Thursday
Oct082015
Best Actor 2000: Who Gets Your Vote!
Thursday, October 8, 2015 at 9:29AM RETRO REMATCH FUN! Apropos of nothing, let's time travel back to [spinning wheel of randomness] 2000. Who gets your vote in... [spinning wheel of randomness again]... Best Actor? Make your case in the comments.
- Javier Bardem, Before Night Falls
- Russell Crowe, Gladiator
- Tom Hanks, Cast Away
- Ed Harris, Pollock
- Geoffrey Rush, Quills
Bonus Q: If you could replace any of these men with these other key 2000 leads tell us who and why:
- Michael Douglas, Wonder Boys (GG Nom)
- Jamie Bell, Billy Elliott (SAG Nom)
- George Clooney - O Brother Where Art Thou? (GG Win)
- Christian Bale - American Psycho (zero nominations... except right here at The Film Experience where he medalled in our infant online year albeit at a different web address and a Boston non-profit indie film awards group called Chlotrudis then in their 6th year)
*Our actually serious Oscar competition investigation -- the "Smackdown" Series -- is not dead. There were just some speedbumps. News on the delayed 1963 Smackdown coming soon.
Reader Comments (75)
I never saw Before Night Falls. I'd say the others were solid but not amazing, and I'd definitely replace two of them with Bale and Douglas (and I might actually throw Bell in as a replacement too). Without having seen Bardem, I'd vote for Bale (because, well, c'mon - he's amazing in American Psycho) or Douglas to win over any of the other four.
I mean, the five were great, but since Bale was my #1 of that year I guess I'd ditch Crowe first. And I'd probably not have minded one bit if Jamie Bell had gotten in over Hanks. The other three I think are beyond excellent though (I know some aren't fans of Rush's extreme mode, but I think it works best there in QUILLS most of all).
I'd have given the statue to Harris or Bardem out of the nominated five though.
For a long time I've been trying to unify a thesis around Michael Douglas, Dennis Quaid, Richard Gere, and Kevin Costner. I find them to be four of our most underrated actors, who are often dismissed as guys who had ONE moment decades ago or as lightweight romantic leads.
I give them all wins within the last fifteen years: Quaid for Far From Heaven, Costner for The Upside of Anger, Gere for Arbitrage, and Douglas (maybe) for Solitary Man.
This, and they've witnessed some of the best actressing in modern history. In addition to highs for Moore and Allen, they've been scene partners to Glenn Close, Julia Roberts, Sharon Stone, and others at the very HEIGHT of their games.
This is obviously not work that goes thanked in Hollywood.
Wow, haven't looked at this in a long time. What a YEAR.
Of the nominated, I'd be hard-pressed to choose between Bardem, Harris, and Hanks -- truly impassioned, personal work coming from all of them. Maybe Bardem?
I'd personally put Douglas and Jamie Bell in there ahead of the other two. WONDERBOYS really is the best version of that kind of Douglas performance.
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
(1999) Kevin Spacey --- 2nd Oscar / Previous Supporting Actor Winner
(2000) Russell Crowe
(2001) Denzel Washington ---2nd Oscar / Previous Supporting Actor Winner
Crowe can keep his Oscar.
Best Actor was Mark Ruffalo, for You Can Count on Me.
Of the five nominees, I'd hand it to Tom Hanks. His performance and the film he inhabits have withstood the test of time in ways that the most of his competitors have not. Bardem would be a distant second, although I probably wouldn't have been able to see it until 2001 due to release schedules. (I just saw it a year or so ago.)
Bale is easily my favorite performance of the year, and among the best of the decade. He was so much more deserving of attention than the dour, one-note emote-asaurus that was Russell Crowe in Gladiator. Unfortunately, Bale seems to have cribbed much of his latter-day affect from Crowe.
I'd probably toss Rush, Hanks, Crowe and MAYBE Bardem for Bale, Cusack, Statham and MAYBE Fugit. (My 6-10 right now is Douglas, Bell, Willis for Unbreakable, Jared Leto for Requiem and Michael Nyqvist for Tillsammans)
I'm with Cal. Best Actor Mark Ruffalo.
But of the 5, I'd vote for Bardem, easily.
Of the 5 nominated, I would have accepted Crowe or Bardem. Of course, Benicio Del Toro should have won for his lead performance, there goes that fraud thing again. I'd also throw in Jared Leto for "Requiem for a Dream." And possibly Dan Futterman for "Urbania."
But in the final analysis...Christian Bale should have taken this.
Throwing in the terrific Forest Whitaker from Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog, which is also just a perfectly-made movie.
Yeah, I don't mind the eventual nominees, but I definitely would've preferred Bale and Bell in the mix probably replacing Harris and Hanks.
What a list of strong performance by a list of performers I like but don't love in films I feel largely ambivalent towards. I wouldn't want to give a third or a second Oscar to, respectively, Hanks or Rush for these roles, so I'm going to say Crowe, because it's grand-standing and serious whilst still being cinematic and charismatic, both things he lost pretty rapidly in his post-Gladiator career.
The other key leads are all preferable to me, but Christian Bale in American Psycho is my pick. Of other possible choices, Guy Pearce makes light work of dark material without losing any of its complexity in Memento.
Bardem does lovely work in Before Night Falls, and while I can appreciate the way Crowe grounds Gladiator, this is all about Hanks and Cast Away for me. I don't think it's a performance that gets the credit it deserves, mostly because it is Hanks. I won't argue that his 2 in row made him a bit over-rewarded, but when he's on, he can be extraordinary, and I think he is here.
Harris's nomination felt like a reward for managing to get Pollock made, and Joaquin Phoenix aside, I didn't care much for Quills and I think I'm even less of a fan of Rush's work here. Even though I think it's a pretty good line-up, I'd probably drop those two and add Bale and Douglas. The Douglas snub still baffles me to this day.
I'd give it to Harris, easily. And he directed himself (as a first-time director), too.
I'd toss Crowe and Rush aside for Ruffalo and Bale.
ben1283: I actually looked that up and Memento doesn't actually count under my (reasonable) rule: First time it's screened to the public in a non-festival environment is the year of release. So, yes, Memento should be counted as a 2001 movie.
Ed Harris without a doubt.
Bardem, and it's not really even that close.
Jamie Bell all the way! His performance in Billy Elliot is one of my favourites of all time. He should have been nominated because of being nominated for SAG and he won a fricken BAFTA for Lead Actor
Of the five, I'd bounce Rush and Harris for Bale and Clooney in a second.
But even with that swap, I still say Crowe deserved the win.
Well...tough one. I think I'd give the Award to Hanks. Of course he lost a lot of weight, transformed himself into an Oscar bait, but just like McCounaghey in 2013, he still played with the subtleties of his character, and I do appreciate subtlety; that's also why I wouldn't toss Crowe or Harris.
I actually like this ballot a lot, but If I needed to replace someone it would be Rush for Bale.
Ghost Dog was this year too? Forest Whitaker was great in that. I still think it should have been Bale's year, but it's a shame more people don't remember Ghost Dog.
Without hesitation, Forest Whitaker in the incredible Ghost Dog. With an apology and warm hug to Mark Ruffalo.
I'd probably toss out Crowe for Bell, but honestly if he hadn't been in for Gladiator he would have beaten Denzel the next year, and then how could Julia love her life?
My personal ballot:
Christian Bale, American Psycho (*)
Jamie Bell, Billy Elliot
Billy Crudup, Jesus’ Son (close second)
Russell Crowe, Gladiator
Ed Harris, Pollock
^ And a sidenote that I only didn't include Ruffalo because I put him Supporting that year (I need to re-watch You Can Count On Me to remember why I had him in Supporting).
Javier Bardem gets my vote. He and Ed Harris were a pretty tight 1 and 2 for me, though I haven't seen Pollock in a long time. I'd have thrown Christian Bale in the mix, probably at the expense of Crowe or Hanks.
My ballot:
Michael Douglas, Wonder Boys [winner]
Christian Bale, American Psycho
Jamie Bell, Billy Elliot
Ed Harris, Pollock
Tom Hanks, Castaway
OMG Whitaker yeah
This is one of those unspectacular years full of solid performances, but the best ones are the ones that missed out.
Douglas and Bale for sure should be in along with Ruffalo. I'd keep Crowe and either Rush or Harris.
In my world, the winner is Bale. However, Crowe wins by default in the nominated crowd.
Clive Owen's starturn perf in CROUPIER was deemed ineligible but still for me it's one his most brilliant accomplishment. Ditto for Colin Farrell unnominated work in TIGERLAND. Regarding the five nominated I'm OK with Russell's winning
My vote from Oscar's lineup: Bardem, for a perfectly controlled performance that also moves you. He also connects the dots between his political, artistic, and sexual sides.
If I could replace him with any of the other 4? I'm not a fan of any of those presumed ran-ins, but if I had to I would replace Geoffrey Rush (abysmal) with Bale. His performance in American Psycho rubs me the same way Gyllenhaal does in Nightcrawler: interesting but mechanical. But at least he's doing interesting work, unlike Rush's ham on ham.
My winner: Ruffalo, "You Can Count on Me"
As always, it's tough to pick one. But damn if I have to select Hanks for Cast Away. He made it look effortless.
Bardem. I still recall the power of his performance despite of having seen the movie about 10 years ago.
Despite 15 subsequent years of Wilson the volleyball jokes, I've never managed to see Hanks in "Cast Away."
Crowe should have gotten Spacey's Oscar the year before for "The Insider."
Bardem gets my imaginary vote for this faux-Smackdown.
@Hayden - totally agree with your comment about support performances by those 4 actors.
I particularly love Michael Douglas in Wonder Boys, he inhabits that role so well.
So often non flashy (non histrionic) work goes under-appreciated by the Academy.
And anything light, wry, or comedic never gets rewarded in a proper way.
Of the Nominees, Tom Hanks pretty much wins by a mile. The entire film is centered around his performance and he has the dramatic heft to pull it off. Bardem would also have a shot at making my nominations for academy years. The other three (Rush and Harris in Prestige biopics and Crowe in a BP frontrunner) would probably be excised in favor of Christian Bale (American Psycho), Michael Douglas (Wonder Boys) and Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot)
Of the nominees, Tom Hanks. I personally favored Michael Douglas and Jamie Bell.
John T -- you make a strong point except that Julia will always find a way to make it about her so she'll be all right. but yes a 2001 win for a beautiful mind would have been embarrassing. It's frustrating though. I think Crowe was spectacular in both LA CONFIDENTIAL and THE INSIDER but after that... eh. i think he was the worst of the 5 nominees the next two years. (unless i'm forgetting someone awful which is possible)
Of the five, Ed Harris is my champion
My guys are:
Christian Bale - American Psycho
Billy Crudup - Almost Famous
Forest Whitaker - Ghost Dog
Guy Pearce - Memento
Tony Leung - In The Mood For Love
Other great performances:
Yun-Fat Chow - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls - Nine Queens
David Morse - Dancer in the dark
J.R. Jarrod - Divided We Stand
Wen Jiang - Devils on the door step
Bale winning
It's interesting that you picked the year 2000 because I've been thinking that if Leonardo DiCaprio wins for The Revenant, the closest comparison might be to Russell Crowe's win for Gladiator.
Now that early word from Joy is great and that it's been compared to Erin Brockovich, maybe history will sort of repeat itself this year in Best Actor and Best Actress. Throw in Ridley Scott winning Best Director but The Martian losing to Spotlight, and it will almost be like déjà vu.
Alright, so this is one instance where, of the nominees...Oscar got it right!
1) Crowe
2) Bardem
3) Hanks
4) Harris
5) Rush
This is also one of the most consistent and quality filled lineups of the aughts. Not a bad performance in the bunch. Even Rush's usual ham is purposeful and so much fun to watch.
Now...in a perfect world...none of them would have won.
1) Bale (like, for real)
2) Bell
3) Crowe
4) Bardem
5) Clooney (in his only GREAT performance)
BUT, I can't quite decide if Ruffalo is Lead or Supporting...and if he's Lead then he'd probably make the cut over Clooney...probably.
Nat: Sean Penn, I Am Sam? Gene Hackman not getting a "surprise" nom over...THAT...is insane.
What fun! Love these sort of rethinks. A really strong slate of performances and even though I'd take them out both Tom Hanks and Geoffrey Rush offer up excellent work in their films.
Russell Crowe is very strong in Gladiator but I think his win was a consolation for his missing out on the prize the year before in his astounding shape shift in The Insider.
Of the nominated five I'd say the most complex performance was given by Javier Bardem in Before Night Falls, it wasn't always easy to watch but he was brilliant and should have taken the award.
As I said I'd take out Hanks and Rush and replace one of them with a choice not offered, Colin Farrell in Tigerland and the other with Micheal Douglas in Wonder Boys who would then be my winner in the corrected category. I love Douglas's work in that film finding it the most relaxed lived in performance he's ever given.
Mark Ruffalo - You Can Count on Me
What a great post (and great comments)! I haven't seen Quills, but of the other four, Russell Crowe just sneaks the win for me ahead of Javier Bardem. I have never been 100 per cent persuaded by Crowe's win, BUT he is very believable, physically and psychologically, as both general and gladiator, and he really enhances the whole of the film by his very presence. Bardem is very good too, I just find myself thinking of (and watching) Crowe's performance more often. Tom Hanks was fine in Cast Away but not the best in this group, and Ed Harris was a bit over the top in Pollock.
But my choice for the year is Michael Douglas in Wonder Boys. He gets the humour, the wryness, the tiredness, the jaded academic intelligence, the professorial open-mindedness, the friendships and the romance. He connects beautifully with all of the other actors, and he manages to be very specifically Grady Tripp whilst retaining everything we love about Michael Douglas. It's outstanding work.
I'd have to replace Crowe and Rush with Bale and Bell.
And the Oscar goes to....Christian Bale for American Psycho.
Oh--of the nominated five: Bardem.
Yes, 2000 was one of those years where the second, even third tier were as strong if not stronger than the first tier. And I agree with Patryk: Jared Leto more than held his own in Requiem for a Dream, even though Ellen Burstyn and Jennifer Connelly got all the love.
@LadyEdith I agree. My taste in actresses lines up with the Academy's far more often than my taste in actors. Which is sad, because my top female performances don't win very often.