#9 (Male Performances in Review 2000 - 2004)

Oh Jude. How many ups and downs you've had since breaking through to celebrity status with your Oscar-nominated turn in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Things were going quite well for you up until the fall of 2004 when - through no fault of your own - a whopping six films of yours landed at roughly the same time. Then your "reel" life (Closer's Dan, the title character in Alfie) began to catch up with your non-actorly actions once your affair with the kids' nanny was exposed. After the tabloids swooped in, your reputation as an artist isn't quite what it used to be (*coughSiennaMillercough*). Your career choices also leave much to be desired. Even now, some years later, your latest film Breaking and Entering (which you admittedly have some nice moments in) has you starring as a cheating spouse! What gives? I'm hoping that in the next few years, you enjoy something of a creative Renaissance, but in the meantime, at least I have your amusing, smartly-played turn as the smarmy Brad Stand in I Heart Huckabees to keep me occupied. In an ensemble this good, I'm aware it's quite the statement when I declare that Law's caricature is the standout here (barring several glaring accent slips.) It is a performance that starts out fully detestable (taking over the Open Spaces coalition from poor, unpopular Albert), turns blisteringly funny ("What - what - what - what... whooa, whaaat?"), scarily tragic (two words: chicken salad) and then makes us laugh all over again ("Shania cares!"; also see picture.) Throughout the film, Bradley - a sales executive at the Walmart-like Huckabees Corporation - has one priority: to ensure the continuation of the franchise. Even if it means lying, exploiting and cheating his way to the top, and having no qualms about doing so. Obnoxiously patronizing everyone around him and smugly taking pride in his seemingly brilliant ploys (note how often he smirks and rolls his eyes), Law makes every single moment count.

But I think we all know why Law appears this high as opposed to simply making the runner-up list or taking a slot in the 'teens. It is that knockout scene late in the film, equal parts hysterical and devastating, in which the existential detectives (Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman, a most appealing duo) confront Brad with evidence of his desperate attempts to hide his deep-rooted depression. Initially, Brad is able to dodge their advances, mocking and bullying them by playing copycat and threatening to sue them. He even feigns sobs when they bring up his "fat sad" gecko-obsessed brother, but this proves to be the chink in his armor. When they accuse him of using an anecdote over and over again to impress clients and friends ("the mayonnaise story"), he vehemently denies the charge. But then the audio tape starts playing - "Shania's there, promoting her apparel..." Date after date, excerpt after excerpt plays, and Law's sunshine-boy exterior visibly begins to melt before our very eyes. Watch how he begins snickering at his own presumed hilarity, giggling away and anticipating the best parts of the joke. Then his grin fades, the laughs subside, he grows concerned, his eyebrows furrow... He bites his fingernails, plays with his hands and even takes a small nibble out of a stretchy plastic gecko (a gift from his brother.) It's a fascinating moment to watch, so detailed and internalized, with Law letting go of his arrogance and sense of superiority. The tape ends, and then the detectives reassert their offensive, dismissing his lame efforts to defend himself. And once he utters the dreaded words ("How am I not myself?") he is a total and utter goner. Even though it is hard to deny that the guy definitely had it coming, this comeuppance is no less heart-wrenching and difficult to watch.

#10 (Male Performances in Review 2000-2004)

As I pause and consider the career of the great Naseeruddin Shah, I marvel at the fact that there are so few actors of South Asian descent that have been able to dabble in so many different "spaces" in the cinema. Bollywood? Check? Art-house Parallel? Check. Hybrid/Crossover? (Monsoon Wedding, duh.) Hollywood!? Yup, although perhaps not positively so (see The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.) If I were an Indian actor working today, I would be most envious of the roles and accomplishments accorded to Shah - what a varied and unique career (in addition to being a great artist)! This is not to mention his work on the stage (from where he started off), of which I cannot speak of myself, despite many others having done so (and at great length.) As for his on-screen efforts, I could name several that I consider close to my heart, but it's undoubtedly his crotchety but loving patriarch stretched thin in Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding that is his most memorable. And enchanting and heartbreaking and moving. When we first encounter Lalit Varma, the impression is perhaps not a very welcoming one - within minutes, he has already berated the wedding planner and called his Australian nephew an idiot repeatedly. Clearly, the man is under a great deal of pressure; his only daughter Aditi is to be wedded to an American-Punjabi, and the wallet is more strained than ever as a result. As relatives, in-laws and the wedding party parade into the household, Lalit and his wife Pimmi (the incomparable Lillete Dubey) must attend to many different problems and usually clash heads.

But despite his hardened exterior, Shah is able to demonstrate Lalit's humanity as well as his deep affection for his family - this is something that is never in question. The night before the big day, he stands over his daughter and his niece Ria (Shefali Shetty, who is also magnificent in this film) with Pimmi, trying to understand where the years have gone, and how these two little girls have become adults without him realizing it. "If only they are happy, then I am willing to take on every trouble in the world," he says softly, and we know this is true. A shocking realization late into the film absolutely shatters Lalit, and Shah goes from an authoritative and grand figure to the exact opposite. He is a broken man, the stress of the celebration and this uncovered secret weighing on his bruised back. "I'm falling Pimmi," he sobs in Punjabi, embracing his wife presumably for the first time in months (they sleep in separate cots), letting the outer wall crumble. Shah is so, so good in this scene, allowing us to see a side of this character that he has contained and suppressed for so long. It's a graceful and generous moment, for both the actor and the character he plays. And certainly in the film's climax (*spoiler warning*), Shah once again takes control in order to protect his family, but in a different sense. In confronting and challenging the man who abused Ria - the one family elder he has esteemed and trusted more than anyone - he also confronts his own sense of pride, masculinity and family honour. He overcomes that traditional familial respect in order to protect Ria and shield her from further pain. What a moment - as he does this, we have the sense that Lalit has finally understood what his priorities are. No longer is he concerned with peripheral expenses, social status or self-pride, but the happiness and well-being of those he loves most.

* By the way, as I clued you all in a couple of weeks (months?) ago, I have had to resort to cheating on the top ten due to coming across one performance that I had overlooked earlier and another that I had forgotten about completely (whoops!). For that, I apologize, since I really set out with the intention of avoiding ties altogether (even though I love doing them.) No matter, let's finish this up kiddies!