So let’s talk leads. First of all, Delroy Lindo gave the best leading performance in any film this past year and he isn’t even nominated so keep that in mind. Second of it all, it feels moot to even have this discussion when a category is so locked in stone as this one is (no one will beat Chadwick). But what fun would no discourse be? Simply none at all. So. Let’s chat.
Riz Ahmed, Ruben Stone, Sound of Metal
I’ll be honest, I love Chadwick Boseman, I love everything he stood and continues to stand for, and it will be a triumphant moment to hear his name called as the winner on Oscar night. However, if I was a voting member of the Academy, I would be checking the box next to Riz Ahmed’s name. I have been fascinated by Ahmed since first seeing him in the impeccable pilot episode of The Night Of on HBO. I then saw him in another HBO program, Girls, and found him equally captivating in a vastly different role. But never have I seen him more layered, committed, or resonant as he is in Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal.
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His passionate and impassioned performance highlights the lengths we’ll go to reunite with something so abruptly stolen from us, in this case, Ruben’s hearing and Ruben’s music career. Hearing versus non-hearing experiences aside, it’s endlessly interesting to see Ahmed’s Ruben, a clean and sober character, fight to stay so in the midst of confronting his real addiction which, to me, read as his insistence on tying up his identity with his music. I discussed this film with a dear friend who works as a cochlear implant audiologist and though she enlightened me to some major pitfalls in the films research into the true-to-life handling of hearing loss, we both agreed that Ahmed gave a fully-formed, fiery performance.
Chadwick Boseman, Levee Green, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Chadwick Boseman was one of the great talents of our generation. Full stop. He was an icon, a very real cultural touchstone, an unimpeachable part of the zeitgeist, a seemingly unstoppable example of Black excellence. His passing is truly one of the unthinkable losses of the decade thus far. But thank goodness we were blessed with his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, his triumphant final film appearance. Ultimately, this movie didn’t quite work for me, as I’d hoped a film adaption of a play would pepper in a bit more of the cinematic magic only reserved for the big screen, but boy oh boy, did Boseman’s performance elevate the final product.
Honestly, I would’ve almost preferred they just put Boseman, Viola Davis, and their delightful co-stars on a stage to film them doing theater text on a theater stage. But the glorious thing about his talent is that he disappears into dialogue, giving off the impression that these are his personal lived experiences. His big monologue in the later half of this film? You couldn’t tell me that it wasn’t pulled from his personal diary. He just exudes truth on screen and for that, on top of his indelible, history-shaping career, he deserves his inevitable Best Actor triumph.
Anthony Hopkins, Anthony, The Father
Well, well, well, yet another staggering performance from six-time nominee, one time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins. It’s sort of been well documented how good at acting Sir Hopkins is so I don’t think we need to belabor the point much here. He gives a thunderous, BAFTA-Award winning performance as Anthony, the patriarch of a London family who’s slowly losing his grip on reality to dementia. Hopkins’ performance is as terrifying as it is tear-inducing and it isn’t one you’ll be able to shake for a bit after consuming. I don’t think this will be the year he claims his second trophy but given how many Oscar worthy performances this man has given, it wouldn’t be surprising.
Gary Oldman, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Mank
Listen, I love a lot of Oldman’s work, but I can think of at least three other actors I would’ve rather seen be nominated in this slot. Delroy Lindo was shockingly good in Da 5 Bloods, Jude Law gave a career best performance in The Nest, Mads Mikkelsen was thrilling in Another Round and Gary Oldman was kind of just running around screaming as a drunk screenwriter.
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Mank in general sort of reads as Hollywood’s love letter to itself and Oldman’s self-aggrandizing performance doesn’t help its delusions of grandeur. Does he have wonderful moments? Of course, he’s Gary Oldman. Without giving too much away, the confrontation scene at dinner comes to mind. His scenes with Amanda Seyfried’s Marion Davies are sweet and subdued. And he really does do drunk a little too well. But again, I think there were a lot more exciting and nuanced performances this year that I wish the Academy voters would’ve not overlooked for an, as of late, Oscar darling.
Steven Yeun, Jacob Yi, Minari
As soon as Minari was published for release, I said, “Well, I guess I’m captaining the Steven Yeun Oscar campaign.” And look where we are now, baby. I have loved Steven Yeun for years and I am so happy to watch America quickly and jubilantly fall for him, too. New members of the Yeun Tribe: welcome, we’ve been waiting for you. In Minari, Yeun plays Jacob Yi, a chicken sexer who moves to Arkansas with his Korean family to chase that elusive American dream. For him, this means a plot of land for a farm and a modest home to call his own.
As we watch the Yi family grow accustomed (or not, in some cases) to the assaulting, Arkansas summer sun, we simultaneously watch Jacob seesaw between accepting his Korean roots and assimilating to his American ideals. Lee Isaac Chung really employed the perfect person here, as Steven Yeun is equal parts bashfully unassuming and wholly fit to carry a film of this weight. I don’t really think he will walk away with an Oscar trophy for his stirring, unflinchingly honest performance, but gosh, with his history-making nomination and his overtaking of the collective American heart, I can’t help but feel he’s already won.
Will Win: Chadwick Boseman
Could Win: Anthony Hopkins? It will be Chad, no one else stands a chance.
Should Win: Riz Ahmed
Should’ve Been Nominated: Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
