The Top Performances of 2012
Helen Hunt in “The Sessions”
Figuring out how to honor my favorite performances is never an easy task. When it comes to my top 10 films of the years, I won't budge from the parameters I set for myself. 10 slots, 10 films. I do however allow myself a little bending room when it comes to the performances. In the final moments before making the list I watched “The Deep Blue Sea,” making sure I haven't left off a very deserving performance and rewatched “Amour.” There are a couple of films I just couldn't squeeze in in time. “The Impossible” and “Bernie” had to take a back seat as I needed to squeeze in “Django Unchained” and a 2nd viewing of “Les Miserables.” And in terms of television (as I mentioned yesterday) I couldn't very well honor either Claire Daines or Bryan Cranston when I haven't seen either one of their shows.
Many other people fell off the list that I would love to have honored. Including Lea Michelle in “Glee” (she is still the anchor of the show and nailed “The Break Up” episode.) I loved Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender in “Prometheus.” And of course there is Daniel Day Lewis in “Lincoln.” Not easy to leave out the man who will probably win his third Oscar. And he is right there on the cusp of my list.
Speaking of “The Deep Blue Sea:” although I appreciate what Rachel Weisz did in the film, I couldn't look past the fact that the movie itself was a major disappointment. And that the character she played drove me absolutely nuts. Watching it I was immediately reminded of “The House of Mirth” and how much better a similar subject was handled there by both the director . Oddly enough, and I didn't know it until I looked it up, they were both directed by Terrance Davies.
So here we are. My top performances of the year. The top three performances were quite clear to me. The question was where to place them. I am quite confident that I made the right decision. One of the most daunting parts of organizing this list is knowing that my “Who Should Win” the Oscars will often be determined here. Do I really think Leo should beat Tommy Lee Jones? How about Waltz (who may not even be nominated) deserving Best Actor over Jackman, Cooper, and Phoenix. For now...and I guess forever, here are my top performances of the year. With one honorable television mention. Cheating...but only a little.
1. Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”
Until this year I had two strong feelings about Helen Hunt. She gave an adequate winning performance in “As Good as it Gets” and one of the most overwrought performances in one of the worst films of all time shortly after that in “Pay it Forward.” I pretty much forgot about Helen Hunt as I'm sure many other people did as well. After Sundance ,when “The Sessions” premiered (under a different title), I couldn't believe that she was back in the awards conversation. And then I saw the film. Much has been said about the fact that Hunt spent most of the film naked, literally and figuratively. Yes, to both counts. For me...it is clear from the start that she has created a remarkable woman with such incredible depth. From her accent, to her confidence, the ground work is so strong...and correct. We first see her with her son, the very usual role of Mother, shortly before we se her in the unusual role of sex surrogate. The way she interacts with John Hawkes's Mark, readjusting her tactics as both Cheryl and as the actor is mastery on screen. She anchors the film and gives it its beautiful heart.
2. Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”
Much has been said of the fact that the performers are singing live in “Les Miserables.” And everyone knows that Hathaway performs “I Dreamed a Dream” in one take. The film is divisive between the public, the bloggers and the critics, but the one thing almost everyone can agree on is the incredible performance by Anne Hathaway as the mother turned prostitute, Fantine. Her story is a very tragic one. I am not exactly sure how to praise it other than to say that rarely if ever has pure pain seemed so real on screen. Many of us have felt incredible desperation before. And very often the act of singing on film or on stage is “explained” with the idea that when words aren't enough the expression is released through song. That might explain the brilliance of Hathaway's performance.
3. Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”
There is a silence and tiredness to Jessica Chastain's performance in Kathryn Bigelow's “Zero Dark Thirty” that a few of my close friends have interpreted (imho) incorrectly. From the moment she appears on the screen it is clear there is much to her already that we don't quite know. In the course of a decade we see her befriend and eventually alienate the colleagues she is in constant contact with as some of them move on (in more ways than one) from the exhausting search for Osama Bin Laden. Chastain's Maya is the only one who hangs on to a lead that she knows deep down is the key to finding the World's Most Wanted. We know he is eventually found and killed. But the journey to the compound in Pakistan, led by Chastain, is a fascinating one.
4. Christoph Waltz, Jamie Fox and Leonardo DiCaprio, “Django Unchained.”
“Django Unchained” shouldn't have been such a surprise to me. It is helmed by one of my favorite directors, Quentin Tarantino, who never disappoints. At least not for me (yes, I also love “Death Proof.”) Perhaps it was less the direction and overall film that surprised me but more the performances. As much as I enjoyed Jamie Fox's performance in “Ray,” he hasn't before or since done much for me as an actor. I think his performance with Kanye West at the MTV Music Awards was the highlight of his post Oscar career. But as Django, Fox gives an understated performance with underlying rage that must be squashed in order to accomplish the deed at hand: getting his wife back from the Candieland master Calvin Candie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. I have always been a fan of Leo, but working with a director like Tarantino in an over the top role like this, I feel like he was freed in a way he has never been before. But, the best performance in the film belongs to Christoph Waltz. Brilliant as the villain in Tarantino's last film “Inglorious Basterds,” here he is the soul of the movie. And hilarious beyond belief. A perfect interpreter of Tarantino's poetry. And the final showdown between Waltz and DiCaprio is electric!
5. Hugh Jackman, “Les Miserables”
As of yesterday I didn't have Jackman on my list. That is until I saw “Les Miserables” a second time. Initially my feelings on his performance were based solely on Valjean's Soliloquy. An incredible moment in the film. It is where Hooper establishes the style (love it or hate it) of the movie...and where Jackman shines the most. (Looks for a bit more on the scene in my top 10 scenes of the year). But there is so much more to his performance than the one emotional song. His relationship with Javert, his love for Cosette, the moments near the end when he is finally able to tell (spoiler) Marius his true identity, and when he (SPOILER) is finally able to let go of all the pain he has experienced and the burden of caring for everyone around him. Watching Jackman navigate Valjean's journey is amazing. And I think it takes a second viewing to truly appreciate it.
6. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”
It is hard for me to separate Lawrence and Cooper when discussing “Silver Linings Playbook.” (I am tempted to include DeNiro and Weaver as well!) The best word I can think of to describe Lawrence's Tiffany is electric. This is a performance so raw it blisters. She has these incredible moments of stillness when she takes what is happening around her in...often times to the point that her emotions boil over. Cooper very much has the same intensity. He is so on the edge that you can see him ready to erupt at any moment up until we see the outcome of his transformation, so subtle that we almost can't believe where he is at the end of the film, and how different his character is from the one at the beginning of the movie.
7. Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”
When I first started to hear about Joaquin's performance in “The Master” I wondered how I would actually feel about it. It sounded a little too “method” and in all the wrong ways. I kept hearing about how he banged in the jail scene. How he disappeared into the part. Needless to say, I was a bit worried. But then I thought about how brilliant I thought he was in his fake documentary “I'm Still Here,” one of the most underrated films that year...and optomism prevailed. It is a miraculous disappearance into a regular man. A damaged man. But a real one, nonetheless.
8. Logan Lerman, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
“Perks of Being a Wallflower” has bounced in and out of my number one spot for my favorite film of the year. And the main reason for that is Logan Lerman's performance. The first time I saw the film I had never read the book, so I just went along for the ride, understanding that Charlie was a very unique character who clearly had been haunted by something in his past. By the end of the film, when everything that he has kept bottled up comes exploding out through his tears, we understand where he has been the whole journey. On my second viewing of the film I truly understood the brilliance of Lerman's acting. It is not easy to portray someone with a mental illness, but to do it in a way that no one, including the audience, quite understands the extent of the damage is simply stunning to witness.
9. Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant, “Amour”
Sometimes a performance can be so real that it can get lost in the shuffle. That almost happened with me with the two leads in “Amour.” Not an easy film to watch...or a subject to deal with, I decided to watch it a second time. (Will probably watch it a 3rd time if the Academy nominates it for Best Foreign Film) You almost believe you are watching true life on screen. When all this is over I want to watch Riva and Trintignant in something else...just so I know they are ok.
10. Tommy Lee Jones and James Spader, “Lincoln”
When I first saw “Lincoln” it wasn't Sally Field or even Daniel Day Lewis that I felt the need to immediately tweet about. It was Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens. Almost the same as in current politics, it is very often the “little people” who are the unsung heroes. But, it's not just Tommy Lee Jones at the command of the anti slavery ground campaign. It is also James Spader who provides his usual off kilter approach to the role of W.N. Bilbo...but with such honesty, that you wonder: if these two characters were around today we might be able to fix our current congress.
Honorable Metion:
The women of “American Horror Story: Asylum”
“American Horror Story: Asylum” is my favorite television show of 2012. And the main reason for that is the women: Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Chloe Sevigny, Lizzie Brochere, Clea Duval and Frances Conroy. Many of the characters are incredibly flawed. Grace is a killer. Rabe appears to be Satan, Conroy is Death and Lange is the perfect antihero who rules them all. These are very complicated characters portrayed in such a way that you almost always root for them. Even the devil! I hope very much that Murphy allows at least some of them a happy ending.
DECEMBER 31, 2012