precursors, they obviously had their champions. Mortensen gets the more difficult part, as a mountain man who is raising a young family on the outskirts of society (a weird companion piece to Leave No Trace two years later, though this one has more room for levity). His performance hinges on being able to convince the audience that he is doing the "right thing" by his family, even if that right thing comes with too much tunnel vision about what is also "right for him." The movie itself I didn't love, but I don't put that as much on Mortensen's lead performance, which is interesting if occasionally not revealing enough about what he's feeling (which is crucial for the late scenes to achieve emotional payoff). The actor who once adorned posters in the dorms of young men everywhere continues to pave perhaps the weirdest post-LOTR career with this movie, and considering it got him an Oscar nomination, perhaps the most fruitful?
Doesn't it feel like Andrew Garfield has been waiting for this Oscar nomination way longer than he actually has? His citation for Hacksaw Ridge was yes, part of that film's stampede, but also a long road from when he nearly made it for The Social Network. I have talked about how, while I didn't like Hacksaw Ridge, I didn't hate it like many online critics seemed to, and I think a lot of Garfield's best moments are from Gibson forcing a narrative on him, making his work elevate because Gibson is showing "this is important" in big bold letters through the editing, cinematography, and sound design. The earlier scenes, the ones outside of an action lens & the ones Gibson just view as a means-to-an-end, are terrible, and Garfield doesn't know how to play this version of his Desmond Doss work. This isn't Garfield's best work, but it is nice to know he finally got his overdue Oscar nomination if his career never fully realizes its initial promise.
One of those two guys is Denzel Washington. Washington is a strange bird in that he regularly works in commercial fare, and yet is never punished for it when it comes to the Oscars. Most actors (looking at you Tom Cruise, but Tom Hanks would also fit into this bill) who toe-the-line between commercial and artistic fare occasionally are snubbed for their returns to Oscar-bait films, perhaps to say "don't take it for granted you can always come back" but that's not the case for Washington, who always makes it back. Even if he was being punished, it's hard to imagine that happening for Fences, where he brings a fire and fortitude to his Troy Maxson that makes you think it was almost written for him (and not a thirty-year old play). There are moments where Washington should modulate his performance (remembering, perhaps, that he is not playing to a standing-room only audience at the Cort), but in the scenes where he's great (like "the daughter" scene), he's giving some of the best work of his career.
The other actor who conceivably could have dethroned Affleck is Ryan Gosling in La La Land. People talk about how Leonardo DiCaprio was going to be the "next Paul Newman," frequently dismissed despite putting in killer work for years, but doesn't it feel like Gosling fits that fate more? Gosling somehow can't even get nominated for his best work (Blue Valentine, Drive, First Man). Gosling tries to capture the mood of La La Land, and in his acting he does that. There's a sense of the mood that Chazelle was trying to accomplish there. Unfortunately, in a movie that wants us to indulge in numerous flights-of-fancy, the singing isn't up-to-snuff, and as a result I never got into this the way that other people do, even though I give Gosling's work overall a thumbs up and love him as an actor in general.
Gosling & Washington both were obvious threats for the win, but that doesn't mean that Affleck wasn't deserving. An actor of tics and nervous introversion (so different than the bravado confidence of his brother Ben), Affleck is perfectly cast in Manchester by the Sea as a man who cannot get past the grief of his family dying in a fire, even when he is given a new chance to be a savior for his young nephew. The scenes with Michelle Williams late in the movie are my favorite part of the film, and of Affleck's performance, the inability of him to forgive himself showing in his face, because that would be to acknowledge that life could move on-it's a heartbreaking performance, fully-realized, and the best thing he's done in his career.
The last two nominees are more after-thoughts, though considering the lock-step aspects of this lineup through the precursors, they obviously had their champions. Mortensen gets the more difficult part, as a mountain man who is raising a young family on the outskirts of society (a weird companion piece to Leave No Trace two years later, though this one has more room for levity). His performance hinges on being able to convince the audience that he is doing the "right thing" by his family, even if that right thing comes with too much tunnel vision about what is also "right for him." The movie itself I didn't love, but I don't put that as much on Mortensen's lead performance, which is interesting if occasionally not revealing enough about what he's feeling (which is crucial for the late scenes to achieve emotional payoff). The actor who once adorned posters in the dorms of young men everywhere continues to pave perhaps the weirdest post-LOTR career with this movie, and considering it got him an Oscar nomination, perhaps the most fruitful?
Doesn't it feel like Andrew Garfield has been waiting for this Oscar nomination way longer than he actually has? His citation for Hacksaw Ridge was yes, part of that film's stampede, but also a long road from when he nearly made it for The Social Network. I have talked about how, while I didn't like Hacksaw Ridge, I didn't hate it like many online critics seemed to, and I think a lot of Garfield's best moments are from Gibson forcing a narrative on him, making his work elevate because Gibson is showing "this is important" in big bold letters through the editing, cinematography, and sound design. The earlier scenes, the ones outside of an action lens & the ones Gibson just view as a means-to-an-end, are terrible, and Garfield doesn't know how to play this version of his Desmond Doss work. This isn't Garfield's best work, but it is nice to know he finally got his overdue Oscar nomination if his career never fully realizes its initial promise.
Other Precursor Contenders: We start with the Globes, which distinguish between Drama and "Comedy/Musical," and as a result have ten men on our ballot. The dramatic men included victorious Casey Affleck, besting Garfield, Mortensen, Washington, and Joel Edgerton in Fences; Comedy/Musical was an easy lift for Ryan Gosling, the only Oscar nominee of the bunch, against Colin Farrell (The Lobster), Hugh Grant (Florence Foster Jenkins), Jonah Hill (War Dogs...one of those Golden Globe-nominated films I have absolutely no memory of existing), and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool). SAG went with a carbon copy of Oscar, though they picked Denzel Washington for the win, likely at that point trying to give Oscar an out considering some of the #MeToo stories that were swirling about Affleck at the time. BAFTA went to Affleck, and here it was Washington oddly enough snubbed (it is, at the end of the day a pretty American story, but Viola Davis won so I don't know what was happening here), and including Jake Gyllenhaal for Nocturnal Animals. Sixth place in retrospect feels like a distant sixth, but at the time Mortensen's film, which was really under-seen felt vulnerable, either to Edgerton or Reynolds (there were a lot of people pulling for Deadpool at the last minute).
Actors I Would Have Nominated: First off, Garfield is nominated for the wrong movie. I'm glad that we finally have an Oscar nomination for a very fine actor, but his superior work in 2016 was in Silence, not Hacksaw Ridge. I would have also included Trevante Rhodes, for playing the third quarter of Moonlight so beautifully; that scene in the cafe alone warranted an Oscar nomination. And honestly, I'd probably rely on two films that almost no one saw for my final two citations. Adam Driver is always excellent these days, but his work in Paterson shouldn't be ignored-this sweet, kind, slightly strange movie is so effective because of his sensitive work. Finally, I love what Logan Lerman did in Indignation. I know he kind of got Bryce Dallas Howard/Jessica Chastain'd by Timothee Chalamet in recent years, but he's a promising actor who has now had three truly great performances this decade (along with Perks of Being a Wallflower and Fury)-at what point do people start giving him acknowledgement?
Oscar’s Choice: I think this was pretty close between Affleck (who made the most sense on-paper), Washington (whom I believe I predicted at the time because there was a movement going against Affleck), and Gosling (whom I also thought might be a decent winner at the time considering he hadn't won yet and his winning someday feels inevitable), but it was Affleck's work that won.
My Choice: This is a first for me, and sadly not a last. My winner is Casey Affleck, and for the purposes of this series (where we are focused solely on the performances at hand and not careers or makeup Oscars or the personal lives of the actors), he is the official winner. However, if I had an actual real world ballot, I would have probably voted for my second place Denzel Washington considering the sexual harassment allegations against Affleck at the time. But for this series, it's Affleck, Washington, Gosling, Mortensen, and Garfield, in that order.
Those are my thoughts-what are yours? Do you think that Washington or Gosling had a legit shot at besting Affleck here? Do you think this is the end-of-the-line for Andrew Garfield (who has fallen into less-seen productions since Hacksaw Ridge), or will he sneak back for a second nomination? And has anyone actually seen War Dogs-is it any good? Share your thoughts below in the comments!
Also in 2016: Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Foreign Language Film, Animated Feature Film, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Production Design, Cinematography, Costume, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup & Hairstyling, Previously in 2016
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