Top 5 Performances: Viggo Mortensen, Denzel Washington

Mortensen

5. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

I find that Mortensen's work as Aragon in the Lord of the Rings trilogy is very often underrated. He may not be the flashiest character, but he really is one of the most important anchors to the series, and The Return of the King is the film I find he gets the most chance to flourish. He simply embodies the character of Aragon so beautifully, so perfectly, whether it's in the action sequences where he carries so much passion and fire to Aragon's leadership, or quieter scenes like 'For Frodo'.

4. Captain Fantastic

I've been struggling along with my Best Actor reviews (it's been quite the complex year), so I thought I might as well start here. Captain Fantastic is one of the most underrated films of 2016, and I'm so glad it managed to gain awards traction through one man. Mortensen's character, Ben Cross, is a very atypical sort of Oscar role, in that it's a rather modestly drawn and subtle bit of work that's very easygoing in many ways. Ben is technically an overbearing father figure, but not in an abusive way, just merely a man who feels he has his children's best interests at heart by integrating them into a survivalist lifestyle in the wilderness. A man with his sort of self-reliant philosophy could have gotten old really, really fast, but Mortensen's charisma and unique approach to a mentor and father is actually quite endearing. When tragedy strikes the family, Mortensen is incredibly powerful in showing how it hits him, and how his subsequent actions, though somewhat eccentric and erratic, all really stem for a love for his beloved kids. These heartbreaking scenes fit in perfectly with his

Mortensen's portrayal of a father who is far from perfect, but always has his children's best interests at heart, is a beautifully subdued piece of work that never tries to sugercoat his shortcomings, but makes it clear that this is above all a loving man who needs to learn to compromise. In scenes where he realizes he may have gone too far on his high horse with his children, especially his oldest son Bo (a terrific George MacKay), we see a man's life being held into question, but unlike another Oscar-nominated father figure from this year, Mortensen's reactions are of genuine, heartfelt regret. On that note, the performance is a fascinating counterpoint to his other Oscar-nominated contemporary as another father figure, as the eloquence he brings to understanding such a unique man with straightforward wishes for his children

3. Eastern Promises

Re-watched this film recently, and I've come round to considering it to be very much a near-masterpiece; add in another 20 minutes or so and it could've very well been one. It's such an intriguing look into the Russian Mafia in London, and standing head and shoulders above a rather stellar cast - Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Vincent Cassel are all rather terrific - is Mortensen's portrayal of Nikolai Luzhin, The character of Nikolai is fascinating in that he starts off as just a somewhat amiable low-level mobster, but Mortensen's brilliant physical and vocal transformation into this very particular figure makes him stand out so enigmatically, and blends the character's warmth and affection for his comrades, and cold brutality to enemies, quite something to behold. His burgeoning romance with the nurse Anna (Watts) is very quietly underplayed, in quite the powerful fashion, and he also helps to sell the potentially out-of-the-blue twist of the film in such an effective fashion. An incredible performance not just in terms of transformation but also in impact, and I have to say that Viggo Mortensen might have two of the most unique Oscar nominations to date with these two characters, a wacky, Noam Chomsky-loving survivalist father figure, and a brutal but heartfelt Russian mobster.

2. A History of Violence

This is one of those performances I'd rather not discuss in too much detail if you haven't seen the film. If you have, however, you'll understand what I'm talking about. In his first David Cronenberg collaboration, you have Mortensen as Tom Stall, just an everyman with a loving wife and family in a small town with a small diner with a small and happy life, whose life is thrown into shambles after he plays the role of a 'hero' in killing two criminals who come to rob his diner. The slow dissolution of his character from upstanding faily man into something altogether darker as more truths are revealed is quite something to watch as Mortensen's internalization of all the character's secrets and the beast within him coming out makes for quite the memorable arc for Tom Stall.

1. The Road

I'll leave an essentially perfect review of this performance here -http://actoroscar.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/alternate-best-actor-2009-viggo.html - but to add my two cents in, this is pretty much as perfect a 'rectionary' performance as they come. Mortensen's man, never given a name, is our avatar through John Hillcoat's dystopian universe, and he's both great at carrying the film upon his shoulders with his screen presence and everyman sensibilities, but also adding so much of the man's history into his performance without needing to vocalize it. Like in Captain Fantastic he plays a loving father figure, but of a less fussy and more hardened and incisive sort, and merges these fatherly qualities with a much more aggressive survivalist policy that draws the viewer deeper and deeper into his plight. Every moment of he and his son's struggle is magnificently realized, and makes the journey of a man with no name one you'll never forget.

6. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
7. A Dangerous Method
8. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
9. The Two Faces of January
10. The Prophecy

Washington

HM: The Manchurian Candidate

Underrated performance in an underrated film. It's not as atmospheric and effective as the original 1962 film, but I'd argue that it contains a better primary lead in Washington's take on Frank Sinatra's role. As war veteran, Major Bennett Marco, who gradually begins to unravel a conspiracy surrounding Liev Schreiber's Sergeant Raymond Shaw, Washington is a terrific lead in this world of conspiracy and lies, anchoring the film with poise and grace but underlying it with a growing unease about the situation he's in. He conveys the paranoia of Marco very well and helps build up the film to a rather intriguing and unexpected emotional resolution.

5. Training Day

'King Kong 'aint got shit on me' is the sort of line that requires loud, booming delivery. Washington's second Oscar win, though chastised by some who believe that Russell Crowe's solid performance in A Beautiful Mind should have won (I thought he was good, but Benedict Cumberbatch would do a much more inspired and interesting variation on the neurotic mathematician role a decade or so later), but I personally think that Washington's win was inspired. It's a simple character - Alonzo Harris is a dirty cop who appears kind of friendly to Ethan Hawke's rookie cop, but soon reveals to be an even nastier piece of work than you could possibly imagine - and Washington has a lot of fun in the role. It's a tremendously entertaining, and at times rather chilling performance that entirely fulfils its purpose as a memorable villain, and even adds some nuance to the margins in terms of why Alonzo is the man he is.

4. Flight 

An incredibly messy, unfocused film that really hasn't fared better with time, Flight doesn't really have much going on for it upon close examination apart from a towering lead performance by Washington. His opening scenes as the hotshot, drugged-up and alcoholic pilot commandeering an airplane from collateral disaster to safety is rather compelling, but he's at his best when the film switches from high quality, high gear thrills to a meandering pace, cliched characters and worthless attempts at comedy that distract from a potentially compelling procedural thriller. Washington, amidst the mess Robert Zemeckis throws him into, gives a startlingly complex performance as a man thrust into role of both unwilling hero and his own worst demon, portraying the thrust of guilt and substance addiction as bringing him increasingly to his lowest. He handles all facets of the film with such skill and makes that final confessional speech of his resonate more powerfully than the film deserved.

3. Glory

A terrific ensemble in a terrific war film, Washington's Private Silas Trip is the most compelling of all the colourful, vibrant figures of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first all-black military units of the Union side in the Civil War. Trip is actually quite a simple character on paper, the belligerent and antagonistic soldier whose abrasive attitude extends to everyone, regardless of skin colour. His depiction of his character's maturation into a man genuinely passionate and willing to die for the Union's cause is utterly captivating, and within the margins of the film makes Trip a powerful representation of the surging American spirit. He deservedly won his first Oscar for this role.

2. Man on Fire

An incredibly strong performance that takes on a very particular style of Denzel cool, and turns it into something far less savoury but at the same time, more complex and compelling. John Creasy is a badass, but he's also utterly cold-blooded and methodical in his badassery, which could've made for an off-putting character. Washington never shies away from the cold and nasty side to his character's penchant for violence, but coheres it intriguingly into a portrait of a man who's just so in tune with a life of killing that it's become a second nature to him, but whose cold distance gradually becomes broken down by the young girl he's been employed to protect as a bodyguard (Dakota Fanning). The film is raised from a standard action film to a rather memorable one by Tony Scott's direction and his leading man, who controls the screen completely from start to finish.

1. Fences

Washington's performance in Fences, and really Fences as a whole, is truly a labour of love. As well as having starred in the role on stage for many years, knowing the ins and outs of the source material play thoroughly and having such passion for it, Washington also directs this straightforward but very effective adaptation of August Wilson's play about a working class African-American family and its internal conflicts. Washington's work as a director is decent, workmanlike for the most part but it suits the requirements of the film, which is a small cast in a limited environment. Because it's such a small cast, every cast member needs to be on point, lest the film falters. And everyone is at the least very good. Russell Hornsby, given the smallest and most thankless role of the lot as Lyons Maxson, is nevertheless rather good as the supposedly deadbeat son who might make something of himself as a musician. Stephen Henderson is a jovial and rather heartwarming presence as the kindly Bono, Jovan Adepo finds new ground with the discontent jock son character Cory, Mykelti Williamson is a compelling presence as the mentally impaired war veteran Gabriel, and Viola Davis...I'll get onto her soon enough.

But anyway, what about the man who dominates the film till its epilogue. Washington takes centre stage in this film, and I mean that in a literal sense as well as all other connotations of the phrase. In that, besides being the central figure of the story, Troy Maxson is also a larger-than-life figure, a BIG presence in his own little world who in his everyday conversations with friends and family, is a bit of a showman himself. Now this could've easily led to some bad overacting or worse, a performance feeling like it just came off the stage with no awareness of the film camera. Washington's performance however, immaculately captures the nuances of the cinematic form while retaining what presumably made his stage performance as Troy so acclaimed. In that he's boistreously entertaining and often rather hilarious in showing the ridiculous, over-the-top storyteller and jokester Troy is when telling tall tales and messing around with his friend Bono and wife Rose (Davis). Wilson's dialogue is tricky dialogue, comparable to someone like David Mamet in that it has to be delivered in a very specific sort of way, with a specific sort of rhythm, otherwise it falls flat. None of the actors fall into this trap, certainly not Washington whose fast-paced, chatterbox approach to this most talkative man is rather extreme, but so gloriously fitting to his personality.

The speeches delivered by Washington all feel very natural to Troy's background as a man who never had much luck in life, and who uses stories and exaggerations, as well as supposedly profound philosophies on life he offers to his wife and sons, to present a man who thinks himself as both preacher and God - a god of baseball most certainly, and a curious element to his performance that really knocks it out of the ballpark (no pun intended) is how he bigs up his skills as a player back in the day, while giving a sense of a huge chip on his shoulder and insecurity about how he never made it into the major leagues. There's a raw bitterness that we rarely see in Washington, which my friend pointed out when we briefly discussed the film, that's rather tough to watch, and only comes out more beautifully on re-watches. This bitterness only worsens over the film as his son Cory, a promising football players, presents to him a reminder of his own failures. Washington makes the growing disdain of the man not for his son, but the potential glory he represents which he himself can never obtain, excruciating in the best possible way. These memorable scenes, like that 'like you' scene, or his final beatdown of his son when he threatens him with a baseball bat, are intense scenes through the performances of the actors. Adepo is very good, and Washington is sublime as a man who truly comes unhinged when reminded about how he could have been, but never was, a contender.

Of course, Washington isn't just an intense, domineering figure the whole time, that would defeat the point of Troy Maxson as a character. He has quieter moments with his disabled brother Gabriel, and his wife, these are small, tender moments that show that beneath the big and loud man, there's a more sensitive one lurking underneath. When he ruminates about his painful past, his love for Rose, and perhaps one of his best scenes when he confesses to Rose about an extramarital affair, you see a man trying to cover up his inner demons with his showy exterior, as his world crumbles around. There's so much subtlety in the performance that's so much more than the hypocritical 'wise' exterior Troy presents, as he loses that facade and reveals himself as the nasty piece of work and weak, fallible man he really is. It's one of the trickiest roles of 2016 as a problematic father figure, very different to Mortensen's I may add,  and perhaps the least directly sympathetic character of the 2016 Best Actor nominees (though I guess that's not hard when you have Casey Affleck and his onslaught of tragedy after tragedy, Ryan Gosling, Viggo's loving if slightly out of touch dad, and Andrew Garfield who essentially plays a real-life embodiment of Jesus Christ). You still feel drawn to the character through Washington's grand, incredible performance, easily a career-best for an always consistent and dependable screen presence.

7. The Hurricaine

8. He Got 
9. Malcolm X
10. The Magnificent Seven