In one week from now, these writings might already be a little outdated, but the people and films we’re discussing in them will still be relevant. This Oscar week, let’s remember that the point of this isn’t the horse race and the competition. What we’re attempting to do is celebrate films in an organized format. That being said, when someone becomes an Oscar nominee or winner, their title and reputation change forever. Four of the best supporting actor nominees this year will have the chance to change their title from “nominee” to “winner,” while the fifth guns for their third career trophy.
The two-time winner in question is none other than Bob De Niro, who plays the real-life villain William King Hale in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” I’m on record a few times saying that the film in general is not my favorite, but I think this might be the best De Niro performance since the 90s. In my opinion, he’s wasted a lot of his twilight acting years on lightweight comedies, but he still delivers when he’s in a more natural dramatic role. In “Killers,” he’s your friendly rich neighbor who orchestrates genocide with a smile.
Mark Ruffalo plays a villain in “Poor Things.” His performance as Duncan Wedderburn is as slimy as it gets. A member of high society on the outside but a clingy brat on the inside, Wedderburn is somehow one of the funniest characters in any movie this year on account of his lack of charm and self-awareness. His predatory behavior towards Emma Stone’s Bella is thwarted as she gains more agency, and she is completely unbothered by his spiral into madness down the stretch. This guy is atrocious, but Ruffalo plays him perfectly against type.
The biggest villain role of the year belongs to Bob Downey Jr. as the attempted foil to Oppenheimer in the film of the same name. Lewis Strauss went to the Salieri school of insecurity, looking up at a mammoth in his field rather than taking a step back and letting history play out. His insistence on interference does him in, leading to years of anxiety and the ultimate, embarrassing professional failure. Had Strauss simply let go of his Oppenheimer complex, he may have been remembered as something greater than a heel. Put Iron Man on the shelf; Downey the actor is back.
I’m sensing a theme coming on. Ken from “Barbie” is a bit of an antagonist in his film, but this comes more from his misunderstanding of big concepts rather than a desire to hurt people. Ryan Gosling was the perfect casting choice, and anyone who nay-sayed it when he was announced is a very different person than I. Gosling can bring the tenderness to a lovable himbo like no other. He gives what’s probably the best performance in the film, elevating the script and the movie in general. It’s ironic that the takeaway from “Barbie” for so many was “Hey, what about Ken?”
“American Fiction” doesn’t really have a solitary antagonist. It’s more of an abstract systemic failure that weighs down on the main character. But if there was a single character that gives Monk the most problems, it’s Cliff, played by Sterling K. Brown. This is a pretty fun performance that I did not realize had a ton of passion for it before Brown started getting nominated at other awards shows. It isn’t clear to me how much Cliff actually changes in the film, or how much he changes anybody else, but it is at least entertaining whenever he appears.
I saw someone throw out a though experiment recently: What would happen if you put the five nominated characters together in a room? What would they talk about? If you put a genocidal monster, sex fiend, jealous public figure, plastic doll and loose cannon in a room together, what would occur? The funny part of this set-up is that it isn’t entirely clear which character fits into which description. It speaks to the variety of the options and the depth of the performances. As for the conversation they’d share, I think I’ll pass on sitting in on that one.
