by Nathaniel R
Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods and Mads Mikkelsen in Another RoundWith the top ten list finally filed (please read and comment), the annual Film Bitch Awards are in progress. With that comes lots of hair-pulling (figuratively speaking of course as I have none) because it's hard to make decisions around what is "best" in art. At least it is if you're doing it right and care. "The Man Who Loved Movies Awards Too Much" might be the title of my biography because you can't love movies too much. So whenever I announce my favourites, I immediately feel bad about what I didn't honor because in (grateful) truth there are far more than five worthy things in any category in any given year.
But awards are and should be a time capsule. It doesn't mean you will always feel that way but it's what you valued most at that juncture. Same is true for the big Hollywood awards shows which is why so many of their choices look so weird. Time changes people and art and public opinion...
Speaking of which. I haven't talked at all about Da 5 Bloods (though I agree with quite a lot of Lynn's excellent review), which has its own ideas about what time does to people, particularly how grievances and shame and paranoia and trauma and rage (righteous or otherwise) can wear down and distort your better self. I never thought I'd be nominating a character role topped with a "Make America Great Again" red cap 🤮 under Best Actor but time does do that to some people as we've all sadly discovered these past four years. And Delroy Lindo's performance was magnificent. And so out there! Can you believe he pulled off those direct-to-camera addresses?
But when it comes to Da 5 Bloods, I'm not a big fan though I love some parts. It has terrific moments but overall it's too sprawling and messy and violent for violence sake for my tastes. It's solidly middle tier Spike Lee, which is why the very strong awards response has perplexed me a bit. That's especially true of the awards for Chadwick Boseman for playing an idealized ghost rather than a character. WHY? The late great actor gave a genuinely awards-worthy performance this year in another movie, so focus there and spread the wealth in supporting actor where there are so many other brilliant character actors working each year who all too often go unrecognized.
Awards are often affected by "it's his/her time" public adoration. The mainstream awards bodies (and perhaps some critics) have finally realized that they should have been honoring Spike Lee all along so.... I guess now? But Da 5 Bloods is not a patch on his best movies (BlacKkKlansman, 25th Hour, Do the Right Thing! and Malcolm X) or even on Inside Man.
Mads drinking to cope in "Another Round" -- I feel you Mads. Especially around awards season..
But on to the title of the post -- pardon the longwindedness -- my choices for Best Actor are in no particular order (no I haven't chosen the medals yet): Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods), Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round), Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Sir Anthony Hopkins (The Father), and Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom). Click here for the finalists and the write-ups.
FILM BITCH AWARDS - 8 of 40 categories announced thus far
Page 1 - PIC, DIRECTOR, SCREENPLAYS, ANIMATED FEATURE
Page 2 - BEST ACTOR
Page 3 - not yet
Page 4 - not yet
Page 5 - ENSEMBLE, CASTING
Page 6 - POSTER DESIGN
Page 7 - not yet