Film in 2012 may not have been
quite as strong overall as 2011, but right at the top there were a lot of good
and very entertaining films. 2012 also featured many wonderful performances,
particularly among men (many great performances that would have made my lists
in past years were sadly left off). The LeapBackBlog Film Awards are comprised
of what I think were the best and most interesting films, the strongest
performances (taking into consideration who the actor is and what else they have
done), the narrative style that drew me in (best directing), and exquisite
craftsmanship (best technical achievements). But really, these are lists of my
favorites from the year.
Reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman for the third
time, Christian
Bale is again astonishing in The
Dark Knight Rises (in what is easily an overlooked performance given the
genre and how seamlessly and natural Bale plays the character). While in the
past two films Wayne is a pillar of strength in the community, here Bale plays
him as a broken man, both figuratively and literally. Even when he returns to
being Batman, his heart is not really in it anymore, and Bale lets the audience
see his crushed will and injured spirit while still putting on the guise of
confidence and strength. This only makes his true return all the more
dramatically powerful. Bale is known for his brilliant performances (films like
American
Psycho, Rescue Dawn, and
The
Fighter), and while this might not be as flashy it is equally as layered
and just as strong.
Jessica
Chastain had a breakout year in 2011 and has followed it up with another
strong year. Playing Maya the CIA agent in the field that devotes herself
totally for over a decade to finding and killing Osama bin Laden, she is
brilliant in Zero
Dark Thirty (and will likely win an Oscar for her work). She has the tough
role of being strong even in the most emotionally crippling situations, but
also must be vulnerable enough to let the audience in – and she finds the perfect
balance. Chastain also captures the toll that the stress and drive takes on
Maya. She has a very bright career ahead of her, as she is already among the
best actress working right now.
Who knew Bradley
Cooper was capable of such a good performances? Well, David O. Russell apparently.
Cooper gives the best performance of his career to date in Silver
Linings Playbook as Pat (which should open doors for better leading man
work for him in the future and not just crappy romantic comedies). Cooper plays
Pat with a mix of compassion and hostile energy. The performance seems to
constantly teeter on the edge of completely exploding with nervous rage, which
absolutely pulls the audience in. But, the audience also likes Pat and is
behind him because they see that Pat is capable of love and really does want to
get his life together. It is very strong work by Cooper (in a year with at
least fifteen or so male leading performances could have made this list).
Aside from the practical challenge of playing a character
that loses both her legs below the knee, Marion Cotillard also has to
play the deep depression felt by her character Stephanie in Rust
and Bone. What makes the performance so compelling is Stephanie’s emotional
journey back. Cotillard is phenomenal, as she perfectly captures the strength
and drive of Stephanie. The audience is heartbroken and inspired all in the
same dramatic arc. Cotillard is also very good in Little
White Lies and The
Dark Knight Rises this year.
Daniel
Day-Lewis is not so much playing a character in a film as much as he seems
to be channeling Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.
It seems silly to say that, as I have no idea what Lincoln was actually like or
how he sounded when he talked, but Day-Lewis just seems so completely lost in
the character that it does not even occur to me that he is not actually
Lincoln. That is what he does, he just becomes his characters, and is maybe the
greatest actor working right now.
Keira
Knightley just seems to excel in costume period dramas, especially when
working with Joe
Wright. Anna
Karenina is their third collaboration together. Knightley is able to bring
the extreme highs and lows of Anna’s tragic relationship with Count Vronsky to
life by completely giving herself over to the role. Anna thinks she is above high
society and can live outside their rules, only to pay the price and lose
everything. Knightley pulls the audience in with her naïve charm and strength,
and breaks their heart with her fall, filled with crazed fits of jealousy and anguish.
Though she gets a lot of criticism (especially among English journalists, who
often try to tear down their own), she has really emerged as one of the top
actresses of her generation with continued great work.
Jennifer
Lawrence had a great 2012. She starred in a huge blockbuster in The
Hunger Games cementing her as one of Hollywood’s biggest young female stars
(probably with Emma Stone, Kristen Stewart, and Emma Watson) and she was
nominated for her second Oscar in Silver
Linings Playbook. She is brilliant in the film, bringing a ton of energy and
strength to the role of Tiffany, a young widow also dealing with mental issues.
She is electric, making ever scene better and stealing the film (which also
features great work from Bradley
Cooper and Robert De Niro).
It is my favorite female leading performance of the year.
This
Is 40 takes both a realistic and comically exaggerated look at modern
relationships. At its center is a fantastic performance by Leslie Mann, who plays Debbie –
a mom and wife who just wants her life to be perfect and tries to control
everything around her to make it so, but this leaves her feeling frustrated,
disappointed, and ultimately unhappy as things fall short of her expectations.
Mann, however, is great in the film because she also can see her own flaws and
wants to change, it is just difficult, which brings a very relatable aspect to
her performance – the relationship troubles in the film between Debbie and Pete
are almost too real for a comedy (and that is thanks to the good work by Mann
and Paul
Rudd).
Freddie Quell, Joaquin Phoenix’s
character in The
Master, is an absolute scoundrel. His destructive nature ruins and destroys
any possible good that might come his way, yet his struggle to find a place in
post-WWII America is utterly compelling because Phoenix brings so much to the
character. He is an unpredictable train wreck and the audience cannot take
their eyes off him, wanting to see what he will do next, but there is also an
inner depression that allows the audience to feel for him as well. It is my
favorite male leading performance of the year.
The character of Whip Whitaker in Flight
is one of the more difficult roles of 2012 because the character is an
unlikable protagonist. Denzel
Washington is able to get the audience behind Whip by bringing his usual
swagger and confidence to the character. He also plays Whip to have a deep
sadness behind the confidence, which allows the audience to sympathize and care
about him even after his self-destructive behavior. Washington is so good in
the film that the audience roots for him to come out on top, when he clearly
has a problem and needs help. It is very good work and among Washington’s best.
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