Awards season is useful for getting a lil awards hype for anything, however small, that can raise a film’s profile. So here’s four performances in films I think have been a bit underrated over the course of the year, I think would benefit from a little bit more buzz.
Christopher Abbott, so magnetic in his breakthrough turn in James White which he nabbed several critics nods and and Independent Spirit Award for Lead Actor nomination. His performance in Jerrod Carmichael’s (who also co-stars in the lead role) excellent On the Count of Three deserves consideration among the best lead performances of the year. He plays brilliantly off Carmichael as best friends Kevin and Val, where the two deliver such a honest, frustrating and affecting friendship and subsequent pact which convinces you entirely of the messy directions it goes. Abbott’s constantly hits the marks in his portrayal of the high-octane desperation of Kevin is extraordinary, playing both the darkly humorous and genuinely tragic sides of him to perfection.
Thandiwe Newton might just have given a career-best turn in Julian Higgins’ God’s Country. She carries the moody, atmospheric tone of the film brilliantly as Sandra, a grieving college professor dealing with two hunters intruding on her rural Montana estate she’s retreated to, and the escalating racist aggressions from the neighbouring community. Newton is one of our finest actors at quietly building up emotions within, often silently, in Sandra as the events take its toll on her. What’s remarkable about this performance, and indeed the film as a whole, is that it depicts how desensitised and hardened she becomes through the burden of her experiences, it still finds the tenderness and vulnerability within that makes it all even more heartbreaking. Sensational work – hope it gets a British Independent Film Award nom, at the very least.
Justin H. Min‘s performance as the titular robotic child in Kogonada’s After Yang remains one of my favourite supporting turns of the year all the way from when I first watched it in March. Playing an android is always an interesting challenge for an actor, and Min is transcendent. Yang’s ethereal kindness and generosity as an older brother and source of guidance to Maya (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja) is glowing, and he’s just as captivating showing the uncertainty and self-doubt, but also depending appreciation for his adoptive parents (Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith), and the ways in which he interacts with each of them builds so well to the film’s emotionally resonant finale. A performance that raises so many interesting philosophical questions with a big warm heart.
Fatma Mohamed in Peter Strickland’s Flux Gourmet defies description. In her fifth collaboration with the British auteur, she plays what is essentially a lead performer of a food sonic performance collective (watch and you’ll understand), and delivers a turn that revolves performance art of the most bizarre sort as a driving force. It’s a fearless performance that utilises Mohamed’s idiosyncratic presence to perfection. The physical performance is so mesmerising to watch in itself as Mohamed throws herself into Strickland’s unhinged culinary madness, and what takes it a step further than spectacle is the emotional investment she brings to Elle and her artistic vision for her nutty performance antics and I ended up really buying into her vision as genius. Which is a bit concerning, but also why I think it’s an amazing turn. Critics, be cool and show this one some surprise awards love.
Reel and Roll Films 