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)
Hanks is my pick, with Harris second. I would have replaced Rush with Ruffalo or Bell.
Wow, NO other love for High Fidelity in these comments. I'm not entirely surprised (Cusack's performance there is a "stylistic as naturalistic" sort of deal, and I get that pure naturalism or pure stylization have way more supporters than ones that try to pitch the latter AS the former), but I am disappointed.
From the nominees I always flip flop between Rush and Bardem, in my mind far superior to the other three. I will say Bardem is the best of the lot today. Soulful, powerful work.
I would have loved to see Jamie Bell slide in, as his is my favorite performance of all the ones listed here.
Steve -- i loved Jamie Bell in that too. If he were a little girl he woulda made it :) but overall it's quite a strong lineup as Oscar lineups for men go. I could do without Rush (even though i understand the argument that his OTT tendencies lineup better with this role than others) and Crowe but I was thrilled at the time that both Bardem and Harris made it in.
Hanks is best for me, but a 3rd Oscar? No, Crowe and Harris are too close. I'd've voted for Crowe, he brings gravitas to a silly part in a silly movie. Would toss Bardem and Rush (although they're not bad either) for Jamie Bell and the shouldabeen winner Mark Ruffalo
I would vote for Geoffrey Rush in Quills.
Of the 5 nominees, the only one I would keep is Rush. I would substitute them with Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous), Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot), Christian Bale (American Psycho), and Mark Ruffalo (You Can Count on Me)
Jamie Bell and Mark Ruffalo over Crowe and Hanks.
Crowe's win was compensation for losing for The Insider and Castaway was more remembered for Wilson the volleyball rather than Hanks performance.
Javier Bardem, Before Night Falls WINNER
Jamie Bell, Billy Elliott
Michael Douglas, Wonder Boys
Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count on Me
Can't decide. Must rewatch - Hanks, Bale, Del Toro
Tom Hanks all the way - he's such a good actor. And he's an example of what mega watt screen charisma can do - Tom Hanks kept you riveted for 2 and half hours while he was on a fucking Island! See Matt Damon as an example where it didn't work - Matt Damon simply isn't good or charismatic enough to make you wanna watch him for a 2 hour+ running time.
^ I was referring to The Martian, just to be clear.
I still haven't seen Pollock (I know for shame), but I'd swap out Geoffrey Rush for Michael Douglas. Rush is good, but doing well at playing that lascivious Rush-type.
Of those nominees my winner would have probably still been Tom Hanks.
The film's middle hour was special and you wouldn't think of him for a Robinson Crusoe-type but it's such an engrossing performance. Crowe should have won for The Insider the year before. He's brilliant in that.
On Crowe: I've only loved him once, in Master and Commander. He's very very good in LA Confidential and The Insider, but he's always sweating. I love how relaxed he is in Master and Commander. And he was great in American Gangster, too.
The intensity that Harris brought to the role of Jackson Pollock should've gotten him an Oscar this year, methinks. It is pretty stiff competition, though, with Crowe giving a career-best performance, Hanks carrying a movie on his own, Rush, well, being Rush, and Bardem bringing light to an otherwise very dull movie.
I'd have given it to Bardem, taken Crowe out and replaced him with Clooney.
Back when I was trying to do a whole project on last decade's nominees - "Oscars of the Aughts," I called it - wrote about this very subject here: http://imthecautionarywhale.blogspot.com/2014/06/oscars-of-aughts-best-actor-2000.html
I ultimately went with Hanks because he delivers a truly great movie star performance. The thing with Hanks is that his star persona is cemented in the public's mind that it's damn near impossible for him to truly disappear into a role; to some degree, he'll always be seen as "Tom Hanks playing so-and-so." Up until "Captain Phillips," I would argue this was his single-best dramatic performance, and that it came so very close to making me forget that was Movie Star Tom Hanks is why it gets my vote.
For the record, my ballot would have been:
1. Hanks
2. Crowe (another great Movie Star performance of a different strand)
3. Bardem
4. Rush
5. Harris
In my dream lineup, I would have had:
1. Jamie Bell
2. Tom Hanks
3. Chow Yun-Fat
4. Mark Ruffalo
5. Christian Bale
All the nominees gave fine performances (and all in films that fall in "admire-more-than-love" territory for me) but I'd trade any of them for Michael Douglas in "Wonder Boys" which is one of my most loved lead male performances of the 2000's. Heck I'd rank his ratty pink robe's performance higher than some of that decade's nominees.
1. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai-In the Mood for Love
2. Chow Yun-Fat-Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
3. Javier Bardem-Before Night Falls
4. Christian Bale-American Psycho
5. Ricardo Darin-Nine Queens.
Of the nominated 5:
1. Bardem
2. Harris
3. Rush
4. Hanks
5. Crowe
My personal 5 for that year:
1. Ruffalo
2. Bardem
3. Bale
4. Harris
5. Douglas
Unless we're counting In the Mood for Love as a 2000 release...it was released in several countries in 2000 but not in America until 2001 (meaning 2001 was its Oscar eligible year). If we're going with that as a 2000 release, though, then Tony Leung is my #1 pick.
Edwin -- i count IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE as 2001 since that's when it opened. i heard it was good in 2000 but it certainly wasn't available to me then :) i am ashamed to this day that i didn't nominated Tony Leung (sniffle) and i'm usually so proud of my awards.
1. John Cusack, High Fidelity
2. Javier Bardem, Before Night Falls
3. George Clooney, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
4. Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count On Me
5. Jamie Bell, Billy Elliot
Of the nominated men, I'd say Tom Hanks in Castaway because that performance has really stuck with me all these years.
I would totally replace Rush with Jamie Bell though. He should've been nominated. Him and Evan Rachel Wood (for Thirteen) missing out still hurt me.
Great idea to look back on this year :)
I would totally replace Geoffrey Rush with Jamie Bell but, other than that, it's a good line-up. I'm fine with Crowe winning, it was a towering performance of the year 2000.
And let's not forget Sergi Lopez in "With a friend like Harry" ;)
https://vimeo.com/75864243
I choose Bardem. Even before he became everyone's favorite villain, he was amazing in this role. The movie is also the only of the five I've rewatched and plan to watch again soon.
As for replacement, I'd swap Crowe for Bale. I wasn't huge on Gladiator in general, and I've never been a general fan of Russell Crowe.
I recall this period as successive years of "consolation" Oscars. Crowe should've won for either The Insider or A Beautiful Mind, really. But to Russell's credit, the Gladiator performance holds up beautifully, and it's the culmination of a great run, building from Proof, to Romper Stomper to LA Confidential, to The Insider and so on. He's still capable of beautiful acting.
Was never a fan of Bale in American Psycho, but I loved Mark Ruffalo in You Can Count On Me.
My vote: Geoffrey Rush, with Hanks in second.