Alternate Best Actor 1992: Results

5. Tim Robbins in The Player- Robbins gives a good performance in a somewhat limited role effectively bringing along with him through the great satire that is the Player.

4. Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker's Dracula- A mixed bag from Oldman here with his somewhat uninteresting although adequate scenes as the younger looking Dracula, but he has as well extremely entertaining moments as the older looking Dracula.

3. Harvey Keitel in Reservoir Dogs- Keitel gives a good performance here portraying both the professionalism as well as the humanity within his career criminal.

2. Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross- Lemmon is amazing in the role he is always believable as the salesman past his prime, and completely heartbreaking in his realization of this tragic character.

1. Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant- A difficult year to choose both the winner between Kietel and Lemmon and Eastwood. All three are amazing in their roles, but I will have to settle for one and at the moment Keitel is my choice. Kietel gives an incredible performance here as the titular dirty cop. Keitel portrays him in an effective down to earth fashion showing there is nothing special about this man, leading to an powerful ending where the Lieutenant must face his flaws.

Overall Rank:

1. Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant
2. Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross
3. Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven
4. Robert Downey Jr. in Chaplin
5. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai in Hardboiled
6. Michael Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol
7. Chow Yun-Fat in Hardboiled
8. Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny
9. Tim Roth in Reservoir Dogs
10. Harvey Keitel in Reservoir Dogs
11. Gary Sinise in Of Mice and Men 
12. Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker's Dracula
13. Daniel Day-Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans
14. Stephen Rea in The Crying Game
15. Tim Robbins in The Player
16. Anthony Hopkins in Howard's End
17. Denzel Washington in Malcolm X
18. Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman
19. Harrison Ford in Patriot Games
20. John Malkovich in Of Mice and Men
21. Mike Myers in Wayne's World
22. Charles Grodin in Beethoven 
23. Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men
24. Chris O'Donnell in Scent of a Woman
25. Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct 
26. Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone 2 
27. Tom Cruise in Far and Away
28. Billy Crystal in Mr. Saturday Night

Next Year: 1984

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Alternate Best Actor 1992: Harvey Keitel in Reservoir Dogs

Harvey Keitel did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Larry Dimmick mainly known as Mr. White in Reservoir Dogs.

Reservoir Dogs is about a group of men performing a jewel heist that goes wrong due to an inside man. Reservoir Dogs like most of Quentin Tarantino films I like even though he can be self indulgent with his dialogue at times.

Harvey Kietel is not an actor known for his accents, or emphasis on any sort of mannerisms in his performances. He tends to be a rather straight to the point sort of actor, but that does not mean he can not create a variety of memorable characters. In 1992 he not only gave his absolutely incredible performance as the titular Bad Lieutenant, but as well gave this performance here as one of six criminals who do the heist that goes wrong. Mr. White seems to be one of the more experienced ones as well as one of the more professional.

Keitel is appropriately convincing in the role as the career criminal Mr. White. He portrays him as a clam  headed man who knows exactly how to do what to do with a great deal of ease. Whether it it setting up the plan, spending some time with the other criminals, or killing a couple of police officers in a car moving on him, Kietel portrays it with the same cool method. He makes it obvious that Mr. White is without a doubt a career criminal who has participated in his fair share of jobs, and is able to do them efficiently without every losing his head during the situation when done right. 

Kietel here is careful though in that he does not ever try to make Mr. White into some cold calculating killer or psychopath. Yes Mr. White does kill people in the film, but Kietel does always show this to be about his his survival rather than any sort of sadistic urge. This is the reason why Mr. White takes very little liking to Mr. Blond (Michael Madsen) who goes on a sadistic killing spree during the heist. Keitel is strong in his scenes because he always puts to the forefront that it is not only the lack of professionalism that offends him about Blond's reaction, but it is in fact underneath his moral code which is above murdering bystanders.

What really is the crux of his performance though is Mr. White's friendship with the younger heist member Mr. Orange (Tim Roth). Keitel is good in his scenes before and after the heist. Before he acts quite warmly as a mentor to him, just being once again very professional as he teaches the new man the ropes. Later on though after Mr. Orange is shot in the stomach, Keitel is effective in showing the guilt in Mr. White believing that he let the younger man down. Keitel makes Mr. White's eventual choice to stand by Mr. Orange almost to the end realizing White's warmth as a mentor toward Mr. Orange believably.

Keitel is strong throughout the film even though his role is some limited, as the film does try to spread out the time each character gets to shine, although the amount of time Mr. White and Orange are given would put them in lead. What he does have to work with though Keitel does make the most out of giving a believable portrait of this career criminal. His performance here never is even close to the power of his incredible performance in Bad Lieutenant, but this performance though still stands as a testament to Kietel's considerable strength as an actor.   

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Alternate Best Actor 1992: Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross

Jack Lemmon did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Shelley "The Machine" Levene in Glengarry Glen Ross.

Glengarry Glen Ross is a terrific film about a group of real estate salesman made by the great script and the ensemble of great actors in top form.

Jack Lemmon portrays Shelley Levene who is a real estate salesman who seems to be now on one long losing streak when it comes to making a single sale. Lemmon is one giant mess in all the right ways with his performance here as Shelley. Lemmon makes Shelley a man represented by his constant desperation. This is not some simple desperation that has come overnight, rather Lemmon is able to convey the history of failing that has befallen Shelley leaving him in this state.

Lemmon is excellent though because he does not show Shelley's desperation to really be a depression. Shelley never stops during the film he is always trying to finally break his losing streak at any times. Lemmon's basis his performance well around the spark of life that still is in Shelley as he tries hard to do anything to alleviate his terrible situation he has fallen into. It would have been easy to make Shelley a far more downer of a man, but Lemmon effectively shows more about Shelley's past by not doing this.

Jack Lemmon is able to bring to life the past of Shelley to life by subtly suggesting his successes were once great. Lemmon never has Shelley really did lose that life in Shelley that shows that he was not always a failure in his job. Lemmon of course does not have this as something that is always apparent in Shelley, as he most certainly is downtrodden but he handles it extremely well by having it an underlying factor throughout. He does have a glint of his strength that he once had.

Interestingly though there are even moments where there is even a pompous quality that Lemmon does bring in with Shelley in just a few moments. He does not overdue do it, and it is only shown in his scenes with Kevin Spacey's Williamson. There is an anger in few times where Shelley tries to basically tell off Williamson by telling him about his former power within their organization. Lemmon is great in these scenes because it is a genuinely portrayed moment of anger in Shelley, anger in that he has fallen so far and can get as much disrespect from his organization. 

A great deal of the performance comes in with his scenes where Shelley is trying to get that one sale that will turn things around for him. Lemmon is excellent in everyone of these scenes. In his earliest ones where he is calling someone over the phone Lemmon shows Shelley's style perfectly being a calm and charismatic salesman pushing forward the sale carefully through simple tricks. Lemmon though off sets this wonderfully though by conveying in his face that there still is that same nervous desperation, even when he is so calm and professional in sales trickery.

Lemmon very best moment might come in one very disheartening scene where Shelley tries to get a sale out a man who clearly does not have the slightest interest in one. Lemmon is wonderful as he brings to life the struggle Shelley has to try to keep going, and trying anything he can do to do to convince this man to buy something from him, even though clearly the man does not have the slightest interest. It is a heartbreaking scene because Lemmon completely brings to life the fact that Shelley is giving everything, everything that he has and knows as a salesman and can't get anything out of the man.

Lemmon though is equally outstanding though in the second half of the film after Shelley has apparently successfully made big sale. Lemmon is amazing here as he really brings about that underlying spark fully out as Shelley becomes his old self again. Lemmon portrays Shelley as completely being rejuvenated the desperation is gone and he is joyous over his success after so long. Lemmon before showed us Shelley always trying to be his old self, but here Lemmon shows us the old salesman. A man completely sure of his self , his prowess and absolutely proud as one can be over his achievement.

His scenes are great here, particularly his reactions with Pacino's Ricky Roma as he describes with the utmost energy his method of selling the property. This continues on to him helping Roma try to finish securing his sale with a jittery man (Jonathan Pryce). Pacino and Lemmon are perfect in their scene together as the two men put on a ruse over the man to try to keep Roma's sale despite the man's reservations over it. They bring to life the abilities of the two men in a highly entertaining fashion after as they play off each other to attempt to keep the man in on the deal. Lemmon again shows us Shelley's old self secure and confidant although maybe too confidant.

Lemmon shows that Shelley not only completely loses his desperation but too much believes himself once again the infallible machine. Lemmon portrays an insistent pride in his accomplishments and abilities that pushes Shelley basically to say too much and go too far that leads him into trouble. Lemmon is just incredible in his final scene as Shelley tries basically one last desperate sale. In this moment when he sees the odds are against him Lemmon effectively portrays that Shelley loses all that pride and confidence before and returns to the same desperation from the beginning. It is a heartbreaking scene as Lemmon shows one last failure in his moving portrait of this tragic man.

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Alternate Best Actor 1992: Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker's Dracula

Gary Oldman did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Bram Stoker's Dracula is certainly a film of style over substance in its wildly over the top depiction of the story of the undead vampire but it is also quite an entertaining film probably because of that reason.

Although one could argue that this film is not being intentionally over the top I would say that would be incorrect when referring to Francis Ford Coppola's direction since for example the circle wipe after Dracula's maniacal laugh was obviously no accident and shows that his style was very purposeful. There is more of problem I suppose by the variations in the performances. There is the insanely dull Keanu Reeves, the mostly ineffective Winona Ryder, the I suppose adequate enough Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, and Billy Campbell who still might not know the film they are in quite enough to be all that interesting, but than there is Gary Oldman who knows how to have fun with the material.

Gary Oldman certainly is not the first actor to portray Dracula but he is probably the actor to portray him in the most variations of form of the monster. Oldman really has a different fashion in which he portrays every version. When he is in any of the monster forms Oldman is all only about intensity in his eyes and his voice. There is not a great deal to play with in these scenes as he is covered in head to toe with the various monsters such as the grotesque bat, and the werewolf, but Oldman does his very best given the limitations of the role in these scenes. He is an appropriately threatening villain in these moments, and certainly does not falter here.

Oldman's best scenes though come early in the film as Dracula first appears welcoming his guest Johnathan Harker (Reeves) who is making a real estate business deal for him. Oldman here is especially entertaining as he portrays every inch of the strangeness that is the old man version of Dracula with his bizarre hairstyle and flowing robes. Oldman is best described as deliciously evil in these scenes and Oldman portrays it like he is going to out Dracula every other Dracula. This is especially noticeable when he says the lines best known from Bela Lugosi's portrayal such as "I never drink wine". Oldman seems to put extra emphasis here, but to the point it is enjoyable just by how he says them with so much delight.

Every movement he makes in this early scenes are quite broad from the way he slinks about around Reeves to the way he furiously licks the blood off Harker's razor after he has accidentally cut himself. They are brilliantly over the top though in Oldman's depiction. He furiously devoted to the role but does have a great degree of fun in the roles while avoiding being a threatening and horrible presence as well. Here the villainy is what Oldman emphasizes and he does it with jovial aplomb. His final devilish laugh moment pretty much sums up these scenes for Oldman in which he pushes forward the evil of Dracula to the forefront of his portrayal effectively by just having so much fun with it.

I must say this is not the case of a performance that gets better and better though. His best scenes are when he has his grandmother haircut. When he becomes the younger looking Dracula his performance just does not have the same entertainment to be had which is a shame. This is not to say these scenes are bad though his style just changes greatly, and actually it makes sense enough for him to do this. In his Transylvania scenes it basically is just Dracula at his technical worst just being evil because that he is, in England though he changes a bit in his motivation since he must find his past love apparently reincarnated into Johnathan Harker's fiancee Mina (Winona Ryder).

The love last forever portion of the film I must say is not the particularly interesting part of the film. One major problem is that Ryder and Oldman do not share any chemistry in their scenes, and their love frankly just does not come through in either a subtle fashion and particularly not in a larger than life fashion. Due to this reason these scenes fall flat. I will give Oldman credit for trying his best to make the Count or bit more human in these scenes. When he is trying to woo Mina as a seemingly normal man Oldman tries to put on some charm but unfortuantely he comes off as more of some European gigolo than a man trying to find the love of his life.

I must say really I am a bit torn on this performance, as there is the young half, and the old half, the monsters really do not factor in much. Also his old and young self seem to be in the film almost equally as he vanishes for a great long periods in the third act of the film. Oldman has passion in the youthful scenes to make something meaningful out of them but that never comes to mean very much. On the other hand he is extremely entertaining as the old Dracula and creates very memorable villain in those scenes. This really is a mixed bag which makes sense for the role of the man with so many different forms. I would say though this is most certainly a good performance since his best scenes are amazing and his lesser scenes are still entirely fine.

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Alternate Best Actor 1992: Tim Robbins in The Player

Tim Robbins did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Griffin Mill in The Player.

The Player is an excellent satire on Hollywood about an executive who murders a writer he believes was sending him death threats.

Tim Robbins portrays the executive who does the murdering and I must say watching this film the very first time I frankly expected a bit more of a sleazy portrayal than the one that Robbins provides. Robbins actually pretty much at first shows Griffin Mill to be pretty much just in the role of the Hollywood executive. Robbins does not really show him to be really evil just a Hollywood executive always thinking about the money involved in the process of course, but really he never is obviously implying that Griffin only cares about that.

Robbins plays Griffin basically how a character actor would portray a studio executive in a different movie. Robbins is in many simple in his approach and the only major difference is that he does convey Griffin's sense of paranoia over the death threats quite well. He doesn't overplay this as they are not driving him crazy but rather they are something just pressing on his mind and making him slightly nervous and Robbins portrays this fairly effectively by still keeping it downplayed.

The Player though I feel is very much a directors and writers films as the actors are just players in the story, and many of them are used for a quick satirical puns, particularly the numerous cameos by various actors. Robbins is many ways is just the figure we follow thorough to enjoy the satire, which does not have a great deal to with his performance. Really what makes The Player the great satire it is is almost in entirely in writing and the direction most of the performance really do just play it straight.

Robbins though is perfectly fine in the role as the executive though, and certainly allows all the satire to occur by not overplaying the part. There is a bit more to his character though in that the film does partially cause him to become in a way more ruthless, but as well as slowly more disheveled over murdering the writer. This though is less overarching than one might think, and it all goes along at natural enough pace as portrayed by Robbins but it also never is really made all that substantial in terms of the film overall.

This is a good performance by Tim Robbins but I can't quite say it is an amazing one. There is not anything wrong at all with his performance, but it never really is a powerhouse tour de force though. The slow decay into being a worse person that Griffin is by the end of the film is well enough handled, but frankly the impact just is not there. At the same time I must say Robbins certainly still fulfills the role as the man we follow through the great satire that is the Player.

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Alternate Best Actor 1992: Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant

Harvey Kietel did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying the titular character in Bad Lieutenant.

Bad Lieutenant is a fascinating though at times rather hard to watch character study of a Catholic police Lieutenant who investigates the rape of a nun by two men.

Harvey Kietel was of course not nominated for this role as the bad Lieutenant despite receiving plenty of rave reviews for his performance. Well the most obvious reason for his snub was that his performance was in a NC-17 rated film, which is not a rating you want if you want an Oscar nomination. This is especially true for a man as the academy just does not seem to like men naked, so it is easy to see Kietel get snubbed as he is one actor in particular who does not mind showing everything he's got. The only time Kietel was nominated was his multilayer work in Bugsy, multilayer in clothes not in characterization, I think Michael Fassbender might need to take note of this if he ever wishes to obtain a nomination.

I think what really did not help is the nature of the bad Lieutenant as a character, and the uncompromising fashion in which Kietel portrays him. The bad before the Lieutenant is entirely required for the description of this cop. The Lieutenant is not at all good in his workaday life from the very opening scene where he is checking out an accident. Kietel approaches the role from this early scene without any special style to his performance. He is not like Denzel Washington in Training Day showboating his way through his role as a corrupt cop, instead Kietel is far more effective and realistic through how down to earth he portrays the part. In his scene here with nothing more than a glance Kietel portrays that the Lieutenant is only interested in checking out the deceased female victim of the crime scene, rather than having any concern for the actual crime.

Kietel never tries to portray the part as some cool man of the streets who knows just how to be a dirty cop. No instead Kietel shows there to be nothing special in what the Lieutenant does no matter what it does. When the Lieutenant is taking drugs constantly and very casually throughout the film, there is not a hint of pleasure in Kietel's performance. He rather just is doing it, since for the Lieutenant cynical morality he has no reason not to do it. There is no belief there it seems as Kietel moves from corrupt action to action. He doesn't play it up like an even knowing act of corruption he handles it all so naturally. Due to the fact that Kietel is so blunt in his portrayal it makes the scene have all the more of a punch to them, because it all seems such an average day for the Bad Lieutenant.

Kietel always portrays the Lieutenant as a man not even as even a special corrupt cop, just simply a corrupt cop. An interesting act though Kietel pulls off is that the Lieutenant to some degree pretends to be a whole lot more than he really is. When ever he calls the baseball game in the film with very large and foolish bets that always end up the opposite of the way he plans, Kietel though brings in a certain pompous quality with the Lieutenant. Kietel does not portray this as a pompousness in the way of say John Gielgud would, but in fact shows the Lieutenant trying to be the big man of the streets who can simply just sense things. The fact is he can't though and there is always a weakness shown by Kietel, and he always makes the point that as much as the Lieutenant wants to act like he knows the score, he knows nothing.

The Lieutenant's behavior though can become actually even more severe than his drug taking, money pilfering, prostitution soliciting, particularly in his scene where he forces two women to perform in front of him while he pleasures himself. Kietel in this scene is particularly effective in portraying just how blunt the Lieutenant is in his cruelty. Kietel is especially to the point in this scene in that the Lieutenant is simply going to get what he wants, and he is brutally intense in portraying the Lieutenant's depravity. Kietel does not makes excuses for the Lieutenant here just portraying the Lieutenant as a man constantly looking for quick satisfaction and using his power as a cop to do so.

The Lieutenant as depraved as he is, and as much as he doesn't at times, he does have a very hidden sense of morality that is strongly associated with his background as a Catholic. The crux of the film comes in the nun rape and a very important moments as he looks at the nun after the rape. Throughout the rest he breezed through every horrible act he committed, but here Kietel subtly suggests that this is something that deeply effects him. Although Kietel does portray this as something passing over him it continues as he continues with the case  and listens in to the nun in a confessional who refuses to name the rapists and even says she forgives them. Kietel is absolutely amazing in portraying just how this throws of the Lieutenant's whole cyncial view of the world.

The very end of the film is simply one astonishing scene after another by Kietel as he first tries to convince the Nun the vengeance is a good thing. Kietel is brilliant, as he makes the Lieutenant pained to try to bring the woman to some sort of lower level of human emotion, since he simply cannot face the fact that everything is not as horrendous as he is. This is followed by the Lieutenant breaking down and seeming to see Jesus in the church asking for forgiveness. Even with all of what he has done before Kietel is absolutely heartbreaking as he brings to life just how this revelation in the Lieutenant has shattered him, and forced him to face the fact that he is a bad man. Kietel brings about the man that was always below all the depravity that cannot bear the fact of what he has become.

Soon afterwards though the Lieutenant is able to track down the two rapists, and the following is a truly set of bizarre circumstance. Kietel though is absolutely amazing the Lieutenant is constantly struggling with himself in what to do. He is able to truly convey the confusion in the man that knows that he is the worst. This is not a simple rejection of his past though as the Lieutenant still uses his drugs and still threatens to kill both the men at gun point. The difference though comes in his attitude. Before everything the Lieutenant did he took in basically stride from one moment to the next here though Kietel shows that the Lieutenant is absolutely devoted to the moment. It is simply a stunning scene by Kietel as he brings about the complete emotional breakdown. This is an incredible performance by Harvey Kietel unforgiving in any aspect of his portrayal making this final face down with morality an unforgettable ending to this uncompromising characterization.

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Alternate Best Actor 1992

And the Nominees Were Not:

Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant 

Harvey Keitel in Reservoir Dogs

Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross

Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker's Dracula

Tim Robbins in The Player

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