OVP: Best Actor (2003)
The Nominees Were...
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog
Jude Law, Cold Mountain
Bill Murray, Lost in Translation
Sean Penn, Mystic River
My Thoughts: All right now we're talking. After two relatively lackluster acting nominations, we get into the 2003 Best Actor field, which might be pound-for-pound, one of the best lineups in the history of the Oscars for this field; there are some lineups in the 1970's that could likely take it, but in the 2000's you'd be hard-pressed to find a better Best Actor field. With one exception, and we'll get him out of the way first, I adored all of these men's performances and all will be repeating on My Oscar Ballot next week. It is honestly odd, because in order to get here Oscar had to go pretty atypical-there are two comedic performances here, as well as a romantic lead from a devastatingly sexy man (neither of these are great hooks for Best Actor where Oscar wants you grizzled and over 40). But going outside of his comfort zone got AMPAS some rich rewards.
The one performance I wasn't feeling is from Ben Kingsley. Kingsley is an interesting film performer for me in that he reads a bit like Laurence Olivier, someone who would be dynamite onstage (I'd assume), but who plays to the back of the room in most of his screen performances. I have yet to see a couple of his more celebrated works, but I like him better when he's cold-and-calculating in a popcorn flick like Sneakers than most of his 21st Century work where he's given roles that demand scenery-chewing. He's surprisingly subdued, and much better, in the first hour of this picture, but in the last 20 minutes (when the entire movie goes down the toilet), he can't handle it & becomes far too hammy. I get why this was nominated (Kingsley is an Oscar favorite, and overacting is something AMPAS goes for), but it's still a blemish on an otherwise unimpeachable list.
After all, Sean Penn manages to keep it reeled in for most of his picture, always a risky game with one of the better actors of his generation. Penn had been marching toward an Oscar for years when Mystic River came along, and this has every bait-y hook that you can imagine: a crime lord trying to avenge his daughter...how are they going to turn that down? But Penn also keeps his character the right modulation, never too laid back but never too much. It's a delicate balancing act, playing a live wire so well, but that's kind of how Penn became one of his generation's great actors-when he's playing it right, there's few that can strike that balance so perfectly. This is one of his best performances (maybe my favorite of his ever?).
Bill Murray is also giving his career-best performance with Lost in Translation. This is one of my favorite movies partially because Murray was born to play this part. He totally brings a world-weariness to Bob Harris that feels so informed. Think of the scene where he's singing karaoke, and you can tell (without him ever breaking focus on the song) that he's trying to tell Scarlett Johansson that there is so much truth in the song's lyrics...that life is made up of these beautiful little connections, and they're the best part of it. Playing someone who is having a midlife crisis without it feeling self-indulgent or too expositional is a challenge, but Murray knows how to do that-how he knows the best parts of his life are likely behind him, but that he still wants to ensure he goes on having a life of value...it's a tough part, free of a lot of Murray's more sarcastic tricks, and I loved it.
Unlike Penn or Murray, I wouldn't say that this is Jude Law's best performance (that's probably either Ripley or AI), but we're not judging on a curve here, and Cold Mountain is a marvelous piece from the actor. His Southern accent is strong (stronger than Zellweger's, and she's the only American in the main trio), and he plays his slowly broken-down deserter who is fleeing for the woman he abandoned for the war. It's hard to play a man with a modern sensitivity without it feeling inauthentic, but Law captures that through his short, clipped reading of the dialogue & the way he uses his beauty to tell a story that the script occasionally wants to gloss past. Perfect casting, a wonderful performance, and the heart-and-soul of Cold Mountain.
It's hard to remember right now his career has had so many chapters, but Johnny Depp was once not just not a proper blockbuster movie star, but also he wasn't an Academy favorite. Both those things changed with Captain Jack Sparrow. This film didn't need to be as good as it was, and Depp didn't need to give the performance that would define his career...but he did. Jack Sparrow arrives fully-fleshed, and stays that way, with the confidence of creating an iconic character that would redefine much of how we think of the summer movie for the next twenty years. I have no notes here, other than I am still shocked the Academy was willing to take a chance by giving a Best Actor citation to a man they'd ignored up until then for a summer pirate movie based on a ride at Disneyland. Few Oscar nominations have been so weird (and few so richly deserved).
Other Precursor Contenders: The Globes of course break out their nominees between Drama and Comedy/Musical, so we have ten names from their ceremony. Drama went to Sean Penn against Law, Kingsley, Tom Cruise (The Last Samurai), & Russell Crowe (Master and Commander), while Comedy/Musical favored Murray against Depp, Jack Black (School of Rock), Jack Nicholson (Something's Gotta Give), & Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa). The SAG Awards went with Depp, besting the Oscar lineup except that Law was replaced by Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent), while BAFTA went with Murray against Depp, Law, Penn (for both Mystic River and 21 Grams), & Benicio del Toro (21 Grams). I think Law was probably the most vulnerable, and based on its award count I have to assume that Russell Crowe was probably in sixth place (which was also a good performance-well done Oscar).
Actors I Would Have Nominated: I don't entirely know how you judge the work of Elijah Wood & Viggo Mortensen, both of whom were only giving a third of a performance in The Return of the King rather than a completed body-of-work, but it seems a damned shame that neither of them ever got a nomination for Frodo & Aragorn, and given the opportunity I would've rectified that for at least one of them.
Oscar’s Choice: A true threeway race between Penn, Depp, & Murray ended with the more traditional of the three winning. It's a pity that they didn't get more adventurous by giving it to one of the other two, considering that Penn would win five years later and both Depp & Murray will likely go Oscar-less.
My Choice: Depp. I've thought about this a lot, and even rewatched Lost in Translation to confirm, but what Depp does in Pirates (and throughout the whole franchise) is honestly one of those things that define the movies for me, and I can't pick anyone else. Murray, Penn, Law, & Kingsley follow.
Those are my thoughts-what are yours? Do you want to stick with Oscar & Sean Penn (I won't blame you) or will you ride the Seven Seas alongside me & Captain Jack? Do you think Law, Depp, or Murray will ever win an Oscar or was this their shot that got away? And how would you have handled the Return of the King lead actor quandary? Share your thoughts below in the comments!
Also in 2003: Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Original Screenplay, Foreign Language Film, Animated Feature Film, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Previously in 2003
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