Is this a bit of a cop-out? Well, I'll write a few lines in my defense first...I'm disclosing my final choices (#1-7) for the Top 25 Performances by a Male Actor Countdown (2000-2004) in one go. You may recall that this project was created in response to Javier's own list centering on female actors. After roughly the #7 selection, both of our countdowns kind of ran out of steam; Javier closed shop on Auteur Lust several months ago (here's hoping for that comeback soon, Javi!), while I just stopped churning out entries altogether. Although I'd love to see him finish up his list, entry by entry (to maintain the suspense), I personally have to throw in the towel. Realistically speaking, there's no way I can complete this project with the detail I originally started off with. My respect for the actors' work has not diminished; my passion for the project has.
Every few months, I try to muster up enough enthusiasm to continue, and once in a while I'll post something halfway decent. But the truth is, I've stopped caring about these entries and what they represent. After investing myself in awards season after awards season, I'm realizing the ridiculous act of judging performances and ranking them on a scale. I know this is supposed to be fun and not taken seriously in the least, but I'm having a hard time justifying placing one actor over another, thereby creating a hierarchy of what is all-around great acting work. The other reason is that if I prolonged this any longer, I'd never finish it (it's been more than a year since entry one!). I think it's better to get it over with quickly...
7. Gael Garcia Bernal, Bad Education - (I posted an entry for this a few days ago, hoping that the sight of an empty post would prompt me to fill it in. No such luck.)
6. John Cameron Mitchell, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
5. Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count on Me
4b. Ed Harris, Pollock
4a. Ralph Fiennes, Spider
3. Dan Futterman, Urbania - (This is the performance I saw last year that changed the look of the list, resulting in the tie between Harris and Fiennes.)
2. Tom Wilkinson, In the Bedroom
1. Haley Joel Osment, A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Comment, discuss, ignore. Perhaps I'll fill these out properly one day, perhaps not. Ask me about any of these if you want, and I'll provide some comments.
4 comments:
Wow. I was definitely not expecting Osment to be number one. I can't really comment on how good his performance is though, because I've never seen A.I..
But Mitchell, Wilkinson, Ruffalo, and Bernal (the only four I've seen. :S) are excellent choices. The latter 3 would definitely be in my top 5 as well.
I don't think anyone was expecting Osment to show up; at least, his name didn't appear once in people's predictions.
You need to see A.I. ASAP. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this very polarizing film.
Congrats on finally finishing the list! I've been checking back here on a regular basis hoping to find an update and after all the waiting, my prayers have been answered. Can't really argue against your #1 choice if I were to make a similar list, Osment would probably break the top 10. I disliked In the Bedroom a good deal but Wilkinson was fantastic. Haven't seen Hedwig before but consider it queued up. Ruffalo is a no brainer and the Bernal film I haven't seen yet. All in all, a wonderful list Kamran.
So, what is the next list you will be doing? :P
Yes to number 1. Seriously, it's like one of my top 5 performances of all time. Haley absolutely tore my heart into pieces with that performances. I loved it. He was amazing. Best child performance ever.
Oh, Haley. Please come back good.
Post a Comment