Cut the BS Breakdown - Best Supporting Actor

This is an unabashed look at each nominee in the big eight Oscar categories. We will look at all the nominees and the various categories. No prisoners are taken, so take heed and gird your loins.

Nominees:
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

Overall Feelings:
As much crap as the Academy takes for screwing up categories like Best Picture, they should really be exalted for their supporting categories. Additionally, Supporting Actor is probably the category that is most universally appealing. If it wasn’t already sewn up six months ago, this would be one of the best things to watch for on Sunday. Everything is there, the blockbuster tragedy nominee, the blockbuster comedic performance, the critical darling that finally got his due, the default nominee and the character actor in the prestige picture. This is the most exciting group of nominees with the most boring of conclusions.

My Personal Choice:
I could speculate, and many people already have speculated, on what The Dark Knight would be like without Heath Ledger. Would it still have made a bunch of money? Sure. Would it have been critically acclaimed? Probably (Batman Begins was at 84% on Rotten Tomatoes). Would it be the film that it will be remembered as for the next 50 years? Absolutely not. That is the true definition of a classic performance. I loved all the performances, but Ledger didn’t even compare with everyone else. He is the story of this year’s Oscars and very well should be.

Who Should Have Been Nominated:
It’s hard to desire another name in a near-perfect line-up, but my runner-up for Best Supporting Actor this year got left out in the cold (just behind Ledger). Brendan Gleeson gave such subtext and layers to his performance as the aging (or already aged) hitman who decisions lead to the end of his “career.” All the nominees have their defining scene. Brolin has his drunken confrontation with Penn, Shannon had his screaming matches with DiCaprio and Ledger had his “pencil trick.” Watch the scene in In Bruges where Little Jimmy makes mention of a worldwide war between races. Gleeson takes the years of pain and anger from his wife’s murder, his motives towards killing and his loyalty to Harry all in two minutes of dialogue. Fantastic.

Who Should Not Have Been Nominated:
Like I said, I love this line-up, but if one had to go, it would be Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The reason would have to be the fact that it was just too shouty and reliant on others. There’s a name for actors who shout-act and don’t have anyone else shouting back at them, it’s called Al Pacino. Take away Streep to yell back at, and Hoffman isn’t as effective. On top of that, he’s starting to get nominations purely based on the fact he’s Phillip Seymour Hoffman rather than having a good performance. That’s not his fault, but them’s the facts.

Who Should Win:
I’m going to change things up. Let’s put Ledger aside for a moment and ask who should win besides him. I would say it’d be Robert Downey Jr. Downey suffered from Gary Condit syndrome (a big story that was overshadowed by an even bigger one). He would have been the big comeback story of the year if not for Mickey Rourke. Too bad. How many performances have transcended as well as his has? Critics loved him, audiences loved him, he created controversy, dealt with the fame easily and has been great to the media. Apologies to Josh Brolin, but Downey’s performance was just the more difficult role to perfect.

Who Will Win:
I just don’t know. Maybe Downey, Brolin, even Shannon sneaking in? Umm…no. Ledger.

A Best Supporting Actor Poem:
Hoffman has the Oscar,
He’ll have to wait for number two,
Because Heath will come and haunt him,
If he doesn’t get his due.

Shannon overshadowed,
Leo, Kath and Kate,
But now is not his time,
So he will have to wait.

Brolin just got his nom,
His wife has had one too,
They should star together,
In Unfaithful 2.

Downey played a white guy,
Playing another black man,
It was real successful,
But not as much as Batman.

Ledger died so sadly,
But they still will call his name,
From now on playing villains,
Will never be the same.