2016 Cinema & Stadium Film Awards
I want to take the opportunity, with the Academy Awards being presented this weekend, to describe what I consider the best performances of the year. This is based, as always, only on films that I have actually seen. I also include only films that were given a wide release in 2016 - which is becoming a murkier thing to determine each year, as many awards-hopeful films are given a limited release late in the calendar year and then trickle out across the country. At any rate, I will present my awards in the same way I did last year: my top five selections in the category, followed by an explanation of any of the Academy Awards nominees left out, then a brief recap of each of those performances.
Please also check out my 2016 Film Year-in-Review, where I list my top 10 movies of the year, miscellaneous awards (most disappointing/surprising/etc.) and quick review of the films that I saw via Netflix. Enjoy!
Winners in bold
Runners-up underlined
Acting Awards
Best Actor:
Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Nate Parker (The Birth of a Nation)
Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool)
Denzel Washington (Fences)
Oscars nominees not listed: Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic) - haven't seen the films; Ryan Gosling (La La Land) - film released wide in 2017.
I'll start with an honorable mention nod for Tom Hanks, who turned in yet another impressive performance in a historical drama (following Captain Philips, Bridge of Spies). Nate Parker not only starred in but also directed and wrote a film that was once a Best Picture shoe-in, The Birth of a Nation. A controversy sunk the film's chances; I'm not going to weigh in on that, but the passion and skill of his performance I feel deserves recognition. Ryan Reynolds may seem rather out of place here, but he was perfect for his role and his sarcastic, vulgar, hilarious superhero was a genre game changer. Leonardo DiCaprio won the Oscar, and it's hard to argue given the grueling, determined physical nature of his performance. I have seen few, if any, others like it.
I hate to start with a tie, but I really can't separate the outstanding performances by Casey Affleck and Denzel Washington in their films. Affleck is unbelievably subtle and nuanced, playing a regular man with a devastating past. His acting shows both his everyday, normal struggles and the way that the tragedy has affected all of it. Denzel's performance seems quite the opposite, one of the most expressive, even explosive, I've ever seen. Yet he has mastered the character and is in complete control, as he too reveals the complexity and depths of the soul.
Best Actress:
Amy Adams (Arrival)
Viola Davis (Fences)
Melissa McCarthy (The Boss)
Helen Mirren (Eye in the Sky)
Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad)
Oscar nominees not listed: Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Ruth Negga (Loving), Natalie Portman (Jackie), Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins) - haven't seen the films; Emma Stone (La La Land) - film released wide in 2017.
Upfront: I'm pretty embarrassed by my record of moviegoing this year in terms of strong female leads. I tend to skew pretty heavily toward male/action films anyway, but I had to go through my list of films a few times before I settled on my list. That's not to say any of these are weak performances. Margot Robbie gives a gonzo, highly entertaining show as the unhinged Harley Quinn; if only the whole film could have followed suit. Melissa McCarthy is probably the most reliable comedic star right now, and her dedicated, hilarious performance elevates an otherwise weak film. Helen Mirren is of course a great actress, and her dedicated, exasperated, yet troubled general is the foundation in an intriguing look at modern warfare. Amy Adams is great in the strange new sci-fi film, and hers was an essential human element in the thoughtful affair. Her character is quiet and withdrawn, acting as a vessel for the audience's amazement at alien life early before showing why, powerfully, only later.
Viola Davis is simply remarkable as Rose in Fences. Being able to register at all, when seen next to Denzel's dominating, bravura show, would have been impressive. However, Viola takes what could have been a passive, nurturing yet victimized character and makes her into a strong, loving, wise yet vulnerable and flawed co-lead. She is both perfect when out of the spotlight - cooking, listening to her family - as well as the center of attention, the only person whose retorts could silence Denzel.
Best Supporting Actress:
Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
Gillian Jacobs (Don't Think Twice)
Kate McKinnon (Ghostbusters)
Alicia Vikander (Jason Bourne)
Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)
Oscar nominees not listed: Nicole Kidman (Lion) - haven't seen the film; Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) - film released wide in 2017.
My introduction to the Best Actress nominees applies here, too. Alicia Vikander more than holds her own among the many allies of Jason Bourne, morphing fluidly between confident, overwhelmed, and scheming. Alongside the uber-talented Keegan Michael-Key, Gillian Jacobs is a great complement, someone very funny but also quite vulnerable and compassionate. In a film filled with hilarious women, SNL's Kate McKinnon stole the show in the rebooted Ghostbusters as she took hold of her zany yet fierce character. Naomie Harris was responsible for perhaps more heartbreak and brutality than anything or anyone else in Moonlight, both an impressive and very difficult achievement. The wayward mother of the main character, she still manages to convey an enduring love for her son.
Although her screen time is quite limited, Michelle Williams' appearances in Manchester by the Sea are so powerful that they reverberate throughout the film. An ordinary woman in many ways, she shows her fierce love for her children even as she navigates a tumultuous young relationship with her husband (Affleck). So when tragedy strikes, you can't escape the devastation she must feel, and can't look away when she finally reconnects with Affleck for a brief but powerful few moments.
Best Supporting Actor:
Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
Tom Hardy (The Revenant)
Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)
Mykelti Williamson (Fences)
Oscar nominees not listed: Dev Patel (Lion), Michael Shannon (Noctural Animals) - haven't seen the films.
I want to give an honorable mention here to Kyle Chandler in Manchester by the Sea; playing Affleck's brother in flashbacks, he is a strong foundation for a family without which many individuals understandably suffer. His co-star and on-screen son, played by Lucas Hedges, is more prominent, and is very good for a young actor; his teenage antics can be believably insufferable, but mostly he is a young man trying to bury his pain. Tom Hardy is good at the stark and brutal, and that certainly describes his trapper in The Revenant. Mykelti Williamson is Denzel's brain-damaged brother in Fences, unrestrained yet appropriately played as a reminder of both his brother's responsibilities and grievances. Mahershala Ali is sadly only in the first part of Moonlight, but his performance makes perfectly clear why he has such long-lasting effect on the main character. He is tough as nail, yet utterly humbled and moved when confronted with a young boy's suffering.
For Jeff Bridges, his Texas Ranger hunting a pair of bank robbers in Hell or High Water wasn't entirely new (see: True Grit). But damn, is he good at this. On the edge of retirement and set in his ways - both in his operating procedure and his cultural attitudes - he is loyal enough to both his responsibilities and his partner to try to fight his worst tendencies.
Other Awards
Best Director:
Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)
Anthony and Joe Russo (Captain America: Civil War)
Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)
Denzel Washington (Fences)
Oscar nominees not listed: Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge) - haven't seen the film; Damien Chazelle (La La Land) - film released wide in 2017
Although he will likely be remembered (and perhaps awarded) more for his acting, Washington did a superb job adapting Fences for the big screen, maintaining pace and intrigue throughout despite having just one set and near-constant dialogue. Anthony and Joe Russo pulled off another difficult feat, producing a wildly entertaining movie that defied genre conventions, pushed the MCU's story forward, and somehow juggled a ridiculous number of characters. Denis Villeneuve continues to be one of my favorite directors, going in yet another entirely new direction with a more thoughtful and culturally-relevant sci-fi film than I've seen in years. In taking on a film about a young gay black man that has no plot, Barry Jenkins took perhaps the biggest risk of them all. But instead of being boring or cliched (or worse), Jenkins made something challenging, haunting and artistic.
The director, Kenneth Lonergan, of the best film of the year, Manchester by the Sea, deserves much credit for creating a film that is strong in so many different ways. He got an amazing amount of nuance and power from his entire cast, from Affleck, on down, which played ordinary people and could not rely on any of the usual actorly "red meat". Despite a simply story (to go with the ordinary people), Lonergan paced it perfectly, letting the audience feel the ebb and flow of emotion just as his characters did. Of course, perhaps it helped that he was working from such an amazing script (oh, he did that, too). With all the investment, it ended up coming together perfectly in a wonderful film.
Best Screenplay:
Jared Bush and Phil Johnston (Zootopia)
Guy Hibbert (Eye in the Sky)
Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)
Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Deadpool)
August Wilson (Fences)
Best Visual Effects*:
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Jungle Book
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Star Trek Beyond
*honorable mention to The Revenant (Emmanuel Lubezki) for absolutely amazing cinematography.
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