In a recent article I listed the last ten best picture Oscar winners along with the film I would have given the award. Whilst replying to a comment on that article I suggested if I did a similar list for best actor category I would probably go for Russell Crowe for The Insider over Kevin Spacey for American Beauty. So I started looking at the winners of best actor over the last ten years:
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2000: Kevin Spacey: American Beauty
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2001: Russell Crowe: Gladiator
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2002: Denzel Washington: Training Day
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2003: Adrien Brody: The Pianist
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2004: Sean Penn: Mystic River
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2005: Jamie Foxx: Ray
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2006: Philip Seymour Hoffman: Capote
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2007: Forest Whitaker: The Last King of Scotland
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2008: Daniel Day-Lewis: There Will Be Blood
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2009: Sean Penn: Milk
The conclusion I came to, I agreed with the academy in all but two years, this year I think Frank Langella in Frost Nixon was marginally better than Sean Penn in Milk and 2000 was an impossible year to choose between the nominations who where all brilliant, they where:
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Kevin Spacey: American Beauty (winner)
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Sean Penn: Sweet and Lowdown
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Denzel Washington: The Hurricane
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Russell Crowe: The Insider
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Richard Farnsworth: The Straight Story
Then add to that great performances by:
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Matt Damon: The Talented Mr. Ripley
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Al Pacino: The Insider
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Johnny Depp: Sleepy Hollow
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Edward Norton and Brad Pitt: Fight Club
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Ethan Hawke: Snow Falling on Cedars
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John Cusack: Being John Malkovich
I think Russell Crowe for The Insider is more deserving than Kevin Spacey in American Beauty but my vote goes to Richard Farnsworth for The Straight Story.
A note on the other nominees to show the quality of the actors: Sean Penn (twice), Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe went on to win Oscars later in the decade. The Straight Story was sadly Richard Farnsworth last film although it was a fitting final film!
While I don’t really disagree with any of the actors awarded, I’ve always had a bit of a three-way-trade in mind.
See, Denzel and Russell are both deserving actors, but not quite for the movies the won for. So I’ve always thought things would have been a tad more deserving had Russell won in ’02 for A BEAUTIFUL MIND, and Denzel in ’00 for THE HURRICANE. I likewise would have given Russell’s ’01 win to Tom Hanks for CAST AWAY.
Guess that leaves Kevin Spacey s-o-l, but he got a supporting trophy for THE USUAL SUSPECTS anyhow.
The only other one I *might* change, is giving Penn’s ’04 trophy to Bill Murray for LOST IN TRANSLATION…especially in hindsight knowing that Penn had another barnburner in him so soon after the fact.
2000: Kevin Spacey: American Beauty
Russell Crowe: The Insider is the clear choice here and I think it’s been all downhill since then
2001: Russell Crowe: Gladiator
Javier Badem: Before Night Falls is a much better performance
2002: Denzel Washington: Training Day
Both Will Smith and Tom Wilkinson gave better performances but I’d still give the award to Washington because sometimes you just go with the guy kicking ass and taking names.
2003: Adrien Brody: The Pianist
Not a great year but Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York) is the one I really remember.
2004: Sean Penn: Mystic River
How Ben Kingsley did not win for his work in House of Sand and Fog is a mystery. Sean Penn’s statue is just old boy back patting.
2005: Jamie Foxx: Ray
…seriously? Any of the others would have been deserving.
2006: Philip Seymour Hoffman: Capote
hmm, imitation is not the same great acting. David Strathairn understood this and deserved the win.
2007: Forest Whitaker: The Last King of Scotland
No problems with this one but then I would be equally happy if Ryan Gosling had taken it home.
2008: Daniel Day-Lewis: There Will Be Blood
The right man won but the with the mystifying exception of Johnny Depp, who is well out of his depth in this crowd, all the others were top draw performances who had the bad fortune to be nominated the same year as such a monstrous chunk of acting.
2009: Sean Penn: Milk
Again mimicry is not acting in my book… there isn’t much between Mickey Rourke and Richard Jenkins but the latter just edges it by virtue of not playing himself.
The biggest travesty of all-time has to be giving Julia Roberts the Oscar in 2000 for “Erin Brockovich” and brutally rebuffing Ellen Burstyn’s amazing work in “Requiem for a Dream.” I like Julia Roberts as much as the next person, but there’s just now way she was better than Burstyn, who have me chills AND nightmares.
Forest was great, but I feel like Ryan Gosling got a wee bit cheated in ’07. His performance was so nuanced and yet powerful, whereas Forest’s almost strayed into melodrama.
Glad to see we agree about ’05. The Academy should have given my dog an Oscar before Jamie Foxx. His performance was just mimicry, plain and simple. He was so much better in “Collateral.”
M. Carter at the Movies
You have committed the ultimate crime, stealing my thunder. The last ten years of best actress is due out next week (I have one to decide on) and guess what, Ellen Burstyn gets the Oscar over Julia Roberts. I’m not sure it’s the biggest travesty of all time. Ralph Fiennes losing out to Tommy Lee Jones in 1994: Ragging Bull losing to Ordinary People in 1981: Chicago beating anything are all high on the travesty scale!
Biggest crime in Oscar history has to be the 70th / 1998 best picture…
Titanic
Okay so thoughts are devided and for some the film is deserved due to the scale etc but lets consider the other nominees…
As Good as It Gets – as bad as it gets
The Full Monty – oh dear
Good Will Hunting – okay a decent film
and then…
L.A. Confidential
twelve years later Good Will Hunting is still as good as it ever was but what is the bonafide classic?