Who Should Have Won Best Actor-2003

 

Best Actor for the films of 2003 was quite a good year in film. I thought most of the actors nominated deserved to be there..most of them. This will be a Bit different because, this year I agree with the Academy, barely, but I agree. So let’s see what I chose..

1. SEAN PENN IN MYSTIC RIVER

Sean Penn is a controversial figure because, he seems to be an a-hole, but one with conviction. In this film he plays one of 3 childhood friends where he grew up the become the local gangster. The other, played by Kevin Bacon, is a cop and Timothy Robbins plays an ex-convict who owns a convenience store. Penn’s daughter is found murdered and wants to find justice, his way while cop Bacon is just trying to find the killer. When Robbins shows up bloodied with an injured hand changing his story every 2 minutes, he comes the prime suspect. The issue is, is he guilty? I will have to say, Penn deserves this Oscar. It’s a showy role, but a great one and Penn delivers one of his best acting especially when he shows up at the crime scene. He’s intense but for all the right reasons. So, yes, he deserved this Oscar but I almost chose another actor for an understated performance who should have been nominated.

2. JEFF BRIDGES IN SEABISCUIT

My hubby and I just rewatched this stellar film a couple of weeks ago and it just grabs your heart in so many ways. It is about the famous horse, Seabiscuit who grabbed the nation’s attention back during the Great Depression of the 1930s. 3 lost men, feeling out of place in a world changing around them come together due to a horse feeling much the same way. Each are damaged and hurt by the world they live in. Chris Cooper plays a rodeo performer and cowboy who no longer fits in with the modern world. He is hired by Rich Jeff Bridges, who made his money in cars but becomes enchanted with the world of horse racing. Bridges wants nothing to do with cars since his son died in an accident, his wife divorced him and he is unsure where his life will go. When he sees Seabiscuit, he sees something in himself and buys the horse and asks Cooper to train him. Cooper meets up with Red, played by Tobey Maguire, a defiant kid working in the stables and sees that he is just as lost and damaged as Seabiscuit. You follow all 4 of these damaged souls become famous because of The little horse that could. It culminates when Seabiscuit and the Great “War Admiral” come together for a race and the country stops to listen on the radio about this mighty race. Jeff Bridges gave a quiet, resilient performance as the rich man who understood what broken means and quietly restores the health of all 3, the cowboy, the jockey and the horse. How Jeff didn’t even get nominated is beyond me and if he would have won the Oscar, I would have been happy. Where Penn’s performance was flamboyant and magnetic, Bridges was calm, steadfast and equally magnetic, just in a different way.

3 JOHNNY DEPP IN PIRATES OFNTHE CARIBBEAN 

Yup, Depp was nominated for his comedic performance in the comedy fantasy about a blacksmith (Orlando Bloom) and a Governor's daughter (Keira Kneightly who meet and fall in love amidst the Mahem of the Pirates who want to retrieve the medallion  since it is part of a treasure horde they need to retrieve to undo the curse they are under. It’s a fun movie that grossed a ton of money and made many sequels. Johnny Depp developed this character that is flamboyant and over the top. I don’t mind it but I never thought he deserved to be nominated. To be honest, I now find the character a bit irritating and wish Depp would stop all those quirky mannerisms of this character. These films are funny and the make-up deserves an Oscar but not Depp.

Do you agree with my assessment? Just so you know, the other nominees were Ben Kingsley for “House of Sand and Fog”, Jude Law in “Cold Mountain” and Bill Murray from “Lost in Translation.” 

Would you choose another actor? Let me know.