Best Actor 1992: Results

5. Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman- Pacino's performance creates a very mixed feeling, in a lot of moments I think he gives a very charming, and effective performance, but other times he goes too over the top, and his performance seems overly calculated.

4. Denzel Washington in Malcolm X- Washington performance is another mixed bag in my opinion. His early scenes he overplays, and his transformations are mostly done by the film, rather than his performance. He though is strong in many scenes, and has the right manner for Malcolm X in the speeches, and the right dread infused with still a passion the final scenes. It is just overall a mixes performance for me.

3. Stephen Rea in The Crying Game- Rea ranks third and above the other two of the bottom three because I feel his performance is always consistent, and basically believable as the descent Fergus, I just never felt he was that much more that believable though.

2. Robert Downey Jr. in Chaplin- Downey certainly is quite skillful in his ability to replicate Chaplin's physical comedy. He also has the right charm in the role, and is able to handle the aging requirements of Chaplin with grace, unfortuantely he is held back by a film that strangely enough perhaps does not delve enough into the mind of the man.

1. Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven- Eastwood performance in Unforgiven might be, or close to being his best performance. He knows exactly his range in this performance, as well the history of himself as an actor, and brilliantly uses both these aspects to create a very compelling portrait of a man's chilling degradation back into the viscous killer he once was.

Deserving Performances:
Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross

Best Actor 1992: Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven

Clint Eastwood received his first acting nomination for portraying William Munny in Unforgiven.

Unforgiven tells the story of a reformed retired gunmen called back into the old life two men for a bounty.

Clint Eastwood seems like the only person who could really portray William Munny. One of the reasons for this is because of the previous films Eastwood made in the western genre, particularly as the man with no name in Sergio Leone's westerns. This being Eastwood's last western as well always gives this performance, and character an extra layer, that no other actor could have been able to do in this role.

William Munny is shown first on an isolated pig farm, which William Munny is quite clearly not very good at. Eastwood though although he says very little, already suggests the long brutal life of the character, as well as his the reformed nature of his life, presenting Munny in a rather simple fashion, as a simple man trying his hardest do his work, although still having the right haunted quality as well, which works quite effectively, since he changes quite distinctly from the beginning than to the end of the film.

After joining with a young hot headed would be bounty hunter The Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett), as well as his old friend Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman). In these scenes of travel it is Munny is consistently asked by the Kid about his time as a killer. Eastwood reactions are always on the mark as in Eastwood style he underplays his emotions but still most certainly carries them in subtle fashions through his face, which has Munny past written all over it.

One of Eastwood's biggest challenges come when Munny is struck with sickness from being in the rain, as well as a savage being from the evil Sheriff Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman). Eastwood has to show Munny's delusion with fever. This is quite a challenge, but Eastwood manages to pull it off well, without forcing the pain of Munny's past, but making it abundantly clear. Many actors could have easily overacted this scene, but Eastwood portrays it just the right way.

Munny later finally comes back to killing, but he portrays this exceedingly well because he really does not indicate a great change for Munny yet. Munny compassionately kills the first man, well as compassionately as one can kill a person in that way I suppose, but Eastwood does show a small pain from killing again, but not a enormous one, clearly presenting that Munny has been doing for so long, and so many times, it can never effect past a certian point.

The scene that shows this is his odd not really comfort with the Kid, after the Kid has killed a man for the first time, but creating an understanding of what he did, and what Munny has done time after time. Eastwood does not have a lot of dialogue in this scene, but any more from him could have weakened the scene, because Eastwood shows all the true emotion of killing in his eyes.

Munny though finally breaks out back completely into his old self at the end of the film when he finally confronts Little Bill and his deputies for what they have done. Eastwood's snap back into this completely violent, and revenge driven man is truly freighting, especially due to the contrast of his opening moments. Eastwood transformation is completely believable because of his quite indications throughout the film, and Munny's final scene is a truly powerful, and completely chilling in this striking performance. Eastwood knew of his own cinematic history, and his own abilities as well as limits as an actor, to create a great performance here, one that I think really requires repeat viewings to truly appreciate.

Best Actor 1992

And the Nominees Were:

Robert Downey Jr. in Chaplin

Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven

Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman

Stephen Rea in The Crying Game

Denzel Washington in Malcolm X

Best Actor 2004: Results

5. Jamie Foxx in Ray- I find Foxx's performance just to be a complete failure. He mostly relies on mannerisms that seem incredibly labored, and his performance just results in not a single convincing moment.

4. Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland- Depp is surprisingly subdued most of the time in this performance. I found he was nice enough I guess, but his performance never really amounted to much.

3. Clint Eastwood in Million Dollar Baby- Clint Eastwood is actually very good in a role that no one else could have played as well besides him. I just find that I never really got an emotional charge out of his performance, which I will admit is probably since the film never did this for me either.

2. Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda- Don Cheadle gives a very powerful performance, and creates a human portrait. He adds to the power of the film, making the story of genocide, somehow inspiring.

1. Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator- I was a little between Cheadle and DiCaprio who are both very good, but I feel DiCaprio had the greatest challenge out of all the actors which is portraying Howard Hughes. Hughes was such a strange larger than life figure that it would be challenge for anyone to take on this role. I will say DiCaprio never seems to completely be Hughes but he certianly comes close which is quite an achievement anyways.

Deserving Performances:
Paul Giamatti in Sideways

Best Actor 2004: Clint Eastwood in Million Dollar Baby

Clint Eastwood received his second acting Oscar nomination for portraying Frankie Dunn in Million Dollar Baby.

Million Dollar Baby is a film that impresses me less and less every single time that I watch it.

Clint Eastwood's performance as Frankie Dunn is in many ways the later career Clint Eastwood character. The no nonsense tough aging guy, who doesn't take crap from no one but still is beaten down anyways in his own way, and has poor relations with his immediate family. Trust me later in his career Eastwood played a variation on this character several times, other examples include later in Gran Torino and earlier in Heartbreak ridge. Clint Eastwood really tends to be a guy who does not need to act to be tough he generally simply comes off that way.

His tough nonsense persona fits the character of Frankie Dunn well, but for some reason now and again during his performance I felt Eastwood trying extra to make him seem even gruffer. He is Clint Eastwood he does not need to seem any gruffer, he is gruff enough as it is causing his performance to feel for me a bit forced at times. This does not really hurt his performance, I just feel he did not need to do that, he's Clint Eastwood after all. Most of the time though he is just his normal gruffness which works well for his performance, and Clint Eastwood, is completely believable most of the time as Frankie even when some his dialogue is a bit cliched such as everything about his belief that women can't be fighters.

Sometimes  I feel Eastwood is a better screen presence than an actor who really tries to develop a unique character. I was never amazed by Eastwood's performance really even though he did just a fine job most likely better than anyone else could do early on since Eastwood fits the character very well. I still though never felt he made Frankie a really compelling character especially through the first half.

I really felt he was doing a usual Eastwood performance which is good, and something only Eastwood can do, but still it does not make it a great performance. Later after the big change in the film, I thought his performance was emotionally correct, as in he did not express the wrong emotions, nor did ever ever express these emotions in a false fashion. I though never felt his performance became that emotionally powerful though. The result of his whole performance was just fine technically hitting  the right notes, but never generating truly great moments for me anyways.

Best Actor 2004

And the Nominees Were:

Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda

Clint Eastwood in Million Dollar Baby

Jamie Foxx in Ray

Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator