By Ben Miller
It's been a few years, but we are finally back! The Oscars brought back acting clips for the Oscars and I'm here to rank them from 20 to 1. Let's get to it!
What Are We Doing?
"If there's a straight line, you've got a problem."
20. Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
19. Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
18. Amy Madigan, Weapons
Out of the four Oscar winners, three had downright awful clips. This isn't a situation with bad winners having nothing to give, but Jordan, Penn, and Madigan all had much more scenery to chew on that these nothing scenes. Madigan probably had the hardest role to clip out, but there is zero excuse for Jordan and Penn.
Not Really the Vibe
" I want a home. "
17. Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
16. Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
15. Delroy Lindo, Sinners
14. Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
I'm a big fan of all four of these performances, but I have no idea what the clip editor was doing. With Fanning and Skarsgard, they both went with big emotional scenes, but Fanning is actually acting in the clip, while Skarsgård has his few outburst of English. That's not encompassing of their performances. Lindo is in the same boat, with a throwaway line that does nothing to showcase his character. Hawke's clip would be better, if you could have heard what he was even saying. They chose the most whisper-quiet scene in the whole film.
Big and Bold
"Thank you, sensei."
13. Leonardo DiCarpio, One Battle After Another
12. Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue
11. Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
All three are examples of performances that had better clips but also aren't necessarily poor ones, just obvious. DiCaprio is the most disappointing, as he had a thousand clips that would have worked better. Hudson has very little to do in her clip besides an painfully obvious line, while Elordi suffers the same fate as Hawke, barely able to hear him on the broadcast.
Pretty Solid
"I will not settle down right now, okay?"
10. Timothee Chalamet, Marty Supreme
9. Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
8. Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
For all the pre-ceremony talk about Chalamet, that is a clip-centric performance. Most anything Marty said was loud, brash, and encapsulates his performance. Reinsve is almost the opposite, with her clip providing one of the few outbursts for her character. Mosaku's clip was pretty good with context, but on it's own, she had better options. Can't complain much about these.
Almost There
"This can't be it!"
7. Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You
6. Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
5. Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Byrne's performance is the embodiment of exasperation, and her big speech about motherhood is indicitive of the performance as a whole. Buckley is a bit understated for what she gives in Hamnet, but her clip is a good measure of her restraint at times. Lilleaas has one of her best moments, and is thankfully subtitled.
Nailed it
"But you actually got away with it, you sick ape!"
4. Emma Stone, Bugonia
3. Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
2. Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Stone somehow always has good clips. It's impressive how she always manages it. This one was no different, and it's a perfect mask slip in her performance. Taylor's "crumbling male ego" is a great soundbite and represents her character's recklessness and justification. I was worried about Moura's clip, but that is the PERFECT scene for his simmering righteousness. It would have been the winner, if not for...
Perfection
- "I've had a few."
- "A few what?"
- "A few small beers"
1. Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
As fun as del Toro is having in his performance, we all knew this was coming, and we all agreed it was the correct decision. 10/10, no notes. Congrats to del Toro, who joins Lesley Manville, the ladies from The Favourite.