Oscar Volley - Best Actor
Sunday, December 24, 2023 at 4:40PM For today's Oscar volley, Lynn Lee and Glenn Dunks discuss the Best Actor race.
LYNN: Glenn, it’s been a while since I’ve felt this strongly about the Best Actor race, so I’ll just lay my cards on the table: I really, really want both Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers) and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) to be nominated, would love Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers) to join them – though I think he’s a long shot – and really DON’T want Leonardo DiCaprio to get in for Killers of the Flower Moon.
It’s extra personal for me because I saw American Fiction, All of Us Strangers, and The Holdovers back to back at the Middleburg Film Festival earlier this year and loved all of them. More to the point, while all three films have their flaws, each one worked like gangbusters largely because of the fantastic acting – especially the outstanding male lead performance...
These men tie their films all together both narratively and emotionally. Giamatti and Wright, in particular, have to balance the comically prickly, off-putting aspects of their protagonists with their inner humanity and vulnerability, and both do a masterful job.
GLENN: Welcome back, Lynn. It’s amazing how these categories can all start falling into place so quickly, isn’t it? It’s barely the end of the year, and it feels like there are four names looking extremely solid for nominations (Cooper, Giamatti, Murphy and Wright).
Of those, I will be more than happy for the latter two to finally receive their first nominations after great careers that feel as is they are culminating in a way that is almost poetic. As a swing-voter of sorts on Alexander Payne, I was so relieved to find myself in love with The Holdovers. And it seems inevitable that Cooper will nominated as he seems incredibly popular with the actors, and he pushed himself here in ways the branch will no doubt appreciate even if the movie itself may be pulling a Mank with more general audiences to be perceived as something of an academic achievement that’s hard to love or even embrace.
LYNN: I should explain about Leo. A big part of why Killers of the Flower Moon doesn’t work for me is DiCaprio, who never convinces me for a minute that his dumb shit of an anti-hero could win the heart of Lily Gladstone’s Mollie. Somehow he does and then spends the rest of the movie trying to convey moral conflict by looking perpetually constipated. For me, tortured Leo is tedious Leo (I didn’t care for him in The Revenant, either). Unfortunately, I fear he’s going to take a slot from one of my three faves – most likely Scott, though I’m not sure Wright is safe, either. If DiCaprio’s in and the never-nominated Wright is out, I’m going to be seriously ticked off.
What about you? Any particular no-thank-yous?
GLENN: I find myself conflicted for the final slot. On one hand, DiCaprio is in one of my top three films of the year—but on the other hand, there is a solid 45-minute stretch there where he is actively bad and giving what appears to be a Sling Blade impersonation.
As to the alternatives Colman Domingo is very good in the very bad Rustin. I would not begrudge him the nomination at all, but I just wish the movie wasn’t so clumsy and poorly made. I know you consider Andrew Scott a long shot, but right now I’m sending out all of my good vibes that he sneaks in for All of Us Strangers. I suspect BAFTA will be receptive and the European vote has been important lately in helping score nominations for the likes of Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce, and presumably Charlotte Rampling for Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years.
Or am I misreading things and perhaps that contingent will swing for Barry Keoghan? What surprises do you see room for on ballots?
LYNN: While I haven’t yet seen Rustin, I gotta say I’d take Domingo over DiCaprio for that fifth slot in a heartbeat, just based on the quality of his previous work and how much I dislike DiCaprio in Killers.
And I hope not re: Keoghan. He’s good, especially in the first half of Saltburn, but ultimately can’t overcome the silliness of the writing. The Academy’s definitely taken notice of him, though, so he does arguably have at least as strong a chance as Scott.
Other possible surprises include Zac Efron stretching his range in The Iron Claw (though how is that film landing?) and maybe Teo Yoo, who’s excellent in Past Lives. You would never guess he’s a born and raised German actor who’s completely fluent in English, so perfectly does he capture the awkward reserve of a traditional Korean man reaching out tentatively to the literal girl who got away. He’s an even longer shot than Scott, but if Past Lives has coattails – which it could, given how well it’s been doing so far in awards season – he’s not completely out of the running.
GLENN: While we’re on longer shots let’s add Franz Rogowski for Passages who should have been in contention for Great Freedom.
LYNN: I also neglected, in mentioning Middleburg, another film I saw there with a lovely male lead performance: Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, which netted Koji Yakusho the Best Actor award at Cannes. The Academy’s changing composition in recent years has brought welcome recognition of foreign language films outside of the International Feature category. However, it continues to be resistant to Asian actors, and the film hasn’t really been in the awards conversation, despite getting shortlisted for International Feature.
GLENN: Oh gosh, Koji Yakusho! What a world that would be.
I want to pivot to narratives though, because we all saw how important that can be just this past year and I’m struggling to really see one forming. Like him or not, Brendan Fraser was elevated last season partly because of the movie he was in but also partly because of the story behind him. Giamatti, Domingo, Wright and Scott are all well-liked actors who I can’t quite envision the Academy being in a hurry to reward (it’s so hard to tell with Giamatti too given he’s been on TV so much lately). Meanwhile, Cillian Murphy’s narrative is that of a great actor in the right part. But will that sway anybody that this is his time, so to speak?
Which I guess leaves Bradley Cooper. But he is in a film that maybe isn’t quite hitting the way that would be needed to secure a win. He at least has the biopic angle on his side, the factor that helped lose him the Oscar he should’ve won for A Star is Born. Will his going full-Gaga on the press circuit, talking about his hours in the make-up chair, the learning to conduct, the refusal to sit in a chair, help him where the film is maybe falling flat with some?
LYNN: I also think Cooper has the winning narrative here. Even if Maestro leaves you cold, he looks great, he sounds great, and everyone knows he worked his tail off – spending six years of his life studying Lenny’s cadences and conducting style and building such an intimacy with the Bernstein kids you can tell they adore him. Coming after A Star is Born and three previous acting nominations, he’s ripe for the Academy’s final blessing.
And you know what, I’m good with that. I quite liked Maestro, recognizing I’m the target (niche) audience for its subject matter, and Cooper delivers a fine performance underneath the impressive makeup job and painstaking recreations of signature moments of Bernstein’s career. I’m thinking of the scene when his daughter confronts him about the rumors she’s been hearing about his sexuality and he lies to her face. There’s a subtle but unmistakable flicker of pain in his eyes as she expresses relief, and it’s one of the saddest moments in a film that has no shortage of those.
GLENN: Yes, if Jessica Chastain can win for The Eyes of Tammy Faye then surely Bradley Cooper can win for Maestro.
LYNN: The rest of the contenders, as you note, all have a similar profile: steady, well-respected careers, under-recognized as far as movie awards go. That should be enough to get them nominated – again, allowing for the uncertainty of that fifth spot – but the nomination will be the reward. The only one I could see pulling an actual upset victory over Cooper is Giamatti; he really is that good in The Holdovers.
Murphy has been picking up a ton of critics awards, which has pleasantly surprised me; like you, though, I don’t think the Academy will see it as his time. Is it prediction time? No real surprises with mine.
- Bradley Cooper – Maestro
- Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
- Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
- Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
- Colman Domingo – Rustin
I’m splitting the difference between optimism (no Leo!) and realism (no Scott) for the fifth slot. You?
GLENN: As for my predictions, I’m going to predict that the sheer quality of Rustin may work against Domingo just enough to let a (however realistic or not) Brit-surged Andrew Scott to sneak in.
- Bradley Cooper – Maestro
- Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
- Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
- Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
- Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Your turn readers. Who do you think is making Best Actor and who are you rooting for or against?
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Reader Comments (20)
I'm literally putting all my energy and wishes to get Andrew Scott his much deserved first nomination. Will it work, you guys already say, he's in the running but his spot is very shaky.
Oh man this would be THE year for Oscars to give us all first-time nominees AGAIN like last year, even if I like some of these front-runners.
Cooper,Giammati and Murphy all feel safe unless one of them gets the Amy Adams in Arrival treatment.
Any of those 3 is winning,the overdue character actor,the actor in the possible Best Pic winner or an overdue star/director but has anyone ever won for directing themselves.
DiCaprio I didn't think he was as bad as you both felt but the characterisation often puzzled me,was he supposed to naive or simply uneducated and then there are scenes where he isn't either of those things,I couldn't understand the glowing love coming from Gladstone but I liked the film overall.
l'm a big Scorsese fan and thought this was his best for a long time and reuniting with De Niro who was outstanding something he hasn't been in a few yrs,Gladstone was fine but it didn't strike me as an Oscar winner but certainly deserves a nomination.
4th slot to me is DiCaprio like him or not but he's the most likely snub.
5th is Wright he seems to be riding on the love for his film but could lose out to a passion pick like Yoo or Scott.
I'm sorry but I though Domingo was worse in his film than Leo was in his,i'm hoping he's snubbed.
The year of two Best Actor contenders whose distracting eyes steal the whole movie from them: Cillian Murphy and Paul Giamatti!
Mr Ripley79-
Two actors have directed themselves to acting Oscars: Laurence Olivier for Hamlet and Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful.
I'm rooting for Andrew Scott too. He's this year's Paul Mescal, but Mescal had a wide open 5th spot, whereas Scott has to get past a divisive Leo, and Domingo in a buzz-less film
Re. Leo, I'm almost embarrassed to say that I thought he was great in KOTFM. He's definitely going for it, at any rate - but I get what Lynn says about him not convincing anyone he could win the heart of Mollie - although that could be more of a script issue.
i spent the entirety of maestro wanting to punch bradley cooper in the face for the irritating performance and the superficial film, so he'd be as dispiriting a winner as last year's victor
i'd gain a lot of respect for the academy if andrew scott and teo yoo both made the line-up...but sadly that's not happening
If not for the films I saw recently in rapid succession, would it be great to see a lineup that looks like:
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Teo Yoo, Past Lives
Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers
Kôji Yakusho, Perfect Days
Franz Rogowski, Passages
But nominating 2 Asians and only 1 American in the lineup? In another world, perhaps.
Teo Yoo is German?! Omg, the 3 actors in “Past Lives” know how to go right to the heart of things. I’d be happy to see them all nominated.
My “Please NO, not THEM” would be Leonardo DiCaprio and Bradley Cooper.
I have some doubts that Cooper is as popular in the actors community as stated. Rich white actors making vanity projects that they are inordinately pleased with, doesn’t summon up images of popularity with their less advantaged colleagues (which is almost everybody).
Leo reminds me of that old time Hollywood adage “You’ve got to hire a smart actress to play a dumb blonde.” Otherwise, the actress plays the character as dumber than herself, and the character is unrecognizable as a real human being. At this point, Leo’s range has narrowed to playing an emotionally stunted male. At almost 50, looking like an aging indulged roue, this middle aged man is no longer viable as a romantic interest, even if his publicist still touts him as a heart throb.
Personally I cannot take the furrowed brow (“I’m acting now”), the jutting chin (“I’m playing a character who is stupid”), and the ridiculous voice (“I’m improvising now, I’m so good at this”).
It seems like I’m the only person who liked “Rustin”, although I saw it with a packed crowd that gave it a standing ovation. I don’t understand its dismissal as just a bio-pic, as if the whole social movement wasn’t important.
So my list would be:
- Colman Domingo
- Jeffrey Wright
- Andrew Scott
- Cillian Murphy
- and one other.
Haha, McGill, spot on re: Leo's "I'm acting" tics. And yes, he's spent most of his life looking 15 until one day he suddenly started looking a puffy 45.
But I don't think you're being quite fair to Cooper. Maybe it depends on your perspective on Bernstein, but the fact is the man was a giant - still is, albeit sadly one as broadly recognized today. Trying to capture that greatness strikes me less as vanity project as an expression of the highest form of respect. Then again, maybe I'm biased because I don't want to see Bernstein slip into even relative obscurity.
No, no, no to middle-aged Charlie Brown in a Scorsese film. There should be a law against what DiCaprio is doing with his jaw in that movie. No, no, no.
Cooper's going to be nominated and will probably win for the conducting scenes alone, but his film's disservice to Felicia Montealegre—not Mulligan's excellent performance—definitely has me rooting against him.
Giamatti and Murphy get the job done, I'm just not all that excited about the jobs.
Need to see Scott, Wright and Domingo, but I'm sure I'll love them, whatever I think of the films.
WISH LIST: Sarsgaard in Memory, Keoghan in Saltburn, Rogowski in Passages, Bernal in Cassandro
Very harsh take on Leo - I thought he played it brilliantly. One minute you feel sorry for him next minute he’s a slimy weasel. Not easy to pull off.
Also less of the rudeness about Jessica Chastain - she was amazing as Tammy Faye and is one of the finest actresses working today. She told a story about a tricky character and gave her heart beneath the make up.
All I want:
Bradley Cooper, "Maestro"
Paul Giamatti, "The Holdovers"
Cillian Murphy, "Oppenheimer"
Peter Sarsgaard, "Memory"
Andrew Scott, "All of Us Strangers"
Alt: Timothée Chalamet, "Wonka" (a delightful surprise like Penn in "Sweet and Lowdown". In this case, bye Murphy.
Gary Alford,
Extremely rudeness words about DiCaprio, Cooper and Chastain.
Three brilliant actors above all.
And if this means anything, three great stars.
Meanwhile, there are people praising “Barbie”, Robbie and Ferrera. If things continue like this, by January we will see people rooting for a nomination for Will Ferrell...
DiCaprio is awful. I know the character is supposed to be awful, but he's just bad and he's going to get a default nomination that he doesn't deserve.
Departed, Revolutionary, Django... funny how his best work is always snubbed.
@ Peggy Sue
Of DiCaprio's six nominations for acting, I would rescind the ones for The Revenant (even in a weak/weird year like that one, which he swept), Blood Diamond and The Aviator and probably nominate him for Catch Me If You Can, Inception and Don't Look Up. (I think he's similarly awful in Revolutionary Road as in Killers of the Flower Room.)
I just saw Flower Moon and didn't think Leo was bad just as usual miscast in a tough guy period role,the downturned mouth the jutting jaw the terrible teeth,there was no cohesion in the characterisation,the final 45 minutes I felt were not very good,I would not nominate him.
I have not liked him in most of his Marty films Gangs of New York is where it started.
I felt the same way about him as I did Domingo,the director needed to reign them in
I never buy him when he plays tough physical guys,even though he's good in The Departed a certain suspension of disbeilief is needed that he's some hard bad guy who is romancing Vera Farmiga's character,she's just too smart for him and he doesn't look tough or that he can handle himself and has no fear.
It's like they are trying to convince he's this all American tough man of action who can womanise and beat anyone to a pulp,it never works.
He is better The Aviator,Rev Rd, and Once Upon A time in Hollywood and I still maintain his best is 1993's Gilbert Grape and 2013's Wolf of Wall St.
I understood why he won in 2015 the field was one of the weakest i've known but he was due,I liked Cranston and that was it and even he is giving a "performance",the other 4 I didn't like esp Fassbender and Redmayne.
He's a big star but that doesn't mean he's a great Actor,a solid one who can carry a film but whereas De Niro convinced in his 70's tougher roles Di Caprio doesn't in his.
I think he should try a less physical type of role more often,he was suave and mysterious in Great Gatsby and that seemed to fit him better.
I wonder what he'd have been like in All of us Strangers,a different kind of role that he may have brought something to.
No more tough guys leave that to those who are more convincing.
Mr Ripley79
I think Leo is both a huge star and also one of our greatest actors. To me, Leo has barely put in a bad performance. He’s amazing in Killers as he was in Revenant, Rev Road, Once Upon a time , inception …..
Also Leo never turns up for the money and won’t take part in a film he’s not 100% on board with. He’s never been in a superhero film which is commendable. It’s so easy to lampoon big stars and while I agree there’s been some great performances this year. Leo is def one of them - a tricky role in one of Scorsese’s best films . De Niro also sold out Leo has t and I don’t think ever will. Maybe agree to disagree but I think Leo deserves every plaudit going 😁
I'm happy to appluad him when it's deserving and would've done if he'd won for Rev Rd,Gilbert Grape,The Aviator, or Once Upon a Time In Hollywood just not for this particular performance.
In your opinion.li think he’s brilliant in Killers.
As always at this time of the year: stans be stannin'