5. George Clooney in Up in The Air- Clooney tries to ride almost his whole performance on his supposed charm, I myself don't see any charm, but either way because of this he fails to bring an actual conviction to the role.
4. Morgan Freeman in Invictus- When one hears Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela one probably would say, perfect casting. Unfortunately Freeman's mannerisms, and voice he uses for the role are inconsistent, and weigh down the entire performance.
3. Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart- Bridges is certainly good and believable as the country star most of the time, but certain aspects of his performance do not really work. His relationships with Colin Farrell's character is a bit overdone, and his relationship with Maggie Gyllenhaal's character in many ways feels like a plot contrivance.
2. Colin Firth in A Single Man- Firth's performance is one that strikes me in a different way than every other performance on this line up. I most certainly though it was a strong effective piece of acting, with some amazing moments, but at the same time the performance always left me wanting more, I never felt it lackluster, but many moments I always felt he could have gone even further in his performance that he did.
1. Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker- A performance that one first glance may not seem the most, but that is part of what makes this performance so special. Renner never seems to act in his performance, and despite the fact that he really is given few moments solely devoted to character development Renner still creates a three dimensional complex character. Renner always stays very understated in his approach to his character, and because of that he gives a truly fascinating portrait of a man addicted to his very dangerous job.
Deserving Performances:
Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man
Joseph Gordon Levitt in 500 Days of Summer
Note: I have not seen Moon, The Road or Two Lovers, (I probably should)
