Third Annual 'Ranking the Acting Clips' Post
Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 10:52AM by Ben Miller
For the third year, Nathaniel has been nice enough to let me rank the Oscar clips. I was so excited to write this heading into Oscar night, until I saw the first clip package. The Academy decided to shake things up and present a montage of clips for the group of nominees, so we have to work with what they gave us. Presenting, the 2019 Oscar clips (sort of), ranked by quality.
That’s…a choice
Don't you EVER talk to your mother like that!
If something were to happen to my boss's car, well then I'd get in trouble."
20. Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
19. Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Both of these star turns had a plethora of material to go with and they went for two bizarre scenes. Everything that makes those performances lovely and memorable (Scarlett’s warmth, Brad’s unending charisma) are non-existent in these particular clips. Frustrating.
I mean, I guess…
Mr President, please clear my son's name."
You do understand I have to be above this, right?
18. Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
17. Charlize Theron, Bombshell
On the flip side, I really enjoy clips that tank because there isn’t much to go on with the performances. When you see these clips, you automatically think, “Why were they nominated in the first place?”
Large and In-Charge
We need unity. We need SOLIDARITY!"
What have you EVER done that would make anyone want to listen to YOU."
16. Al Pacino, The Irishman
15. Renee Zellweger, Judy
God was watching but my feet was my own -- running, bleeding, climbing
14. Margot Robbie, Bombshell
13. Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Every day I wake up and I hope you're DEAD."
The world will forget that you ever lived. No one will forget Jo March."
12. Adam Driver, Marriage Story
11. Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
This category is also known as the Al “SOLIDARITY!!” Pacino award. While Pacino and Zellweger's clips are representative of the performances, Robbie and Erivo did a lot more with their characters, but got similarly BIG acting clips during the ceremony. Driver and Ronan went deep with their performances, so it's a shame that respective screaming outbursts highlighted those two clip packages.
Less is More
You might be showing a failure of appreciation."
I ask you. Are you sure you still wish to be a priest?
10. Joe Pesci, The Irishman
9. Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
8. Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
I don't know why everyone is so rude. I don't know why you are. I don't want anything from you."
He's coming to terms with being slightly less... useful."
7. Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
6. Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Pryce and Hopkins had some shout-ier moments, but the Academy was wise to select restraint for the clips. Pesci’s opening clip was odd, but the one advantage of the new clip format was the chance for Pacino and Pesci to play off each other, which benefitted Pesci. I was pleasantly surprised with both Phoenix and DiCaprio, as I expected yelling to be a significant factor.
Valiant Effort
He truly didn't see me. He didn't see me as something separate from himself."
We love them for their faillibility but people absolutely don't accept the same things in mothers."
5. Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
4. Laura Dern, Marriage Story
3. Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
2. Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
I appreciate the restraint in picking Johansson’s clip. She might have suffered a similar fate as Driver, but this was a welcome surprise. Dern’s clips highlighted everything that was great about the performance (which is admittedly easier to do with short performances). As for Hanks and Banderas, much of their greatness is enhanced by the atmosphere the film surrounds them with, so it would have been very easy to find badly judged out of context clips of them, but instead, these clips highlighted the strengths in their subtleties.
All Hail the Victor
Don't sit there and tell me that marriage is not an economic proposition, because it is.
1. Florence Pugh, Little Women
Pugh’s art studio speech was the only example this year where I saw the film and immediately said, “This is the Oscar clip”, and the Academy did not disappoint. Congrats to Pugh, who joins an esteemed list of actresses including Lesley Manville, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman with the best Oscar clips of their seasons.
See you next year!
Reader Comments (24)
This needed to be funnier to work.
If Idina Menzel actually got in for Uncut Gems (certainly would have been a more pleasant surprise than Bates, personally), I'm pretty sure I know what her clip would have been. "You are the most annoying person I have ever met." Possibly including her laughing at Ratner/Sandler. Where would that have ranked in this list?
That would have been a great clip Volvagia! But if we're discussing possible clips from the possible pleasant surprises that could've taken Bate's place in the lineup we'd be here all day.
Still can't believe Scarlett got nominated for THAT.
The minute I saw Bombshell I kew that was Robbie's clip her best scene in the film,Theron's clip was not good though.
Stop hating on Bates that scene is stellar.
Agree on Pitt I like that scene in Jo Jo too.
I don't get the DiCaprion love
Pacino's SOLIDARITY is a meme waiting to happen.
Zellweger's clip does not the performance represent,very dissmissive.
I was so disappointed with the new acting clips. I hope they don't stick with them.
"See you next year!" I wouldn't mind reading a recap of the clips of a random year. I know they're hard to find but there's a guy who posts them on YouTube.
Hope they go to individual clips next year. I didn't like Margot Robbie in Bombshell - still think Kidman was way better - but that clip makes me want to rewatch her performance. If that was not going to be her oscar clip, which was then? Also, Adam Driver's clip didn't make justice to his performance.
This wasn't a totally new idea. I remember some time in the last decade (maybe more than once?) they compiled mini-montages for each nominee, showing more than just one scene of theirs. This was a slightly different approach but still along those lines. It worked for me, especially how they edited the clips to be in dialogue with one another.
The clip for Anthony Hopkins on Oscar night reminded me how horrible the camerawork was for the first quarter of The Two Popes. Distractingly bad, and I usually don't notice these things -- most reality shows are light years ahead of whatever Meirelles was doing for the "walking through the garden" scene.
Anyone else notice this? (FWIW, I surprisingly enjoyed the movie overall.)
I was really disappointed with Pacino's clips in particular. I found him to be so fun and charismatic in The Irishman (it was easy for me to see how his Jimmy Hoffa won the loyalty of all of those Teamsters) but they only focused on the YELLING.
Dern's clip is pretty much tailored for the Oscars. Soon as I saw it, I knew they'd use it to highlight the performance, and rightfully so,
Jonathan: The mini-montage year was 2009 (2010 ceremony) - I remember several clips for Waltz in Inglourious Basterds.
I completely disagree about your last place choice with ScarJo. That was one of the most effective moments in that film. You can see terror in her eyes and can interpret that her character “went too far” there. Such a wonderful, challenging scene.
Mikenewq: It's a great in context moment, but I absolutely understand putting it last. As an out of context clip, it's BAD. "Is the whole performance that harsh, bad and over-the-top?", someone who hasn't seen the movie might reasonably ask. "No!", An actual viewer has to clarify. If that's a reasonable reaction to a clip, it's a BAD choice of a clip.
Nothing works in Jojo Rabbit so the placement at the very end is right.
This new montage thing sucks. You can totally see the preferences of the dude who edited. Jonathan Pryce was barely in it and the Banderas clip was kind of mocking Adam Driver.
1987 is complete
I actually loved that Scarlett scene in Jojo Rabbit. She was wonderful in that film.
Agree that Florence Pugh was the best clipped of the nominees.
I'm frustrated with Joaquin Phoenix's win, b/c even though he's been great so many times, I felt that this performance was kinda bad. If best acting = most acting, then sure, but, like most things in Joker, I felt like everyone just figured out the most obvious choices for a rudimentary sketch for a movie about Joker and then just ran with that (the music cues being the most terrible obvious choices). I feel kind of the same way about Phoenix as I do about Rami Malek last year - people kept on saying the movie is bad, but the lead is great, and I watched the movie and just thought...what are you even talking about? This is actually such a sweaty try-hard performance and even though sweaty and try-hard aren't the performances I tend to like, I am honestly perplexed that people thought it was good.
Loved Scarlett Johansson's clip.
Wait... people actually HATE the montage thing they did? I thought it was one of the best things about the ceremony. I love that they were almost forced to put the clips into context with each other, giving us not only a more complete picture of each individual nomination but also of the category as a whole that year. Was it perfect? No, but I hope they do it again.
The only thing I would change is for the presenters to then not have to repeat the names of the nominees after the clip. I think doing so during the montage would've sufficed and certainly saved a bit of time. And I'm pro-making the Oscars last as long as they damn well please, but that bit felt awkward.
Loved both of ScarJo’s clips as well. I think if you don’t love Jojo than I guess you wouldn’t like the dinner scene, but I thought Scarlett was fab.
Big fan of this tradition, but all actors really had 2+ scenes that were featured in the segment. I would’ve liked to see this piece capture the full segments.
Laura Dern had a tougher role. She played an unsympathetic character that audiences weren't going to root for. She wasn't the heroine.
Ryan T -- i personally loved the clip montage approach. It gives you a fuller concept of the performance. I think that's helpful since most people watching probably haven't seen EVERY performance --poor things ;) but for those of us who has it's fun to see what parts of the performance they manage to include. I do agree that the Brad Pitt choice was nonsensical and the ScarJo clip was strange out of context... (even though i really do love ScarJo in that movie.
I loved the montages this year. However, my ideal Oscar clips would have been...
Cynthia Erivo – Meeting her husband again
Scarlett Johansson – Her big monologue when meeting Nora
Saoirse Ronan – “...but I’m so lonely”
Charlize Theron – Her only dialogue with Margot Robbie
Renée Zellweger – The closet scene with her kids
Antonio Banderas – Asking Federico about his family
Leonardo DiCaprio – His reaction to Julia Butters’ compliment
Adam Driver – “Being Alive”
Joaquin Phoenix – “All I have are negative thoughts”
Jonathan Pryce – “It could never be me.”
Kathy Bates – Her incredulity at Richard’s meekness towards the FBI
Laura Dern – First meeting with Nicole
Scarlett Johansson – Rosie talks to Elsa
Florence Pugh – The atelier monologue
Margot Robbie – The phonecall
Tom Hanks – The small pause when asked about his sons
Anthony Hopkins – Revealing his decision to resign from the papacy
Al Pacino – Apologizing to Frank after calling him a motherfucker
Joe Pesci – “It’s what it is”
Brad Pitt – When he recognizes the Manson Family members at Rick's house