Best Supporting Actor 1996: Results

5. Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Maguire- Gooding gives an obnoxious over the top performance that wants to be endearing and funny but rather is just annoying.

4. James Woods in Ghosts of Mississippi- Although given very little to do Woods does a good job of being an effective villain infusing a great deal of energy into his performance. 

3. Armin Mueller-Stahl in Shine- Stahl gives an effective performance as the domineering father of the film unfortuantely though because his character is repetitive his performance is almost the same way.

2. William H. Macy in Fargo- Macy gives a great pathetic portrayal. He gives a perfect portrait of a man who has no idea what he is doing and is unable to do anything about with making more and more bad decisions. It is a brilliant performance that gets everything right.

1. Edward Norton in Primal Fear- Good prediction Dinasztie This was an  exceedingly close decision to make but it is one I never should have made to begin with since Macy and Norton should not have been in the same category. Macy should have been placed in lead where he very very easily would have been my win that year. Both of the top two are both the best of their year really Macy in the leading category and Norton in the supporting. There is no real reason for their order here, except that Norton gives just as brilliant of a performance as Macy. Norton gives a perfectly conducted performance that reveals the mystery of his character in an incredibly chilling, and extremely effective fashion.

Deserving Performances:
Steve Buscemi in Fargo

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Best Supporting Actor 1996: Armin Mueller-Stahl in Shine

Armin Mueller-Stahl received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Peter Helfgott in Shine.

Mueller-Stahl plays the father of the troubled pianist David Helfgott. This is the sort of performance that only unfortunely seems to be held back by the somewhat lacking script in the film. Peter is just basically a tyrant in the film who wants just what he wants out of the children. He believes that they should all work as hard as possible as well as be tough in order to survive. He harsh toward his children but insists on them particularly David recognizing how lucky they are since he lets them (forces them) to play music, something his own father never allowed.

Mueller-Stahl does his best being the tyrant father of his children. He does not overplay this even though the script really does. Stahl effectively shows a strange combination of coldness and warmth that Peter has for his children. Coldness in the way he refuses to ever give his children any sort of slack or really honest show of love toward them. There is a warmness technically though in Stahl does effectively show that Peter does believe what he is doing is only for the good of his children.

The problem with the performance comes with the film's refusal for Peter to be anything but the tyrant. He is almost always the tyrannical father at all moments, he only lets up ever for the briefest of moments. When he does let up Stahl does not show it as ever being easy, but only being a difficult choice,  becuase he has basically no other option. This is a performance that I do like, but I only wish that he has been written as more than basically just an advisory to David's independence but rather a little fuller  of a character on his own terms. This is a good performance but helped back by the limits of his part.

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Best Supporting Actor 1996

And the Nominees Were:

William H. Macy in Fargo

James Woods in Ghosts of Mississippi

Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Maguire

Edward Norton in Primal Fear

Armin Mueller-Stahl in Shine

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