Nathaniel's Ballot: Best Actor
Monday, January 23, 2012 at 9:31PM 
Another few hours, another write up. I might have to quit here... quickly losing energy and must store some up for the Oscar onslaught on the morrow.
One thing that's really been bothering me about The Artist backlash is the notion that the movie doesn't really understand silent films, drawing as much from 1930 and 1940s and even 1950s cinema visually and aurally as it does from the 1920s. My very erudite response to that criticism: So what?!?
A pure "found film" is not what Michel Hazanavicius and team were going for here which you can see quite obviously in [SPOILER ALERT] the dream sequence and the finale which both work like sound films [END OF SPOILER]. I love that Jean Dujardin pulls so liberally from Gene Kelly (1940s and 1950s) rather than strictly silent movie stars for example since The Artist is polyamorous in its loves. People have reduced it to a love letter to the silents but it's just as smitten with the very tumult of movie stardom and the idea of Hollywood in general and those things span decades. We're still in love with them in 2011!
MY BEST ACTORS
Each year it seems like I have at least one acting category -- two at the most! -- that closely align with Oscar and Best Actor is where we might meet sorta see eye to eye. Crossing my fingers for Michael Fassbender's Shame to resonate with enough voters, though I've predicted otherwise.
Reader Comments (18)
I felt oddly honoured when I saw that we both have Ryan Gosling on our ballots, he definitely doesn't pop up enough and he brings such restrained vulnerability to this. Such a thankless performance! Same goes for McGregor, he's not on mine, but he almost made it, he basically carries the movie where so many people would have come off as whiny or even pretentious.
Love this lineup! But I'm really sad that Peyman Moadi didn't even make your semi-finalist.
A bit of a random note, but I love how so many of the strong actors this year (and those on your ballot) carried their film on their shoulder actively making them better, sometimes turning goodness into greatness. Which, in response to your question about actors' working hard I have to give that prize to Harrelson who just carries Rampart on his shoulders (which is already a strong film).
VERY happy for Ewan, such a wonderful performance from him...perhaps, even my favourite thing he's done.
I'm with Buttercup. I was hoping to see Peyman Moadi with at least an honorable mention. Quite possibly the performance of the year for me.
Love the love for Ewan McGregor. I can't believe he didn't even get a Globe nomination.
buttercup and liz -- you're in luck! or rather I'm in luck and Peyman too, as I miscounted and only had 11 men listed. I thought he was 13th. wheeeeeee.
first no brooks and now no gary oldman... then again you have gone on the record as to not being his biggest fan. your nominations are breaking my heart this year.
Saw The Artist today and I was super impressed by the amount of charisma Dujardin was able to bring across the screen. Definitely one of my favorite performances of the year.
DuJardin is perfection. So charming it almost takes the movie down - Bejo is nowhere near his equal, and her striving to combine the slapstick, romance, whimsy, and melodrama that DuJardin so effortlessly conveys comes off as almost embarrassing.
Loved the movie anyway.
Nat - Yay!!!!! Don't forget to correct the spelling ;)
Great ballot. I have Steve Carrell, Joel Edgerton, and Joseph Gordon Levitt in my top ten.
I agree with the Cloonet, Pitt, Dujardin, and DiCaprio, but I call Oldman instead of Shannon.
AMAZING lineup. It's just perfection, couldn't imagine a better one. I'm a fan of Oldman and Warrior boys too, but your five nominees are so amazing... I think probably they 100% match with mines. Great choices, Nathaniel!!!
The perfect line-up. Let's hope you predicted wrong and Fassbender gets in. DiCaprio bores me too lately.
Have you seen Dujardin's OSS 117 movies? I saw the one set in Rio recently and was rather pleased. It's very Casino Royale. Dujardin is one of these actors who are not afraid of showing they're having a ball doing what they're doing and I just love that.
PS Love to see Sarandon up there. One of my happiest moments as an Oscar viewer.
Fantastic choice in Ewan McGregor. With all the attention for Christopher Plummer - and I've even seen Melanie Laurent pop up on various bloggers' lists - I'm baffled that he hasn't been discussed more. Perhaps a quieter performance, but a superb centre to the film, and no less heartfelt and complex than Plummer; more so, if anything. Not to hate on Plummer at all, but it's a shame McGregor finally gave a brilliant turn again (it feels like it's been a while!) and no one cared.
A superb line-up overall; personally I'd squeeze some of them out (who, I don't know) for the Weekend boys and Peyman Moaadi, but I can make my own list for that. ;)
P.S. Love that you're standing in front of Jake in your new photo. :D
//One thing that's really been bothering me about The Artist backlash is the notion that the movie doesn't really understand silent films, drawing as much from 1930 and 1940s and even 1950s cinema visually and aurally as it does from the 1920s. My very erudite response to that criticism: So what?!?//
@Nat, at first I thought I was one of the guilty ones you're talking to - then I realized, no, I'm just someone who has read all of the "homage to silent film" descriptions and thought, no there's a lot more going on than that, almost three decades of film history here - and that was just from seeing the trailer. (Will it ever come to CT? I do NOT want to have to wait to see this one at home.) You're the one other person I've read thus far who has really noticed it.
@Rebecca - Your critique of Bejo is something I noticed too - again, just in the trailer; that Dujarin looked all kinds of perfect classic movie idol and she just was trying to catch up. Still want to see it, of course.
@David (and everyone) - I'm also glad to see the Ewan-love here, and for a "quiet" turn; we all know how awards are generally doled out to the showiest perfs; and generous perfs are always so overrated. And Ewan is nothing if not generous with his co-stars onscreen. This is exactly what happened with Moulin Rouge, which is nearly unthinkable (and would have been possibly intolerable) without him.
Great to hear Gosling's name mentioned. To be honest he has completely won me over this year. What he did in Drive was real tough to do, especially for a movie star, and you articulated it perfectly. It could have gone wrong in so many ways but instead, it worked perfectly. His performance in Drive, as well as the film itself, had really added something to the genre.
What a lovely lineup. You nailed it with your thoughts on Fassy and I’m *so* thrilled McGregor made the cut. Also, love your quick but dead-on description of Woody in RAMPART
My Picks…
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Jean DuJardin, THE ARTIST
Michael Fassbender, SHAME
Ewan McGregor, BEGINNERS
Chris New, WEEKEND
Brad Pitt, MONEYBALL