Jose here. Every year as the awards race picks up, it seems as if we’re all collectively Lacuna-ed into forgetting all the great performances that came before Oscar narrows them down to twenty that by then, have won or been nominated for dozens of other awards. But what about the performances so “small”, “weird” or “foreign” that stand no chance in hell of competing with the FYC ads in the trades and/or Harvey Weinstein’s Sauron-like powers? We celebrate those performances, right now:
10. Keira Knightley - Begin Again
Sure, The Weinstein Company is behind this one, but even Harvey knows there is no point in trying to get a nod for this low-key, charming musical, especially not when he can get Keira an Oscar for a WWII flick, which makes more sense, right? Her performance here reminded me of Last Night in which she does so much with her eyes, which is something Begin Again director John Carney achieves with everyone in this cast. I’m still shocked that not a single awards body back in 2007 recognized the subdued and lovely performances by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová in Once. Why do you think this kind of acting seems so unworthy of awards?
More after the jump...
9. Ronnie Gene Blevins - Joe
Blevins’ Willie-Russell is a representation of evil in its purest form. His inability to justify why he acts the way he does makes for one of the scariest characters this side of Anton Chigurh, but unlike Javier Bardem’s chilly, controlled performance, Blevins revels in something more primal, almost animal-like. You truly believe he’ll sneak out of nowhere and make your nightmares come true.
8. Johannes Bah Kuhnke - Force Majeure
Few actors would allow themselves to be so emasculated as Kuhnke is in Ruben Ostlund’s marital dramedy. His performance as Tomas is perfect, because this character is forced to play a part he doesn’t quite understand, which gives Kuhnke enough material to deliver subdued, dark comedy and oft-heartbreaking drama. Even when the film seems like it’s about to drop another avalanche on him, he comes to the surface ready for more.
7. Jasmine Trinca - Honey
Playing the title character: a young woman who specializes in helping people die, Trinca could’ve easily ended up playing a symbol. Instead she humanizes Irene/Miele by allowing her to be as a real human being who has learned to compartmentalize and has given herself the opportunity to be a fully sexual being, a self-sufficient woman and an entrepreneur, whether we agree with her line of work or not.
6. Diane Kruger - The Better Angels
Playing Abe Lincoln’s stepmom in A.J. Edwards’ dreamlike film debut, Kruger brings a sense of earthy serenity akin to what Jessica Chastain brought to The Tree of Life. Terrence Malick also produced Edwards’ film and is an obvious influence to his visual style, so it makes sense why we often see Kruger shot like Malick shot Chastain, but since Inglourious Basterds showed us what a great actress she could be, it seems as if the world has been promising us
5. Patrick D'assumçao - Stranger by the Lake
As the strange, but kinda lovable Henri, D'assumçao provides this film with much needed heart and levity. His performance is heartbreaking because he plays a man at odds with himself - he doesn't know what he wants or how to get it - and in a film populated with athletic, beautiful, often naked bodies, he's guarded to the point where emotionally he becomes the most vulnerable person.
4. Tom Hardy - The Drop
While it's true that James Gandolfini was a giant among actors, The Drop was mostly talked about for being one of his last films, and even though he was terrific, the film belongs to Hardy who delivers what might very well be his best performance to date. This year he was also great in Locke, which is basically a one man show and feels more gimmicky than it should, which is why it's beautiful to see him here trying to vanish in within a great ensemble and realizing that he's almost too magnetic to achieve this, it's the very plea of the character he plays!
3. Dan Stevens - The Guest
The abs stole his thunder, but there have been few star turns in recent years as unexpectedly delicious as his performance here. Cousin Matthew is certainly a thing of the past...
2. Marisa Tomei - Love Is Strange
Marisa Tomei is one of those actresses that for some reason always seems to be surprising us. I often forget how great she is and then out of nowhere she's delivering detailed, extremely lived in work, as she did playing Kate in Ira Sachs' touching Love Is Strange. This performance particularly was great to watch because she played a writer and completely captured that thing we do when we procrastinate and then try to blame others for our own aimlessness. Her scenes with John Lithgow ring true because she displays impatience towards him without reducing her character to a "villainous" caricature.
1. Sara Forestier - Suzanne