by Nathaniel R
OPPENHEIMER
Last time we discussed TFE's second favourite category (Best Supporting Actress)... or is it actually our favourite category given how often we speak of it? (hmmm). Now it's time for the male half. Historically Best Supporting Actor, is dullest acting category at the Oscars. It's not just that the roles aren't always as interesting as those the women get to play, but that Oscar chooses so weakly.
Once again this season it's a category that feels a little thin with an obvious future winner who definitely has fine moments but doesn't exactly do anything with his role that dozens of other solid actors wouldn't have. You can guess that RDJ is not on my own ballot! Nevertheless, let's discuss Oscar's choices and my own dozen favourites from 2023 (and your favourites in the comments)...
OSCAR'S LINEUP
As early as July it looked like the Oscar would be a contest between dramatic Robert Downey Jr in Oppenheimer and comic Ryan Gosling in Barbie. with the caveat that the end of the year usually brings formidable contenders for the statue. That didn't turn out to be the case this season and the summertime favourites kept their position as the two most golden options for the top industry honor. Once televised awards started it was clear that Downey Jr would win the Oscar in a landslide (though if we had a vote it would be Gosling, no question). Oscar filled out the ranks with Mark Ruffalo in Poor Things (who, with his fourth nomination without a win, is now in pretty rare territory for this category) and long time favourite Robert De Niro in Killers of the Flower Moon. The final nominee proved to be Sterling K Brown in American Fiction who benefitted from great timing, overall career acclaim (he's already a three-time Emmy winner), and Oscar's tendency to be impressed with straight actors playing gay onscreen. More about this race on that Oscar chart.
NATHANIEL'S TAKE
The Film Bitch Awards force me to narrow down favourites to 12 in each category from which 5 become nominees. These are not the only supporting men who I thought were good this year merely the dozen who impressed most.
SEMI-FINALISTS
aka excellent praiseworthy work
AIR
Ben Affleck as "Phil Knight" in Air. What is it about Ben Affleck that we enjoy him most by far when he's at his least centered and most relaxed (see also Shakespeare in Love way back when). Not that Phil Knight is "relaxed" in this corporate sports drama. But he's justright throughout as the impatient, annoyed, but once-daring CEO who is considering how to react to all of this sponsorship gambling.
THE IRON CLAW
Holt McCallany as "Fritz Von Erich" in The Iron Claw. I first noticed this reliable character actor in small roles in David Fincher's filmography. Netflix's sadly deceased serial killer drama Mindhunter gave him his greatest awards-worthy role to date. Once again he proves he deserves a much bigger career as this relentless wrestling dynasty father, who thinks only of his sons but still makes no room for their own feelings in his legacy-building fanaticism.
FALLEN LEAVES
Janna Hyytiainen as "Hannes Houtari" in Fallen Leaves. A sideline delight as the karaoke loving co-worker who bristles at romantic rejection, fancies himself an undiscovered star, and unexpectedly plays matchmaker to two lonely souls.
FINALISTS
aka I was sad I couldn't find room for them as nominees
ALL OF US STRANGERS
Jamie Bell as "Dad" in All of Us Strangers. Being well employed is a form of recognition but we still feel that Billy Elliot himself hasn't gotten enough flowers for his consistent deployment of talent across 24 years of cinema. He's impressively expressive here despite the character's innate reserve. A decent man who lost his chance to fully understand his son.
POOR THINGS
Willem Dafoe as "Godwin" in Poor Things. He demonstrates his impressive range again as the alternately cruel but loving, domineering yet permissive 'father' to a science experiment who develops a mind of her own.
ANATOMY OF A FALL
Milo Machado Graner as "Daniel" in Anatomy of a Fall. We have an 'extra' acting category for child actors, and yes he'll be a medalist there as the increasingly centered blind "witness" of this courtroom mystery.
PAST LIVES
John Magaro as "Arthur Zaturansky" in Past Lives. Incisively sure about the places where Arthur is unsure, in this tricky third-wheel role as a writer and husband who fears one whole piece of his wife's soul is out of his reach.
AND THE NOMINEES ARE (ALPHA ORDER)
ANATOMY OF A FALL
Swann Arlaud as "Maître Vincent Renzi" in Anatomy of a Fall. In a film chalk full of strong performances, his sturdy work might be the most modest, but no less brilliant as the loyal friend / silver fox lawyer who doesn't appear to care whether his client / friendly is guilty as he walks her through the ordeal.
A THOUSAND AND ONE
William Catlett as "Lucky" in A Thousand And One. Teyana Taylor won deserved kudos for this fine picture about a single mother struggling to raise her son off the grid. Where was the praise for Catlett's equally brilliant work? He exudes a tricky combination of surface hardness and inner decency as her hard-to-know boyfriend, slowly revealing a deep well of feeling.
THEATER CAMP
Noah Galvin as "Glenn Withrop" in Theater Camp. Supremely hilarious and fully imagined from Glenn's behind-the-scenes introversion to his hidden breakout talent. Unexpectedly, Glenn proves the sanest person in this laugh-a-minute comedy. Galvin never pushes the jokes as jokes but lives in their funny reality.
BARBIE
Ryan Gosling as "Ken" in Barbie. For his playful abandon, nimble delivery, and genius physical comedy as a dim doll on his own stunted journey; hilariously, he never reaches Barbie's destination of self-awareness.
and...
POOR THINGS
Mark Ruffalo as "Duncan Wedderburn" in Poor Things. With a mix of effete pretense, classist self-regard, and sexual bravado, he's an unexpected twin to Gosling's Ken...albeit with genitalia. What a year for movie stars sharing the joy of silliness with audiences!
Hope you enjoyed. Please share your own ballots in the comments!