Now that the Academy Awards excitement has died down, let’s look beyond the pomp and acknowledge some superb supporting actor and actress performances not even mentioned in the tizzy. Best Supporting Actor Tom Wilkinson, A Good Woman—In a movie replete with poor performances, Tom Wilkinson, as if a force unto himself, stands out as an empathetic and original character. He is attracted to the disgraced “good woman” (Helen Hunt) and makes no bones about his failings while simultaneously putting his best foot forward. Even though she may be bad for him, he convinces us that we should cheer for him to catch her. Levon Helm, the old blind guy in The Three Burials—In a role that could have been a dismal stereotype, Levon Helm gives the old blind guy dignity and pathos. He plays it just right, never over-stating anything. When he says he likes listening to the Spanish radio station even though he cannot understand it, he is not laughing or ironic or sardonic; rather he states a fact of a lonely old man. He appears at a time in the movie when we might be getting tired of Tommy Lee Jones dragging his hostage across the Texas and Mexican badlands, and, without establishing any phoney rapport with Jones, he echoes the integrity of Jones’ character. When he asks his two visitors to kill him, he is not being desperate or dramatic but simply stating a matter-of-fact request that he has thought about long and hard. He rings true in everything he says and does, and this is particularly important to the theme of the movie. Best Supporting Actress Idina Menzel, Ask the Dust—Although the two big stars are supposed to generate the heat, they spend so much time insulting each other, that the movie seems bogged in the dust, until the protagonist (Colin Farrell) accepts a lonely woman’s (Idina Menzel) offer to visit her in Long Beach. She sets the screen on fire with her passion, vulnerability, and understanding, a wonderful tough and tender performance which is crucial to the protagonist’s development as a humane writer. Rebecca Hall, The Prestige—Amid strong performances by Hugh Jackman as Angier and Christian Bales as his rival magician Borden, Rebecca Hall is marvellously sensitive as Borden’s wife. “One day you love me,” she says, “and the next day you don’t.” The signs are so subtle we hardly notice them, but she reflects the inconsistent love like a mirror. Her emotional reactions are the salient hint we get as to the surprise ending, and she plays them not as plot devices but as in-the-moment reactions of a wife to her incomprehensible husband.
Jim Bell