Two of the most clear-cut categories for the Academy Awards this year are the Actor in a Supporting Role and Actress in a Supporting Role categories. There's no question who will win here, but we'll get to that in a little bit. What I like about this year's supporting categories is that they are full of fairly meaty performances. There have been years when it seemed like most or all of the nominees in these categories had small roles in their given films. That's not the case this year. Each of these actors and actresses has a very meaningful presence in the film for which they are nominated. I would be happy seeing any of these performances earn an award.
This year in my "Who Should Win" section, I'd like to try ranking the nominees rather than just giving one answer to that question. In most of the categories I feel like all of the nominees have some argument for winning, so I want to be able to break it down individually. A little bit of disclosure: the one performance I have not seen out of this group is Robert Duvall in The Judge. It became obvious after the first reviews of The Judge started coming out that the film would not be the Oscar player that some thought it might be, so for that reason I never made it a priority when trying to watch the nominated films and performances this year. For this reason, I obviously cannot accurately discuss this performance, but that shouldn't affect my overall analysis of the supporting actor category.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Robert Duvall in The Judge
Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher
Ethan Hawke in Boyhood
Edward Norton in Birdman
J.K. Simmons in Whiplash
Who will win?
Like I said, this one is clear-cut. J.K. Simmons will join the list of actors who have won Oscars, this year. If you have any doubts, Simmons has won the SAG Award, Golden Globe, Critics Choice Award, and the BAFTA for this performance. It also doesn't hurt that he's a well known and beloved actor in the industry who rarely gets such recognition.
Who should win?
1.) J.K. Simmons:
Whiplash doesn't work as a film if Simmons doesn't give a perfect performance here, and he does. Simmons plays a teacher at a prestigious music school, who produces some of the best musicians. His method of motivation, however, is using various forms of mental and physical abuse to make his students fall in line with what he wants. It's a brutal performance, but Simmons sells it the whole time. It's also a very layered performance. Simmons isn't only excellent at playing the tyrannical side of this character, he also sells the softer side. There are moments in the film where this character flips the switch and presents himself as a charming and approachable person. The fact that Simmons can sell this as well as he sells the monster under the surface is proof of how excellent he is here.
2.) Edward Norton:
What impressed me most about Norton's performance here is how it truly epitomizes the "supporting" aspect of the role. In Birdman, Norton plays a narcissistic method actor whose presence rattles all of the other actors involved in the production he is performing in. Many of the other actors in the film have their best scenes in he film with Norton, or as a result of a scene they have just performed in with Norton. He brings out the best in every other actor in the film.
3.) Ethan Hawke:
In Boyhood, Ethan Hawke plays the main character's father, who isn't always around, but is never completely absent either. Every character in Boyhood goes through a personal evolution over the course of the film, but Ethan Hawke does one of the best jobs of selling that evolution. What I like about Hawke's performance is how he makes the character feel real. This man isn't the primary caregiver to his children, but he still shows strong paternal instincts, in the film. At various points during the film he operates in a range between "deadbeat Dad" and "father of the year" without ever getting stuck in either of those extremes. It's a strong, but understated performance.
4.) Mark Ruffalo:
I could probably argue that Ruffalo's performance in Foxcatcher is just as powerful as Norton or Hawke's performances in their given films. There's a thin margin separating all of these performances, in my opinion. Ruffalo seems to have a little less to do in this film than the other two actors do in their films, but he makes the most of his time on screen. In the film he plays the older brother and wrestling coach to the main character. I think Ruffalo really sells the brotherly, and at times almost fatherly, bond between these characters. That believability is key to making the film work as a whole, and also makes audiences feel the impact of the film's conclusion more deeply.
5.) Robert Duvall:
Again, I can't comment on what I haven't seen.
Snubs:
There were no glaring omissions in this category this year. The actors nominated are all deserving.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Meryl Streep in Into The Woods
Emma Stone in Birdman
Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game
Patricia Arquette in Boyhood
Laura Dern in Wild
Who will win?
This one will be going to Patricia Arquette. Like Simmons, Arquette has won every major award for her performance in this film.
Who should win?
1.) Emma Stone:
I completely understand the praise that Arquette has gotten this year, but overall I think Emma Stone gave the best performance by a supporting actress this year. In Birdman, Stone plays a recovering addict who works as the assistant to a washed up actor, who also happens to be her neglectful father. Stone has many great scenes with Edward Norton in the film, and when the film puts the spotlight on her character, Stone gives the character a beautiful complexity. The moment in the film that should earn her an Oscar is a monologue in which she eviscerates her father and the delusional world he is trying to build up around himself. The way that Stone balances both the contempt and understanding that her character has for her father is impressive, and showcases some of her best work as an actress.
2.) Patricia Arquette:
While I believe Emma Stone should be winning this award, I'm not upset in the least that Arquette will be winning it. Her performance as the main character's mother in Boyhood, is one of the strongest performance of the year. Some performances thrive on big moments, and others thrive on sustaining a character's growth throughout a film. This performance is one of the best examples I have ever seen of the latter kind of performance. Arquette fosters a growth in her character that is more than just the product of a good script or good direction. There's a very personal nature to how Arquette portrays this character, and it makes her feel very real. That's not to say that she doesn't also have some killer scenes in the film, because she does. If Stone can't win, I'm happy it's Arquette going home with the prize.
3.) Laura Dern:
Dern's nomination here came as a little bit of a surprise to many, because she had been neglected by most major awards up to this point. I think it's a very deserving nomination for a performance that hasn't gotten enough credit. In Wild, Dern plays the main character's mother whose death sparks a downward spiral in her daughter's life. What's tricky about this performance for Dern is managing to make this character into that catalyst, while also making her feel like a whole character on her own. Dern pulls this off excellently. What I like the most about this performance is how Dern manages to make this character exude joy for life while also being very vulnerable and aware of the many pains she has suffered in life. I'm glad Dern got some recognition for the role.
4.) Keira Knightley:
In The Imitation Game, Keira Knightley plays one of the people selected to help break the Enigma machine being used by the Germans in World War II. While I think the performances listed above are distinctly stronger, this performance is definitely worthy of a nomination here. Knightley is playing a woman in a man's world here, and she does so very effectively. She brings a wit to the character that reminds audiences that she is one of the smartest people in any room she walks into. With a character like this, there's a fine line between the character coming across as an embodiment of a social statement, and the character coming off a real person. Knightley keeps the character human by showing a lot of vulnerability in her performance.
5.) Meryl Streep:
There are times when I think that Streep is nominated for awards more on reputation than on the merit of her performance. This isn't one of those times. Into The Woods is a movie with a lot of flaws, but Streep's performance is one of the elements that holds the film together. Streep turns the witch into a character that is very menacing, but at the same time displays very real vulnerabilities and desires. Should Streep win for this performance? No, but it's definitely worthy of the recognition it is getting by being nominated here.
Snubs:
Carmen Ejogo gave one of the year's best performances as Coretta Scott King in the highly under-appreciated film Selma. Rene Russo also gave a powerful performance as a desperate news producer, in Nightcrawler, that was worthy of recognition.
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