Top 10 Cinematic Performances

Part 2 of 2

The time has finally come my fellow film buffs, for me to continue with my list of what I believe to be the Top 10 cinematic performances. Unfortunately I have found myself in a bit of a dilemma. If I had continued the list almost straight away then I would have been able to finish it with no trouble at all, however, due to the fact that I have allowed a significant time period to elapse I have now thought up an additional 18 performances which I would have liked to have added which has understandably made my job a little more difficult.

Remember dear readers, my opinion has been influenced by elements of film which entertain me most, hence why a number of villains appear. This is,  by no means, a definitive list. This is my list, so enjoy.

5. Inglorious Basterds: Christolph Waltz (Hans Landa)
When I first heard about Inglorious Basterds I did not think I was going to be a fan, at the time of release I was not yet a Brad Pitt convert and neither was I a great fan of Quentin Tarantino (the folly of youth). But after watching the opening ten minutes of the film I was hooked, the moment that SS officer Hans Landa walks through the door you realise that he is going to be the breakout character. Asking the farmer for a glass of milk and slowly probing him on the whereabouts of the Jewish families he is suspected to be harbouring, his voice never rises in volume but every word is dripping with congenial malice. It is quite a feat to create a likeable antagonist, well not to so much create a likeable antagonist but to create such a violently idiopathic one. The man is a myriad of contradictions. In one scene he calmly drinks a glass of milk, before having a competition of pipe 'size' (watch the film to see what I mean) before coldly ordering the death of a number of innocent families, all the while never batting an eye. This continues on through the film, to the point where I was almost wishing every scene without him could be bypassed, this however would have been a mistake as it turns out that it was a very good film and it was not just Mr. Waltz's contribution that made it so, but he will always stand out as one of the most polite, eccentric and yet monstrous villains in my cinematic recollection and it is honestly no surprise to me that Christolph Waltz received such acclaim for his performance. The Jew Hunter is one of those villains who audiences find disturbing because they seem so non-threatening on the surface, obviously the uniform is a bit of a give away but it is only when the smile fades from his face that you realise just how dangerous this man really is, portrayed in the film as being more sadistic and psychotic than Hitler himself. Alongside Bill, Hans Landa is one of Tarantino's greatest creations.

4. Misery: Kathy Bates (Annie Wilkes)
Kathy Bates has the distinction  of been the only female on my list, this doesn't mean I have anything against them, many of my favourite actors are female, it's just that aside from this one I could not think of any individual performances that were good enough to make it into my top 10. But Kathy Bates is more than deserving, she is phenomenal in this film. Catapulting her from relative obscurity to Oscar winner, Misery follows the trials of a writer who after a horrific car crash is taken in and nursed back to healthy by his 'number one fan'. However, after weeks in her company he realises that his troubles have only just begun. Kathy Bates plays the so called fan with a dichotomous attitude, on the one hand she is a lonely woman filled with a child like adulation over meeting her favourite author, and is shown perhaps to be a bit too devoted  to the point where it becomes unnerving for not only the protagonist, played by James Caan, but for us in the audience too. We know that there is something not right with this woman but we cannot place our finger on what it is. It is only when her treatments begin to include locking him in his room that we realise that this is now an official abduction. But the true horror begins when she takes preventative measures against his habit of escaping, in the film's most infamous scene where she 'hobbles' him. The look on her face and the genuine tone in her voice when she utters the chilling line "God I love you." stayed with me long after the credits had rolled, so too did her tendency to use alternatives to hide her rage fuelled obscenities. Perhaps best demonstrated when she describes to Paul Sheldon why her favourite protagonist should have perished after miraculously escaping from his car at the resolution to a cliff hanger presented to audiences:

"I know that, Mr. Man! They also called them serials. I'm not stupid ya know... Anyway, my favourite was Rocketman, and once it was a no breaks chapter. The bad guy stuck him in a car on a mountain road and knocked him out and welded the door shut and tore out the brakes and started him to his death, and he woke up and tried to steer and tried to get out but the car went off a cliff before he could escape! And it crashed and burned and I was so upset and excited, and the next week, you better believe I was first in line. And they always start with the end of the last week. And there was Rocketman, trying to get out, and here comes the cliff, and just before the car went off the cliff, he jumped free! And all the kids cheered! But I didn't cheer. I stood right up and started shouting. This isn't what happened last week! Have you all got amnesia? They just cheated us! This isn't fair! HE DID'NT GET OUT OF THE COCK - A - DOODIE CAR!"

This was incredibly chilling to me when I first saw it and in my opinion is what makes her the greatest antagonist of any Stephen  King adaptation...including Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance (The Shining) and Tim Curry as Pennywise (IT) and Kathy Bates' greatest performance to date.

3. Schindler's List: Liam Neeson (Oskar Schindler)
While I do love Liam Neeson, I am of the impression that in recent years he has kind of cashed in on being himself. Since Taken he has reinvented himself as the ultimate cinematic badass and kudos to him it seems to be working in his favour. But in my opinion his best role was that of Oskar Schindler in  Steven Spielberg's award winning biopic Schindler's List. I have seen this film many times and each time I amazed at the depth and realism there is to Neeson's performance. Don't get me wrong, Ralph Fiennes was also phenomenal as antagonist Amon Goeth, but aside from a brief moment of contemplation where he compares himself to the Messiah by practising absolving a Jewish prisoner of his 'sins' he is presented as being resolute in his hatred and punishment of the Jews and quite one dimensional. Schindler on the other hand, goes through massive growth within the film's narrative. From amoral war profiteer to mass saviour the character initially starts as someone who cares nothing for the lives of others unless it provides him with financial gain. Even after he opens his famous factory he remains unsympathetic, complaining that an executed Jew holds up the days work and ergo minimises profit. It is not until he comes across the full extent of the horror does he begin to show remorse. The look of repulsion and sadness that crawls across his face as he scans the despicable scene below is truly heartbreaking and when a young girl in a red coat (one of the film's rare splashes of colour) catches his eye we feel his stone heart breaking. It was a truly mesmerising moment from Neeson, one that has defined his career since. In truth it was only topped by the ending sequence, after saving the lives of every Jewish worker under his employment, Schindler must flee from the conquering Allied forces. His years as a factory owner technically making him a war profiteer a crime punishable by death, and rather than fearing for his own life Schindler breaks down in tears declaring "I could have got more out" before listing through the few remaining material objects he has, including his car and tearfully guesses how many he could have gotten out if he had sold them. Of all the horror and sadness that courses through this film I believe this one to be the most prominent. The devastation he feels at not having saved more, despite having saved eleven hundred people is intense and I am unashamed to admit it was one of the only scenes that made me tear up upon watching it.

This is one of the only performances on this list where my description does very little justice, this is one performance it is essential to watch the following clip.

2. Se7en: Kevin Spacey (John Doe)
Once again Kevin Spacey features upon my list, and it is no small wonder, I felt I had to include John Doe on my list because this is truly Spacey's greatest performance to date and for a long time was my planned number one! Se7en is my favourite film, and has been so for a long time. I love the concept of the film's narrative (having an interest in Christian Mythology) and I especially loved the characters, from the dual protagonists Detectives Mills and Somerset, played by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. To the film's enigmatic villain, John Doe played by the delightfully creepy Kevin Spacey. As I mentioned previously I am a fan of cinematic villains, I think that the vast majority of a film's positive aspects are more often than not due to the various aspects of the antagonists and Se7en is the film that sets the bar for all villains who follow. After spending the duration of the film glimpsed as a shadowy silhouette, if at all, the mastermind of a string of murders based around the seven deadly sins simply walks into the police station with his hands raised high. When I first saw this film I remember being disappointed that the terrifyingly clever yet intensely obsessive serial killer was a scrawny looking man in his late forties/early fifties. But when John Doe opens his mouth you not only see the genius behind the insanity but you also, on some level see the genius in the insanity too. I know many who have seen this film would expect me to cite the climactic conclusion as Spacey's tour de force in this film, and indeed it is magnificently acting by all involved. I personally prefer the preluding scene in which Doe is being escorted by Mills and Somerset to the supposed sight of his final crime, during this time, they seize upon the opportunity to question the 'lunatic' about his motives. What follows is one of the most powerful monologues in all of cinematic history. Space delivers his lines with such calm conviction that you are almost able to look past the obvious delusions of grandeur and view the logic that fuels his crimes. He lacks any of the charm held by previous villains in my list such as Hans Landa, but there remains an element of charisma in his performance. As he describes what it was about each victim that made them 'worthy' of his mission you begin to see what he sees...the world really is a "shitty" place. Spacey has a way of using his face to great effect without it even moving, throughout the entire scene a blazing hatred is seen in his eyes and it gets more intense as he works himself into a sanctimonious fury. His voice, while quite deadpan initially, begins to get louder and louder as the scene progresses indicative of not only his anger, but his passion, he really believes that what he is doing is for the greater good, and those are in my opinion, the scariest villains of all. 

He may not be the most physically intimidating villain, but he is by far one of the scariest. In my own mind it was not surprising that technically he came out on top, there was no other way it could end...and that is why he is my number two.

1. Gangs of New York: Daniel Day-Lewis (William Cutting)
There is not a single doubt in my mind that Daniel Day-Lewis is the greatest actor to have walked this earth. While stories of his apparent dedication to his roles may be blown out of proportion he still remains one of the most committed actors to date. I have not seen one film of his where he in any way resembles the last character he played, he is completely different every time! I could have chosen from any from the number of films I have seen over the years from The Crucible to this years Lincoln. In every single one Day-Lewis delivers a career making performance, but I have chosen to focus upon his rather meaty role in Gangs of New York playing the homicidal yet intensely charismatic William Cutting a.k.a. Bill the Butcher. I found that Day-Lewis effortlessly stole that film from under Leonardo Dicaprio, who at this point had  yet to mature into the multi-talented actor we know today, with a combination of brutal charm and terrifying realism. I have heard that he put a lot of effort into building his character, including learning to be an actual butcher. This level of commitment is what makes him such a great actor and it really shows in this film, the character is distinctive no matter what he is doing, from the battlefield to the tavern Daniel Day-Lewis manages to show us why Bill is both the most feared and respected man in the 'Five Points'. Though there were a large number of scenes in which I could choose to focus on (namely any time the man is on screen) I have decided upon two, because they display the magnificent juxtaposition that Bill embodies. In the first scene he is talking to Dicaprio's character about the greatest warrior he had faced (unaware it is Dicaprio's father) and throughout the entire scene we can hear the respect and admiration in his voice about a man he had brutally murdered in the film's opening, he seems to do a wonderful job in making us forget that and instead we reflect on how these two men were essentially the same with, as Bill puts it "only faith dividing us" it allows you to understand the slight paternal feelings that Dicaprio's character Amsterdam Vallon feels for the man who murdered his father. It also shows us that there is a human beneath the rage and ruthlessness of Bill the Butcher and that he has his own values and principles by which he lived. It is what made him since a fascinating villain, though his actions are as despicable as they come Day-Lewis has a way of making us understand the often tortured people he plays. 

It also differs completely with the second clip which deals with Cutting discovering that Vallon is not who he appears. After discovering that the man he called his lieutenant and friend was in fact involved in a long plot to kill him, he draws him in an open confrontation by putting the life of Jenny played by Cameron Diaz and the film's resident love interest in peril meaning that Vallon's actions are clouded by rage and desperation thereby allowing Bill to easily gain the upper hand and put Amsterdam in his place. Here we see Bill as anger personified, any semblance of the man we see in the first clip is lost amid a sea of retribution. But again, I seem to find myself unable to blame him. The anger and ferocity on his face is tinged with a hint of hurt because it is essentially the face of a man who has been betrayed and that is down to the magic of Daniel Day-Lewis, he doesn't just play the character, he is the character and as a result the emotions that he conveys are all but genuine. This is why even his most vile characters have a modicum of humanity within them, because he plays them as if he were them. It is the primary reason that even though he is notoriously selective in choosing his roles every single one of them will be one to remember, and why he is my choice for number one performance in a film.

Finally it is worth quickly mentioning his voice, never before have I seen an actor with such command over his voice, in every film he sounds different and he seems to do it so effortlessly that it is almost as if he merely assimilates other accents and dialects! To manipulate your voice so it cannot betray your true identity is the finest mark of an actor and in all honesty I have only ever seen it accomplished by three actors: Daniel Day-Lewis, Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman and that is the reason that they are the best Hollywood has to offer.

So there we have it my top ten performances in cinema! I found this list incredibly hard and I had to be quite ruthless in who I cut, in many cases eliminating my favourite actors, but as I reviewed the performances given by the liked of Christopher Lee (my all time favourite actor) or Jeremy Irons I came to realise that favourite does not always equate to best.

The Dictator

Sacha Baron Cohen is given more power than he should be allowed

Release Date: May 16, 2012
Director: Larry Charles
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley
Plot: After Admiral General Hafaz Aladeen is forced to come before the United Nations Security Council to answer for his crimes against humanity, he falls victim to a nefarious plot instigated by his Oil Obsessed Greedy Uncle. Now he has to alert the Council to the plot and in doing so has to learn how to survive in a society that condemns his own as evil.

Well this review kind of got away from me didn't it. I have to admit though it is primarily because I have been occupied with the pesky job search which has taken up so much of my time these last few months. However, here it is at last.

I've never really been a fan of a film that is headlined by Sacha Baron Cohen. Don't get me wrong I think he has some talent as a performer with his roles in Martin Scorsese's Hugo or Tim Burton's adaptation of Sweeney Todd, but I just find myself detesting the characters that he, himself creates which, for those very select few who don't know them are: Ali G, Borat, Bruno and now Admiral General Hafaz Aladeen. I don't know if I am in the minority or majority but I just find them too much. Controversy for controversy's sake is just not a brand of humour with which I am completely enamoured and so due to my dislike of his previous creations I kind of went into this film without high expectations, and to be honest I personally feel that overall I was right to do so. While the film does have its highlights, which I will elaborate on later, it felt to me as if his long running stream of controversial comedy had seemingly run dry...it just tried to hard.

However the film did have its positives. One of things I loved about this film, and something which is shared in all of his films are the celebrities, often world respected Thespians who are able to sort of put aside their prestige and dignity and appear in what more often than not is a self mocking jab at themselves. With Ali G it was Charles Dance, who is a titan amongst British theatre actors and Michael Gambon who has won so many awards throughout his career that they occupy their own Wikipedia page! The Dictator's celebrity cast includes Sir Ben Kingsley as the main villain, though to be honest his performance was a little unusual in so much that unlike the others, he played it completely straight and there is little direct humour in it, but neither is there much menace, he seems almost bored a lot of the time which is a shame because who knows, a good performance by him may have elevated the film's overall quality. Celebrity cameos which did work in my opinion were that of Edward Norton, playing himself as the latest conquest of Mr Lao (Bobby Lee) who's mantra of "everyone has a price" is once again proven true. In addition Megan Fox appears as herself who is revealed to be moonlighting as a high price prostitute, what amused me about that scene was Megan's ability to treat herself as a joke and was one of the more simplistic moments which created a more light hearted atmosphere to which I could relate to. Look also for the selection of A to D list celebrities who have also experienced Aladeen's 'company'.

The Performances were as expected. Sacha Baron Cohen imbued Admiral General Aladeen with a sense of naivety and childlike stupidity that is now a trademark of his creations. Selfish and comically sadistic we watch as he undergoes a 'transformation' of character after he loses his position of power and is shown how the world works outside his palace walls, and we watch as his experiences in Western Culture alter his perceptions of the more obvious social issues, primarily Women's rights. In addition he is also a means to subtly mock the fascist regimes that America has spent the better part of 20 years seeking to abolish, with this in mind it would seem that the Dictator is simply a film which joins America's campaign against the World's dictators. However, this idea is muddled with the introduction of John C Reilly's character, (the only funny one in the film if you ask me) who is the stereotypical American red-neck with power, racist and incredibly right wing he is just as much a piece of negative satire as Aladeen himself so it kind of puts the idea of this film being a comedy campaign piece to rest and instead seems to subtly attack everyone from the American Government, to Fascist Dictators to the oil obsessed politicians. It could have worked well but the jokes weren't good enough to allow it to be, instead it felt clumsy and awkward, and poor Anna Faris can barely keep her head above water amid the maelstrom of political mockery as Aladeen's feminist, hairy love interest. Instead, she is left to remind our main character that Women do have a place in our society and yet in the end shows that she lacks the strength of a true feminist as not only does she fall head over heels from him almost overnight, but she abandons her environmental pursuits and simply lives as part of his regime thus sacrificing her rights as a Woman.

In regards to the narrative it is quite simplistic which works well for a film of this nature, while there are number of sub plots in the film they are never really brought to a satisfying conclusion and seem to just dry up quite quickly, oddly enough the villain's plot is seemingly one of these sub-plots instead the film's primary narrative is the the now out of date 'fish out of water' scenario that is consistent with all of Baron Cohen's films: Ali G in the House of Commons, Borat, Bruno and now Aladeen travelling out of their native habitat to the unsuspecting United States. It is predictable and now extremely unfunny in my opinion. Watching him struggle with his surroundings, attempting to adapt to Western Ideals, such as the fact that we do not put our female babies in the bin or that Women have equal rights, feels forced, perhaps a few years ago it would have retained some sense of controversial humour, but he has been doing the same thing with only a change of nationality to differentiate his characters. Perhaps it is time for Baron Cohen to give up attempting to create his own comedy characters.

I am well aware that this is not my most detailed review, but there is really not much to say about this film, the only bit that made me laugh out loud was in the trailer: Aladeen and his frenemy discussing their plans in Arabic on a helicopter flight with a clearly terrified American couple who think they are about to be involved with a suicide bombing, and Aladeen's attempts to create his own Olympic Games was shown in every trailer before the film's release which meant that even that had lost the full extent of its comedic potential. It was an easy film to watch I'll give it that, but it is far from the comedy that we were promised. It was simplistic, unoriginal and largely unfunny. Unless you are hard pressed for something to watch, or have been a loyal fan of Baron Cohen's then I would give this a miss, because it is certainly not going to win over any critics.

That being said I don't really have anything against Sacha Baron Cohen, as I said previously, I enjoy him in films where he doesn't headline. I also look forward to seeing him take on the role of Monsieur Thenardier, my favourite character, in Les Miserables. To be released later this year.

Top 10 Cinematic Performances

Part 1 of 2

Due to the fact that I have not been to the cinema in quite a while and  that the review of the Dictator is just getting nowhere I thought I would bridge the gap by trying something different. I decided that I would comprise a list of my top 10 performances in film, the rules are they cannot include television performances or animated roles (I may do them separately at a later date) I have also split the list into two posts because to include all 10 would make this post very long indeed. Naturally I feel obliged to remind any readers that this list is purely a matter of opinion as is any review that one reads, and should be taken lightly. So, let’s get started!

10. Edward Scissorhands: Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands)

Many may argue that there is not much to this performance, and on the surface it would appear to be true. Edward doesn’t have too many lines and spends a significant portion of the film in the shadows. Yet if one pays close attention one will observe the vast array of emotions that Johnny Depp is able to convey in just one scene. His childlike demeanour is immediately charming yet you have the constant feeling that something is not quite right. True during his introduction he is mainly used as an element of comic relief as he is forced to adapt to a strange new world: Ours. But it is in his love for the popular cheerleader as portrayed by Winona Ryder he displays a charming yet heartbreaking sense of loss when he realises that they can never be together because he could never touch her. In that instant you feel his anguish in such a way that so few actors are able to elicit.

9. Rain Man: Tom Cruise (Charlie Babbitt)

When people think of ‘Rain Man’ I would be willing to bet that their first thoughts travel to Dustin Hoffman’s admittedly magnificent performance of Raymond Babbitt, and while I do believe that that performance is noteworthy and by all standards impressive I personally believe that Tom Cruise, whom normally I can barely tolerate in any movie, was tragically overlooked. While Raymond was the more complicated role in the sense that it is no easy feat to portray someone with autism with as much taste and realism as he did the more complex role is arguably his brother. Tom Cruise has to undergo a dramatic transformation throughout the film’s narrative starting out as a selfish and manipulative person who merely needs his brother to gain his inheritance but, by film’s end we see him fighting to keep full custody of his disabled brother despite not having the means to do so. We see his tolerance and love grow and as a result that immortal scene in which we see Charlie comforting the upset and confused Raymond and promising that despite not being able to care for him full time he will visit him in two weeks. We see that he has matured. It is the one performance of Tom Cruise I actually enjoy.

8. Sin City: Elijah Wood (Kevin)
I love Sin City, everything about it makes it a magnificent film, the production values, the script, the characters and the performances. Every actor in that film, even those who I do not ordinarily rank that high do a good to brilliant job so it was hard to include one without mentioning the rest in too much detail, but I just think that Elijah Wood's terrifying performance as silent assassin Kevin was one to remember. Considering many primarily remember him for his whiny turn as Frodo Baggins in critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy this was a real surprise for me to see him as so creepy and deadly. His eyes and sinister smile stayed with me long after the film had finished and even though he had no dialogue he was able to exude a far greater sense of menace than the hulking Mickey Rourke and that in itself is impressive. Of the three primary antagonists in Sin City, Kevin is the one who seems to be the most dangerous, because he seems not of this world, it seems unusual that he is so demonic and yet his father figure/mentor Cardinal Roark likens him to an angel, it is a truly disturbing comparison. His performance was rivalled only by that of Benicio Del Toro as Jackie Boy, another of the three main villains, who while fantastic just didn't leave you with the same feeling of unease that Kevin did.

Warning: this video contains mature and disturbing content.

7. Thor: Tom Hiddleston (Loki)
I am a major comic book movie fan, so don't be surprised if comic book characters make further appearances on this list, but Loki is one of my favourites. Unlike most comic book villains Loki seems to have valid motivation, more so in Thor than in The Avengers, but regardless you can not help but empathise with him. From the very outset he is somewhat jealous of his brother, kind of clichéd I know, we've seen it time and time again, I mean Thor and Loki even bear a passing resemblance to Scar and Mufasa from the Lion King, so what is it about his motivation that makes his character so believable to us. In my opinion it is because he is right. Thor isn't exactly kingly material when we first see him as Loki himself says "He's arrogant, he's reckless, he's dangerous...is that what Asgard needs from its King?" and he is right. His actions are understandable, and further strengthened when he finds out about the truth of his parentage. It pushes him over the edge, and Tom Hiddleston manages to imbue Loki with a tragic vulnerability, he seems lost in a maelstrom of emotion and shocking revelations. While Loki does become more villainous and manipulative as the film progresses Hiddleston manages to regain our sympathy simply by layering what would ordinarily be obvious and OTT villain dialogue with a sense of despair and frustration which creates a new image, of a man who simply does not know what his place in the world is.

Sorry about the quality of this one, but it really was the best I could find.

6. American Beauty: Kevin Spacey (Lester Burnham)
This performance is obviously aimed at someone the character's age, I would estimate somewhere in the 40s. Essentially American Beauty deals with the idea of a 'Mid-Life Crisis' and we watch as Lester Burham travel down a road to self-discovery and liberation leading to a more superficially satisfying life. I say it was aimed more at people Spacey's own age because they will obviously be able to empathise more with his plights, his regrets and the decision which he makes to ensure he breaks free of his repressed middle class life. I however, just find it hilarious after having seen Kevin Spacey in such roles as viciously creepy killer John Doe (more on that later) and the enigmatic Keyser Soze it was a nice change to see him have, for the most part, so much fun. When the character begins his transformation Spacey creates an illusion of innocence, child like for the most part and it really makes him endearing to watch. I imagine a lot of middle aged men watched this and thought about making the same transition themselves. However, the real beauty of Spacey's performance comes at the film's climax where when presented with the object of his lust and desire he suddenly realises the futility of trying to capture his youth and he finally sees the worth of what he has, a wife and a daughter, a family. Spacey manages the revelation with a sense of reality and a quiet dignity which belies the immature actions of the character throughout the majority of the film.

I utilised the trailer for this film as it does a good job of showing the general transition and character journey that Spacey's character goes through, plus it removes any chance of spoilers for those who have not seen it yet.

And so that's the end of part 1, I know many people would probably not agree with my choices, but there we have it. I recommend for anyone to see these films who have not already, aside from the magnificent performances I have just written about they are all noteworthy films and some which I would recommend as part of anyone's collection.

Part 2 to follow soon.