By This year, the award for Best Actor is nearly as contentious as the award for Best Picture itself. That is, thanks to the general misogynistic tendencies of Hollywood, because most of this year’s highest reviewed films feature tour-de-force performances by male leads. In fact, the front-runners in this category say a lot about what we think a “good†movie consists of these days. For one, it’s got to have a lead character who is somehow physically separated from society. Whether he be stuck behind a computer screen or stuck underneath a rock, he’s got to have a tangible barrier between himself and the rest of the world.
That’s not to mention the psychological barriers that these characters put up. Whether it be Colin Firth’s inability to communicate, James Franco’s headstrong loner tendencies, or Jesse Eisenberg’s intolerance of those less brilliant than he; being emotionally distant is totally ‘au courant’ this year…
This year, the award for Best Actor is nearly as contentious as the award for Best Picture itself. That is, thanks to the general misogynistic tendencies of Hollywood, because most of this year’s highest reviewed films feature tour-de-force performances by male leads. In fact, the front-runners in this category say a lot about what we think a “good” movie consists of these days. For one, it's got to have a lead character who is somehow physically separated from society. Whether he be stuck behind a computer screen or stuck underneath a rock, he’s got to have a tangible barrier between himself and the rest of the world.
That’s not to mention the psychological barriers that these characters put up. Whether it be Colin Firth’s inability to communicate, James Franco’s headstrong loner tendencies, or Jesse Eisenberg’s intolerance of those less brilliant than he; being emotionally distant is totally ‘au courant’ this year…{{page_break}}
And to tell the truth, this is one of the closest races in recent memory. With so many films emphasizing quirky male characters, there have been some wonderful opportunities for great, nuanced performances. As a testament to this, Flixist’s own voting body ended up in a tie with regards to the winner of Best Actor and had to hold a special run-off vote. But the winner is…
In a run-off vote, Colin Firth just barely took the lead over James Franco. Jesse Eisenberg came in a distant third, while John C. Reilly and Leonardo DiCaprio each scored one vote. It’s no surprise that Franco and Firth split the initial vote so evenly. Each had incredibly big shoes to fill in their roles and clearly pushed themselves to the limits of their acting abilities. The Flixist staff just barely has a preference for the higher brow performance put on by Firth, but that could have something to do with the sheer amount of time Firth spent on screen delivering speeches.
Colin Firth (The King's Speech) – 7
James Franco (127 Hours) – 6
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) – 3
John C. Reilly (Cyrus) – 1
Leonardo DiCaprio (Shutter Island) – 1