Shall we cut to the chase with the winner?
Nah… let’s milk it a bit.
Full disclosure: I didn’t see Bruce Dern in Nebraska, Leonardo DiCaprio in Wolf of Wall Street or Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave. Does that mean I won’t pick one of these gentlemen as the winner of Best Actor in a Leading Role? No, not necessarily. However, the two nominated actors I did see underwent such amazing transformations – and not just physically, mind you – that I find it hard to believe any other actor could come close to their work.
Christian Bale must be considered one of the leading actors of the age. He seems to be able to play any role, a fact evidenced most recently by his dual turns in Out of the Furnace and American Hustle. These movies opened on successive weekends. In Furnace, he was fit and violent, grim and driven. In American Hustle, he was bulky and expansive, intelligent and witty. In short, Bale was so buried in the roles that he inhabited them.
I loved him as Irving Rosenfeld in American Hustle (review HERE). In a movie filled with nominated performances, Bale stood out. He’s really the center of the film, far more than fellow nominee Amy Adams, and his work brings everyone to a new level. There was simply not a trace of Bruce Wayne in his work. It is possible that director David O. Russell is his muse as Russell has brought three consecutive Oscar nominated performances out of him. This is the best of the three, but it’s not going to bring him his second Oscar.
The Oscar this year will go to Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club (review HERE). It is fair to say that McConaughey does more to re-invent himself as a serious actor in this role – and realizing some of the promise that he showed in A Time to Kill and Contact – than does Christian Bale in his work in American Hustle. McConaughey takes an incredibly unlikable character in Rod Woodroof and makes him likeable through an alchemy that is almost impossible to explain. Shedding every artifice and much of his dignity in the role, McConaughey’s gives the kind of performance that awards are made for if awards are really meant to recognize excellence.
He is simply breathtaking.
In an earlier post (HERE) on Best Actor in a Supporting Role, I suggested that he and Jared Leto form the best one-two punch of the year.
So, with no disrespect to Dern, DiCaprio, Ejiofor and Bale, look for Matthew McConaughey to take home Oscar.
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY
And There Came a Day... 