The Best Lead Performances of 2012:
1. Christopher Plummer in Barrymore
“There’s a moment that comes once in a lifetime when all the
stars seem to gather together and become one,” says Christopher Plummer in his
performance as John Barrymore. That moment happens for the great actor in the
filmed presentation of his turn as the iconic actor. Plummer literally pulls
all the stars together in his wide-ranging interpretation, as he performs
everything from Shakespeare to vaudeville and from theatre to film. Barrymore is essential viewing for anyone who wishes to study the minute details that tailor a performance for the
cinema. In Barrymore, Plummer deftly
transitions between theatricality and intimacy by accentuating his performance
with small, subtle details that are discernible through only the acute eye of
the camera. Barrymore might be the
best performance of Plummer’s career and it leaves little doubt that he is the
best actor ever to emerge from this nation.
2. Keira Knightley in Anna Karenina
Keira Knightley has been outdoing herself consistently these
past few years. In meaty roles in films such as David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method or in smaller, more
subdued affairs like Last Night,
Knightley has demonstrated exceptional range and skill. However, Knightley
performs best in corset and her inventive turn as Anna Karenina, one of the
greatest female characters of all time, provides a career high. Tapping into
Anna’s emotional fragility and vulnerability, Knightley shows her audience
(both in the film and in the theatre) how Russian patriarchal society
suffocates her tragic heroine more fatally than the tight strings of the stiff
undergarment of her costume do.
An actress whose performances have been breaking my heart
since I first saw her in A Very Long
Engagement, Marion Cotillard gives one of her strongest turns yet as Stéphanie,
the ill-fated whale trainer of Jacques Audiard’s Rust and Bone. Cotillard gives an intense, physical performance
that convincingly creates the wounds caused by Stéphanie’s accident, but her
character’s psychological healing is even more poignant. Cotillard skillfully captures
the art of the dramatic turning point in a beautiful moment of silent
acting set to the tune of Katy Perry, which is arguably the single best scene
of any film this year. Who over knew that ‘Firework’ could feel so cathartic?
4. Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Smashed
Winstead gives the breakthrough performance of the year as
Kate, a turbulent alcoholic who tries to go sober in Smashed. Winstead is so good, in fact, that if one compares the
similarity of her interpretation to that of Denzel Washington in Flight, this year’s other AA film, she
makes the two-time Oscar winner look like a crash landing. It’s hard to make
alcoholism feel so unflinchingly real, yet Winstead turns in the most
sympathetic and immensely watchable take on addiction since Nicholas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas.
5. Suzanne Clément in Laurence, Anyways
It’s too bad that Canadian cinema doesn’t enjoy the same
kind of punditry that Hollywood does. If it did, everyone would know that the
French Canadian powder keg named Suzanne Clément is the Daniel Day-Lewis of the
Genie race. She is simply outstanding as Fred, the tumultuous and tragic lover
in Xavier Dolan's Laurence, Anyways. Clément is so
good, in fact, that she often had me recommending a film that I didn’t particularly
like. (Say what you will about Dolan’s films, but there is no denying that he writes some juicy roles.)
For anyone who has ever felt trapped in the frozen hell of suburbia, Clément’s
performance is like a punch to the heart. Normalcy sucks.
6. Meryl Streep in Hope Springs
You know it’s a strong year for performances when Meryl
Streep clocks in at number six on my list. (I will answer for this low ranking at the gates of Hell.) The cinema’s greatest actor gives
another impressive performance in Hope
Springs. Streep displays remarkable range after her well-deserved Oscar win for
playing Margaret Thatcher in The Iron
Lady. The scale of Streep’s talent is evident not just through her ability
to do comedy just as well as she does drama, but also through how she can turn
in such a deceptively natural performance as she does in Hope Springs after such an accomplished mechanical turn as she did in The Iron Lady. With her delightful onscreen chemistry with Tommy Lee Jones,
especially in that dinner scene, Streep makes another noteworthy feat of movie
magic.
7. Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook
Jennifer Lawrence is a remarkable anomaly among Hollywood’s
young actresses. Lawrence has made her mark by displaying her talent in roles
that are age appropriate, but are far from fluffy. Lawrence’s ingenuity is
evident in the range of roles that made her the female star of 2012. She began
the year with the box-office smash The
Hunger Games and gave young audiences the best female character they’ve seen
in some time; however, Lawrence’s TIFF hit, Silver
Linings Playbook, displays that she has that elusive “something” that makes
a young actor a star. With her snappy banter with co-star Bradley Cooper (who
is every bit as good as she is) and her spunky energy, Lawrence’s Tiffany is
sure to make Silver Linings Playbook
a comedy classic.
8 & 9. Maggie Smith and Tom Courtenay in Quartet
“Growing old ain’t for sissies,” quote numerous characters
in Dustin Hoffman’s Quartet. It was
also Bette Davis who famously said, “I want to die with my high heels on, still
in action.” As a pair of old flames/opera singers, Maggie Smith and Tom
Courtenay show that greatness is ageless and the very best artists deliver
right until their final curtain call. Maggie Smith has always been this good and she has never been away from the spotlight, but she proved herself a triple threat by playing cantakerous old divas in Quartet, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and TV's Downton Abbey. In spite of the similarity of the three parts, Smith makes one appreciate it as if one is seeing her perform for the first time. She is
every bit in her prime as she was when she played Miss Jean Brodie back in 1969.
Courtenay, on the other hand, offers the film’s dramatic cornerstone by
complementing Smith’s dramedy with his quietly graceful presence as the
straight man of Quartet. Smith and
Courtenay’s touching, yet entertaining, performances ensure that Quartet is moviegoing pleasure for
viewers of all ages.
10. Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild
On the other end of the scale from Smith and Courtenay is
young ingénue Quvenzhané Wallis. Q-Dubs is a feisty little hurricane in the
Sundance smash Beasts, and her
dynamic, incredible power defies age and criticism alike. Regardless of whether
Wallis actually understands the psychology of her character seems irrelevant
for qualifying her performance since that begs the question that Hushpuppy
understands the great storm in which she finds herself. The performance is
therefore even more impressive if one interprets it all as a game of
survivalist make-believe. Whether Wallis is pouring emotions from her soul or
miming the actions of her director seems like a redundant question, since great
acting is great acting. Period.
The Best Supporting Performances of 2012:
1. Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master
Philip Seymour Hoffman is the Master of his craft. He is
always a commanding screen presence, but he has never been quite as forceful as
he is in The Master. As the
charismatic leader of a movement called The Cause, Hoffman creates a verbose,
showy, and larger-than-life false prophet who casts viewers under his wily
spell. Especially in his riveting “processing scene” with star Joaquin Phoenix
does Hoffman offer the best Kool-Aid you will drink this year.
2. Pauline Collins in Quartet
Pauline Collins’ performance in Quartet absolutely broke my heart. As Cissy, one of the four
operatic retirees, Collins receives the most difficult role in the fine quartet
of Hoffman’s film. Often falling victim to slips of memory and erratic
behaviour, Collins navigates tricky terrain and plays some moments for humour
and others for heart. Her delicately well-balanced turn gives Quartet much of its tonal balance and
dramatic heft: her final scene Smith is the film’s sweetest aria.
3. Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy
The 2012 award for onscreen bravery goes to Nicole Kidman.
Kidman has been pushing herself into challenging roles lately without fear of
squeamishness or censure. Kidman will go to lengths to which few other actors have the courage to take a character and she takes white trash to the curb with her gum-mashing, onscreen-peeing performance as saucy Charlotte Bless. Kidman’s fearlessly
unflattering turn as the bronze-baked “Barbie hooch” of Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy is her gutsiest, most
vamped-out turn yet. I’m getting sweaty just thinking about it!
4. Helen Hunt in The Sessions
Hunt is the comeback star of 2012 with her marvellous
performance as Cheryl, the sex surrogate who provides invaluable life support
to Mark O’Brien (played by an equally good John Hawkes). Cheryl seems
comfortable in her skin (big props go to Hunt for being so relaxed in this
stripped down part), yet Cheryl’s own vulnerability and humanity make her
sessions with Mark as transformative for her as they are for him.
5. Ezra Miller in The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Ezra Miller confirms himself to be the best actor of his
generation by following his chilling dramatic turn in last year’s We Need to Talk About Kevin with his
scene-stealing role as Patrick in Perks.
Miller, however, provides far more than laughs and gives Perks its most potent dramatic/emotional arc in Patrick’s subplot
with his closeted boyfriend and his subsequent celebration of being an
outsider. Congratulations, Mr. Miller, you are one of only three actors who made
my “Best of” list two years in row. The others are Christopher Plummer and Meryl
Streep.
6. Robert De Niro in Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Hunt’s claim to the biggest comeback performance of
the year is rivalled only by Robert De Niro’s surprising turn in Silver Linings Playbook. De Niro gives
his best work in over a decade as Pat Sr., the neurotic gambling addict father
to Bradley Cooper’s Pat. De Niro proves in Silver
Linings that he can be quite funny (something that has eluded his recent
work) and that he hasn’t lost his ability to throw as mean of a dramatic punch
as he did back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Welcome back, Mr. De Niro!
7. Judi Dench in Skyfall
Bond might have remained dead if not for Skyfall. Skyfall is one of 007’s best outings thanks primarily to the depth
of character revealed within the relationship between Bond (Daniel Craig) and
his mentor, M, played by the consistently reliable Judi Dench. Dench has never
been as strong during her 17 years with the franchise as she is in Skyfall and she makes full use of a role
that puts M in the thick of the action by offering one of the best, if
most uncharacteristic, Bond girls yet. Nobody does it half as good as you, Judi Dench!
8. Seema Biswas in Midnight’s Children
The heart of Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children belongs to Seema Biswas in her moving
performance as Mary, the nurse who makes a fateful decision at the stroke of
midnight and changes the course of history. Biswas excelled in her lead
performance in Mehta’s Water, but she
outdoes herself in her touching, nurturing, and utterly heartfelt performance
in Midnight’s Children.
9. Garrett Hedlund in On the Road
On the Road might
have been the most disappointing film of the year, but one aspect of the
adaptation proved worthy to the great American novel by Jack Kerouac. That
stroke of genius, of course, is Garrett Hedlund’s incarnation of the film’s
aimless drifter, Dean Moriarty. Hedlund’s rambling eccentricity and rugged
charisma bring to life the lost soul of Kerouac’s novel with the kind of beat
and grammar that a film of On the Road
demands. This performance could—and should—have made him a star.
10. Jude Law in Anna Karenina
The first time I saw Anna
Karenina I raved about Matthew MacFadyen’s scene-stealing performance as Oblonsky,
Anna’s goofball brother with a Movember ’stache. The second time I saw Anna, however, I noted how much I took for
granted Jude Law’s impressively stiff turn as Anna’s unloving husband, Alexei.
A model of the patriarchal old guard, Law slides into his character so well that
it’s easy to miss just how much he brings to this performance. For how cold and
cruel Anna’s husband is, though, it’s awfully hard to dislike Karenin since Law
portrays him to be as much of a victim of the times as his wife is.
I would still like to give a shout out to the great actors
of the year that narrowly missed the cut are. Honourable mentions, in
alphabetical order, go to: Evelyne Brochu in Inch’Allah; Billy Connolly in Quartet; Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook; Daniel
Craig and Javier Bardem in Skyfall;
Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln; Jane Fonda in Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding; Richard Gere in Arbitrage; John Hawkes in The Sessions; Dwight Henry in Beasts
of the Southern Wild; Joaquin Phoenix
in The Master; Saskia Rosendahl in Lore; Sridevi in English Vinglish; Charlotte Sullivan in Edwin Boyd; Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained; Naomi Watts in The Impossible; and Michelle Williams in Take This Waltz.
What were some of YOUR
favourite performances of the year?
In case you missed the rest of the '2012 in Review' series:
Part 1: The Worst Films of the YearPart 2: The Best Canadian Films of the Year
