With a burnt-out lawyer, murdering barber, savvy politician, prisoner of war escapee, smooth gangster, greedy oil man, conflicted detective, theiving son, and grieving fathers–this year is, as always, chock-full of diverse and riveting Best Actor possibilities.
Here’s a rundown of likely contenders whose excellent performances just might put Oscar gold in their hands in February.
You have to give Affleck kudos for tackling what turns out to be a very unlikable role. His Patrick Kenzie means well as a Boston private investigator who always wants to do the right thing. But in the case of one child abduction case gone wrong, sometimes what seems to be the right thing really isn’t, and Affleck–with his quiet demeanor and subtle mannerisms–plays the conflicted character with Oscar-worthy aplomb. Could be Affleck first, but probably not last, nomination.
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It’s actually sort of amazing Bale has never been nominated for Academy Award before–but then again, the roles he has chosen have either been too high-profile (Batman Begins) or too under the radar (The Machinist). That’s all changed this year with two stunning performances from the native Welshman: One as the makeshift lawman trying to bring Russell Crowe’s bad guy to justice in 3:10 to Yuma; and his meatier role as Rescue Dawn’s protagonist, U.S. fighter pilot Lt. Dieter Dengler, who must survive after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War. Bale’s performance hits all the right marks.
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George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Although his Michael Clayton is the less showier role in the movie (let’s just say he didn’t have to gain weight), Oscar winner Clooney might be looking at his second Oscar nod as a worn-down lawyer whose only job with his big law firm is to fix their dirty little messes. The beleaguered Clayton doesn’t complain, mind you, but deep inside, he’s had it–tired of the job, tired of being a gambleholic and tired of the bullsh*t he shovels out. Clooney is also one of the better reactors on screen today, so that when he cocks his head slightly, stares at you and says, “Do I look like I’m negotiating,” you feel it in your toes. Academy voters might, too.
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It’s about time Cusack got some recognition. In his career, the oh-so-likable actor has had to wrench himself away from teen romantic comedies, then romantic comedies in general. But Cusack has finally hit his dramatic stride as Stanley Phillips, a meek, bespectacled fellow who doesn’t have the heart to tell his two daughters their mother has been killed in Iraq. Instead, he takes them on a soul-searching road trip (those are the best kind). What makes this performance stand out is how much Cusack has downplayed his natural sardonic effervescence. The Academy loves it when an actor plays against type.
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Depp as a murderous demon barber from Fleet Street, with pale skin, wild eyes and even wilder hair who also SINGS? Forget about it. The former Capt. Jack Sparrow once again tackles another quirky role, right alongside his quirky partner-in-crime, director Tim Burton, bringing Stephen Sondheim’s bloodthirsty Broadway musical–and lead character, Sweeney Todd–to life. It seems like the kind of part Depp was destined to play, but the fact he actually sings in the movie gives him a leg up to an Oscar nomination. One of these days he is going to win the darn thing–maybe not for Sweeney Todd but someday.
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Tom Hanks, Charlie Wilson’s War
Ah, Tom. It’s been a little while since we’ve seen your name on the Best Actor list, but we knew you couldn’t stay away forever. Based on a true story, Hanks plays the affable Texan congressman Charlie Wilson, an alcoholic womanizer whose covert operation trains and arms resistance fighters in Afghanistan so they can fend off the Soviet Union. Of course, the far-reaching end result empowers the Taliban and future terrorists, but Charlie doesn’t know that at the time. Letting Hanks turn on his personal charm is one of the best things you can do. It’ll be nice to to see him back in the Oscar loop.
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Philip Seymour Hoffman, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Oscar winner Hoffman rarely disappoints, and, like a fine wine, he seems to be getting better with age. He is in no less than three big contenders this season, including Charlie Wilson’s War and The Savages with Laura Linney (more on her later). But it’s Hoffman’s role in Sidney Lumet’s crime drama Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead that strikes an Oscar chord. He plays Andy, an overextended broker, who lures his younger brother (Ethan Hawke), into a larcenous scheme: to rob their mom and pop’s jewelry store. It’s when Philip Seymour Hoffman is at the end of his rope that he truly shines.
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Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Speaking of getting better with age, Jones is also on a roll. He has turned in some searing performances this year, including his Texan police chief in the Coen brothers No Country for Old Men. But it’s his tortured father in Elah that grabs your immediate attention. The craggy-faced actor plays a veteran military man who has never shown much emotion to either his wife or two sons, both of whom enlisted. His older son has already been killed in action and now the younger boy, who had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, has been found brutally murdered. How Jones handles this grief is a study in stoicism tinged with the most regrettful sadness. He’ll be hard to beat come Oscar time.
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Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
If anyone stands a real chance of winning the Academy Award, it might be the always brilliant Lewis. Being that the actor only does a film every couple of years, his choice to star in this adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil!, directed by Boogie Nights Paul Thomas Anderson, must mean it’s pretty powerful. Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, a simple silver miner who strikes Texas oil at the turn-of-the-century and turns into a shrewd and greedy businessman, locking horns with a zealously religious family over their land. Watch the trailer and see if you don’t think Lewis looks utterly amazing in this movie.
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Denzel Washington, American Gangster
No one can play a suave, charming badass better than Washington. He was exquisitely corrupt in his Oscar-winning performance in Training Day–and now in American Gangster, he once again does what he does best. Part Godfather, part Scarface, Washington adds his own spin to the drug kingpin character as Frank Lucas, a low-level henchman whose savvy business skills and right place, right time opportunities soon put him at the top of the black crime syndicate. Washington is so good, in fact, you actually hope Frank gets away with it. Oscar should come calling.
Honorable Mentions: Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as terminally ill patients who form an unlikely alliance in The Bucket List. Their mission is to accomplish a list of things they’ve always wanted to do but never did–before, you know, they kick the bucket. A mush-fest for sure but these two veterans would be hard to pass up.
And for Supporting Actor contenders, we have:
Tom Cruise’s slick senator in Lions for Lambs; Tom Wilkinson’s high-powered lawyer with a conscience in Michael Clayton; Ethan Hawke‘s hapless accomplice in his brother’s scheme in Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead; Russell Crowe’s honest cop in American Gangster; Benicio Del Toro’s recovering addict in Things We Lost in the Fire; Philip Seymour Hoffman, again, this time as Congressman Wilson’s CIA collaborator in Charlie Wilson’s War; Josh Brolin as the Texan who finds the money and/or Javier Bardem as the badass who hunts him down for it in No Country for Old Men; Steve Zahn as a fellow POW in Rescue Dawn; Casey Affleck, again, as the coward Robert Ford in The Assassination of Jesse James; and the young Paul Dano as a turn-of-the-century budding evangelist in There Will Be Blood.
