Top 5 - Colin Firth, Jeff Bridges

They vied for the Oscar two years in a row and I'd argue, should have switched the years they won in, in my humble opinion. 

Firth

5. Kingsman: The Secret Service

Simple and straightforward performance, but I really enjoyed Firth here as the Obi Wan sorta mentor figure into the spy world for our protagonist Eggsy (the excellent Taron Egerton). I really think no one else could've pulled this role off like he does, and he brings all the needed charisma, swagger, and most importantly that fine balance between refinement and badassery the role requires. I particularly love any scene where he comments on the nature of spy movies. A re-watch could bump this up.

4. The King's Speech

A performance I perhaps give a bit of leway to because I do like the film quite a bit. Firth gives a somewhat one-note performance that I kind of blame on the direction, as King George VI vs the stutter. I'd say the film almost focuses too much on this underdog, downtrodden arc of the King in the initial stages, which makes Firth's performance not the most interesting at the outset. Once speech therapist Lionel Logue, played excellently by Geoffrey Rush, comes onto the scene however, his performance greatly improves as he shares some excellent comedic chemistry with Rush, makes his tics and mannerisms work towards quite a compelling characterization, and ends up making the conclusion of the film very moving.

3. The Railway Man

A flaw of the film is too many flashbacks, one because Jeremy Irvine as young Eric Lomax, a British officer suffering atrocities by the Japanese in WWII, for all his best efforts, can't quite make the very standard POW camp scenes come to life all that much. In fact, I think the film would've worked much better with even more focus on the 'present day' scenes. There's some sterling work from Nicole Kidman and Stellan Skarsgård as literally supportive performances, but it's Firth as an older Lomax who is the highlight. He conveys the post-war trauma of the man brilliantly and though he doesn't have that much screentime to dwell on it, conveys the arc of a man who's brought into hate and up from that into forgiveness, quite well. The build-up by the film might not quite work, but his scene where he confronts his wartime tormenter (played well by Hiroyuki Sanada) is the best acting of Firth's career.

2. Conspiracy

Firth gives a very atypical performance as, of all things, a Nazi lawyer, though cleverly implementing a bit of the old Firth mannerisms and tics into his portrayal of Dr Wilhem Stuckart. As a man outraged by plans for the 'Final Solution' not because of the sheer evil and immortality of it all, but merely because of the adminstrative and legal problems that would follow it. His performance quite expertly tricks the audience into thinking he might be the 'sympathetic' character in all this, before completely turning this on its head by showing that no, he's not a good person, he just thinks the sterilization of Jews is preferrable to mass murder because it's more convenient. The blunt manner in which the evil planning of the 'Final Solution' is undergone may not have worked if not for the excellent performances of Firth, Stanley Tucci, and Kenneth Branagh on board.

1. A Single Man

Firth probably should have won the Oscar in 2009, though I don't hate Crazy Heart Bridges was clearly doing a very Oscar baity play for the Oscar in it. I certainly don't mind the win that much, and also Jeremy Renner and George Clooney gave pretty decent performances (I haven't seen Morgan Freeman yet). However, Firth gives a career-best turn as a grief-stricken homosexual college professor who over the course of a single day, reflects on his past, ruminates on his present, interacts with friends and new friends, and prepares to kill himself at the end of the day. The film I like just fine as a display of Tom Ford's style, but some of it, particularly the supporting acting bar Julianne Moore, leaves something to be desired. Firth, though, despite these hinderances gives a truly heartbreaking and powerful performance as a repressed (though not in the typical way) man who gradually finds a modicum of meaning in life. I particularly love his scenes with Julianne Moore, any scene where he feigns an exterior of warmth to combat the grieving interior, his breakdown scene at new of his lover's death, and his final few moments of his life.

(I should note I was perhaps too harsh on him in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in an earlier review. He's no Ian Richardson, but I would say upon reflection he fits the role of Bill Haydon just fine)

Bridges (I'll be seeing Hell or High Water soon, and I need to see Thunderbolt and Lightfoot)

5. The Last Picture Show

A great film to be sure, and though Bridges is not quite the best part of it, he's certainly crucial to the film's overall success. Duane Jackson is one of the least sympathetic characters in the story, a popular high school kid who's as aimless as they come, and a bit of a dickhead, so to speak. Young Jeff Bridges had a particularly entertainig, charismatic drive to all of his performances that make the cruelty of Duane acceptable and not as unappealing as it could've been. I like this performance quite a bit, and though it's not as emotionally driven as Cloris Leachman's heartbreaking performance or impactful as Ellen Burstyn and Ben Johnson, it's a good performance that definitely previsioned things to come.

4. The Fisher King

Actually my favourite Terry Gilliam film, I know that's a controversial statement to make, but I personally don't care all that much for Brazil and think that Gilliam's visual style gets a bit tiring after awhile without the proper human element in it. I don't love The Fisher King either, but I like it quite a bit, and Bridges' performance as a radio shock jockey who has a life crisis after his on-air comments inadvertently cause a mass shooting is a very strong one. He provides a perfect balancing act to the late Robin Williams' more extroverted portrayal of a bonkers homeless man Parry, who finds a connection with Bridges' Jack Lucas. His insenstive and closed-in performance gradually seguing in a warm and endearing one is quite affecting, and makes the journey of the two's trip to find the Holy Grail funny and affecting.

3. The Fabulous Baker Boys

A great example of the superstar presence of Bridges. I really like every moment of this performance by Bridges as one half of the titular nightclub musical act. As Jack Baker, a showman on the lull, Bridges doesn't overplay it but rather shows the rather depressing state of a man just going through the motions in life in a rather subtle manner. This makes the addition of Michelle Pfeiffer's scintillating turn as Susie Diamond work even better as we watch Bridges' performance gradually grow with some of life that shows traces of past glory. I love how his chemistry with Preiffer gradually adds to his onscreen anti-chemistry with his onscreen and offscreen brother Beau Bridges, and builds up to a pretty hard-to-watch third act where Jack bascially feels like all this happiness can't last. He makes the ending of the film all the more heartwarming as he makes Jack Baker's character transition both realistic and quite compelling, and adds another great example of what makes Bridges such a compelling onscreen presence (on a separate note, had this film been made about 10 years later, I could also imagine Kevin Spacey doing this sort of performance).

2. True Grit

Firstly, Bridges has to work with the Coen Brothers again, very, very soon. He's just someone who seems to be perfectly in tune with the director's tendencies and likes, and makes the remake of True Grit feel less a remake, more an upgrade, a revision on pretty much all levels. I absolutely love True Grit (2011), it's one of my favourite films of all-time. The rousing score by Carter Burwell, the excellent ensemble ranging from a hilarious and lovable Matt Damon, to an unrecognizable Barry Pepper to an unrecognizable Domhnall Gleeson (oh hey, they should also get Brendan in at some point), some beautiful cinematography by Roger Deakins which gives an all new and classical vibe to the old West, a sterling child performance by Hailee Steinfield, a terrific screenplay that tells a simple straightforward revenge story with such style, and of course Mr Bridges. Jeff's performance as Rooster Cogburn is sort of like John Wayne's own turn as the one-eyed fat man, in that he takes a very daring approach to the role. He slurs his words even more than usual, he has some very weird facial tics in his performance, the whole get-up and presentation of the American Civil War veteran turned drunkard US Marshall is quite something to behold. I love every daring choice Bridges makes in the role. He makes Rooster Cogburn unforgettable from his hilarious initial comedic scenes, intimidating in his confrontation scene, and boy will you cheer for him as he makes his all or nothing showdown and weep at his exit. LOVE this performance - and since Eisenberg was never going to win the Oscar, I would've much rather it gone to Bridges instead in 2011.

1. The Big Lebowski

More than a decade before True Grit, Bridges played an even more iconic Coen Brothers character in the form of Jeffrey Lebowski, more commonly known as 'The Dude', who's really annoyed about having his rug pissed on by a Chinaman, it really tied the room together but besides that, he's a pretty chilled guy. The Big Lebowski is a film that's grown on me more and more and it's now officially one of my favourite Coen Brothers films. The same goes for Bridges' performance. Bridges performance here could be seen as the spiritual predecessor to Joaquin Phoenix's work as Doc Sportello in Inherent Vice in that both act as somewhat unconventional 'detectives' to a strange kidnapping/mystery plot. The difference is that Sportello was always high on weed, Bridge's Dude just seems to be generally spaced no matter what. Bridges could not be more at ease as The Dude, whether he's bowling, trying to negotiate with his millionaire namesake (David Huddleston), shooting the breeze with his mates Walter (a hilarious John Goodman) and Donnie (an amiable Steve Buscemi), or just trying to make sense of everything around him, he's hilarious. I particularly love the scenes where he gets some very unusual bathroom treatment or a most aggressive police interrogation because Bridge's reactions to these circumstances are always funny. As well as being hilarious, The Dude also has to be a straight man to a cast of rather, to put it mildly, weird people, and Bridges nails this as well. It's a great comedic leading performance that's iconic for a reason, and though I've heard arguments that it's Bridges playing his real-life self, I would not want The Dude any other way.