海角大神

As a film critic who sees upwards of 200 movies a year, I am often asked how I survive such a marathon. Aside from having a massive love of moviegoing, the answer is that I have an outlandish love of good acting. Even the most dubious of films often features a performance or a cameo that hits home. Lying in wait for this work is what keeps me, and I suspect many others, in a happy state of expectation. I look forward to being astonished, and when I am, all 鈥� well, almost all 鈥� is forgiven.

The Oscars, airing March 2 on ABC and streaming live on Hulu, will offer up kudos for some of these astonishments. But some of the most commendable work went unnominated.

So, per my annual custom, here are my musings on some of the standout acting nominees, as well as a few of the best performances of the year that went unrecognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Best actress

I would single out for highest honors Fernanda Torres鈥� performance in 鈥淚鈥檓 Still Here鈥� as the defiant matriarch whose husband was 鈥渄isappeared鈥� during Brazil鈥檚 military dictatorship. It would have been all too easy to portray the real-life Eunice Paiva as an outwardly grieving sufferer. Paiva certainly did suffer, but Torres emphasizes the woman鈥檚 indomitable pride in keeping her family together. Without a hint of histrionics, she bares Paiva鈥檚 soul. This is the most difficult kind of acting.

The other nominee I most admire is Mikey Madison as Ani, an exotic dancer in a New York 鈥済entlemen鈥檚 club鈥� in 鈥淎苍辞谤补.鈥� Ani鈥檚 knockabout marriage to the spoiled son of a Russian oligarch could have been played strictly for laughs. Instead, Madison brings a dazzling mix of tones to the role. Street-smart, flummoxed, flattered, she is the engine of a madcap Cinderella fantasy that slides into sadness without a hitch. Madison brings unrelenting vigor to the sort of character who is normally marginalized or sensationalized on the screen. Ani comes across as nobody鈥檚 fool 鈥� except, perhaps, her own.

Of the remaining three nominees, I thought Cynthia Erivo in 鈥淲颈肠办别诲鈥� lent impressive green gravitas to a movie that otherwise felt like being locked inside a Vegas Cirque du Soleil act for almost three hours. Demi Moore in the body horrorfest 鈥淭he Substance鈥� has the sentimental vote but gets upstaged by all the gore on display. Karla Sof铆a Gasc贸n, the first transgender actress to receive an Oscar nomination, is effective in 鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥� but ultimately is done in by a role that tries for too many wildly disparate things 鈥� cartel boss, savior, avenger, feminist. (In any case, Gasc贸n鈥檚 recently surfaced racist social media posts about, among other things, immigrants and Islam, will undoubtedly sabotage any chance of her winning.)

Courtesy of Simon Mein/Thin Man Films Ltd

Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is at odds with herself in 鈥淗ard Truths.鈥�

The gravest injustice in this category is the absence of Marianne Jean-Baptiste in 鈥淗ard Truths.鈥� She won the best actress award from all three major critics鈥� groups in the United States and was not even nominated for an Oscar. As Pansy, a London housewife at furious odds with herself and the world, Jean-Baptiste brought stunning poignancy to what might otherwise have been a one-note rant. She gives Pansy鈥檚 anguish a seething humanity.

Best actor

I thought Colman Domingo, nominated for his role as John 鈥淒ivine G鈥� Whitfield in 鈥淪ing Sing,鈥� gave the year鈥檚 best performance in this category. In the past, in such movies as 鈥淩ustin鈥� and the remake of 鈥淭he Color Purple,鈥� Domingo鈥檚 outsize theatrical presence could seem almost too much for the camera. But in 鈥淪ing Sing,鈥� playing the leader of a prison theater troupe, Domingo and his larger-than-life aspect are a perfect fit. He is equally powerful in his quietest moments, when Divine G鈥檚 despair at being incarcerated shuts him down completely. His stillnesses are as dynamic as his eruptions.

A24/AP

Colman Domingo (left), a best actor nominee, and Clarence Maclin star in 鈥淪ing Sing,鈥� about a prison theater troupe.

The other four nominees have their moments. As the Hungarian immigrant architect and Holocaust survivor in 鈥淭he Brutalist,鈥� Adrien Brody does his best work since 鈥淭he Pianist.鈥� The fact that his performance sometimes summons up that film is no reason to discount it. Ralph Fiennes鈥� papal priest in 鈥淐onclave鈥� is a marvel of underplaying in a cast otherwise prone to scenery-chomping. As the young Donald J. Trump, Sebastian Stan makes the best of a near-impossible assignment in 鈥淭he Apprentice.鈥�

And then there鈥檚 Timoth茅e Chalamet鈥檚 Bob Dylan in 鈥淎 Complete Unknown,鈥� a likely winner in this category. My problem with the movie is that its title sums up its approach to the singer-songwriter. We end up where we started 鈥� Dylan the enigma. But at least Chalamet doesn鈥檛 try to soft pedal Dylan鈥檚 surliness and careerism, and his vocal re-creations are mostly spot on.

Macall Polay/Searchlight Pictures/AP

Timoth茅e Chalamet, who does his own singing, is a nominee for best actor for his portrayal of the enigmatic Bob Dylan in 鈥淎 Complete Unknown.鈥�

Best supporting actress

With the exception of Zoe Salda帽a as the hyperintense Mexican attorney in 鈥淓milia P茅rez,鈥� my best picks for this category are not in line with the Oscars鈥� choices, worthy though some of them are. (For the record, the rest of the nominees for best supporting actress are Isabella Rossellini in 鈥淐onclave,鈥� Monica Barbaro in 鈥淎 Complete Unknown,鈥� Felicity Jones in 鈥淭he Brutalist,鈥� and Ariana Grande in 鈥淲颈肠办别诲.鈥�) Tops for me is Michele Austin as Chantelle, the exasperated but deeply caring sister of Jean-Baptiste鈥檚 Pansy in 鈥淗ard Truths.鈥� It鈥檚 a performance of surpassing empathy. Chantelle tells her sister, 鈥淚 love you. I don鈥檛 understand you, but I love you.鈥� No other actor this year delivered a line with more sorrowful force.

I would also single out Jurnee Smollett as Dolores, the protective mother of a young boy in the crime-ridden Chicago projects in 鈥淲e Grown Now.鈥� 鈥淗ow am I supposed to keep you safe?鈥� Dolores wails. Her cry speaks for all parents who have ever feared for their child.

Best supporting actor

Kieran Culkin, as Benji, the distressingly overbearing cousin of Jesse Eisenberg鈥檚 David in 鈥淎 Real Pain,鈥� is the Oscar favorite. It鈥檚 a marvelously free-form performance, full of sharp edges and grace notes.

But by all rights, Culkin should not be in this category. He is a co-lead with Eisenberg and probably has more lines. Oscar category switcheroos like this happen all the time as a way to boost an actor鈥檚 odds of winning. That doesn鈥檛 make it legitimate.

I was also high on the other Oscar nominees in this group 鈥� Edward Norton as Pete Seeger in 鈥淎 Complete Unknown,鈥� Guy Pearce as the flamboyant tycoon in 鈥淭he Brutalist,鈥� and Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, Donald Trump鈥檚 mentor, in 鈥淭he Apprentice.鈥� He gives iniquity a human face.

Perhaps best of all is Yura Borisov as the thug with a heart of gold in 鈥淎苍辞谤补.鈥� He does more with his eyes than most actors do with their entire bodies. I鈥檝e admired this actor ever since I saw him as a moody Russian miner in the Finnish-Russian movie 鈥淐ompartment Number 6.鈥� Let鈥檚 hope he graces Hollywood again.

Peter Rainer is the Monitor鈥檚 film critic.