For My Consideration

A highlight of 2007 was being selected to the nominating committee for the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards. As part of the “SAG Nom” committee, I got to see screenings of many of the award contending films, for free. The movie nerd that I am, I took it pretty seriously. I felt like it was my part-time job to watch movies.

Here is what my fellow nominators chose for the marquee award Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:

3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster, Hairspray, Into the Wild, & No Country for Old Men

Good films, but, alas, with the exception of No Country, not my esteemed picks. So, here are the 2007 films I think are worth seeing, particularly because they are human stories told through creative, specific performances:

Juno–Funny and touching, there wasn’t a single character that I didn’t think belonged in the Midwest. Pulling a bunch of actors out of Hollywood and believing they are from Minnesota is no small feat. Plus, that clever dialogue could easily sound contrived on lesser lips. This ensemble cast made me care about each person in the story.

Grace is Gone–Again, it didn’t look like West Coasters trying to play Middle America, particularly John Cusack. I think it is the first movie where there isn’t a trace of Lloyd Dobler, or the parts of John Cusack that made Lloyd Dobler so iconic. Instead he plays an oafy veteran who works at a Home Depot equivalent and is desperately trying to raise two daughters while his wife serves in Iraq. To me one mark of a great performance is when an actor trades in their personal gestures and rhythms for ones better suited to the character. In this film, Cusack’s pithy, indirect manner is exchanged for a heavier concentration. To accent that, the performances from the daughters are naturally nuanced, in the way children can act by just doing it and not thinking about how it should be done. As my friend Gabrielle said, “I don’t think there was a moment in that movie I wasn’t laughing or crying. It’s exhausting to have a physical reaction to a movie for two hours straight.” It’s true, but wonderful too.

Sweeney Todd–I don’t think actor’s get more creative than Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. They make choices about every aspect of their characters. From the way they walk, talk, blink their eyes, chew their food, cut a throat. And the same can be said about Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, and Sasha Baron Cohen. I love specific character actors. This film is fun and compelling because these despicable characters are doing reprehensible things in such enticing ways. That and the music is hysterically clever and lyrically beautiful.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix–Yes, I am one of those ridiculous fans. But one cannot argue–with the exception of the kids who are getting better with each year–this cast is not a most incredible collaboration of British acting. Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall again find new ways to make skin crawl, joining the likes of Maggie Smith, Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes–okay, I am just going to stop there, except to especially point out the exquisite timing of Imelda Staunton as Professor Umbridge. Every time I watch a Harry Potter movie I want to hop on the next plane to London and start my acting training a fresh. American actors are good at expressing emotion, but British actors create characters that are interesting to watch.

No Country for Old Men–I’ll keep it short. You will read a lot about this movie in the next couple months, as I predict it will go on to win most of the awards. But I will say this, the performances are unexpected. These actors do not pick the obvious choices. The entire movie each character is on the edge between one thing and another and the actors live that reality so that the audience can’t tell which side of the line the character will fall. Especially Javier Bardem. Watching this film is a master acting class.

Happy viewing!