海角大神

Movies, especially in troubling times, are often belittled as mere escapism. But some escapes can bring us into a wider comprehension of who we are. In the arts, there is no higher calling than this. And there is no more powerful way to connect with oneself than to live through the experiences of others.聽

This is why the art of acting, of performance, has always meant so much to me, and never more so than now. With this in mind, and with the run-up to the Oscars in full swing, I want to weigh in on a few of the nominated choices that impressed me the most in the four acting categories. More important, I鈥檒l also single out some terrific work that 诲颈诲苍鈥檛 get nominated.

The Oscars are far from the ultimate arbiter of excellence.

Best actress

Of the five best actress nominees, I like best Kristen Stewart in 鈥淪pencer鈥� and Olivia Colman in 鈥淭he Lost Daughter.鈥�

It鈥檚 never easy playing a celebrated public figure, especially an icon as overexposed as Princess Diana. Stewart triumphs by allowing us to experience Diana as a real person entrapped in a surreal, albeit gilded, cage. Diana鈥檚 fragile selfhood, and the happiness of her two sons, is at stake. Stewart makes us see just how high those stakes were for her.

As Leda, a middle-aged literature professor seeking a solitary beach vacation in Greece, Colman is playing a woman for whom, it soon becomes clear, motherhood was a suffocating responsibility. This is not how we are accustomed to seeing motherhood portrayed in the movies, and it鈥檚 to Colman鈥檚 immense credit that she doesn鈥檛 attempt to soften the impact. It鈥檚 a subtly creepy and nuanced performance, full of impacted sorrow.聽

I am not trying to be esoteric when I say that the best performance of the year for me was given by Jasna 脨uri膷i膰 playing Aida, a schoolteacher in the neglected political thriller 鈥淨uo Vadis, Aida?,鈥� about the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina. Amid such turmoil, the sheer vehemence of Aida鈥檚 compassion, without the slightest bit of grandstanding, raises the character to heroic heights. 聽

Another amazing non-nominee was Ann Dowd in 鈥淢ass,鈥� as the mother of a high school shooter who, with her ex-husband, has a confrontational sit-down with the parents of one of the victims. The film is a remarkable ensemble piece, but Dowd is the standout. She gives her character such a febrile intensity that at times I felt the impulse to look away from the screen. And yet how could I? Her slightest quiver speaks volumes.

Best actor 聽 聽 聽

Benedict Cumberbatch鈥檚 Oscar-nominated performance as the surly, shadowy cowboy in 鈥淭he Power of the Dog鈥� has been getting major buzz, but in some ways I prefer his much less heralded work as the deliriously eccentric real-life painter of cats in 鈥淭he Electrical Life of Louis Wain.鈥� Cumberbatch is unmatched at bringing out the humanity in genius oddballs (see also his Alan Turing in 鈥淭he Imitation Game鈥�) and never more so than here.

Will Smith has made his share of middling movies, but he鈥檚 at his best as Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena, in 鈥淜ing Richard.鈥� We often don鈥檛 give movie stars enough credit for, at least in some cases, also being star actors. But Smith鈥檚 propulsive Oscar-nominated performance in this film should come as no surprise to anyone who saw him in 鈥淭he Pursuit of Happyness,鈥� 鈥淎li,鈥� or 鈥淪ix Degrees of Separation.鈥�

As for the unnominated: It鈥檚 been a long time since Nicolas Cage showed up in a movie that was watchable as anything except high camp. In the superb 鈥淧ig,鈥� as a reclusive truffle hunter with a dark backstory, he reminds us of just how good an actor he is. Best of all, he does so without all his usual weirdo mannerisms and exhortations (as entertaining as those can sometimes be).

Also unrecognized were two of the year鈥檚 finest: Aditya Modak as an aspiring Hindustani classical musician in 鈥淭he Disciple鈥� and Adarsh Gourav as the ambitious Indian servant in 鈥淭he White Tiger.鈥� Performances aside, these films were among the year鈥檚 best.

Best supporting actress

There was probably more first-rate work in this category than in any other this year. Three Oscar nominees stood out for me.

Ariana DeBose鈥檚 Anita in 鈥淲est Side Story鈥� is in many ways the film鈥檚 propulsive core. As both actor and dancer, she has an incendiary forthrightness that recalls the young Rita Moreno, her celebrated Oscar-winning predecessor in the part (who also appears in a newly created role in the remake, to its great advantage).

Aunjanue Ellis, playing Richard Williams鈥� exasperated wife in 鈥淜ing Richard,鈥� transforms what could have been a thankless role into a rendition so rich you could easily imagine the movie centering on 丑别谤.听

Like Meryl Streep, Judi Dench is a perennial nominee, and for good reason. She can play regal and bedraggled with equal assurance. As Granny in 鈥淏elfast,鈥� she is at her most poignant, and never more so than in her final words to her departing family: 鈥淕o. Go now. Don鈥檛 look back. I love you, son.鈥�

Other standouts, unnominated, include Sally Hawkins as Diana鈥檚 passionately loyal lady-in-waiting in 鈥淪pencer鈥�; Kathryn Hunter playing to sinister, sinuous perfection all three witches in 鈥淭he Tragedy of Macbeth鈥�; Toko Miura as the sad-eyed personal driver in 鈥淒rive My Car鈥�; and Gaby Hoffmann as the beset sister and mother in 鈥淐鈥檓on C鈥檓on.鈥澛�

Best supporting actor

Judi Dench鈥檚 great work in 鈥淏elfast鈥� would not have been as effective without the Oscar-nominated Ciar谩n Hinds playing opposite her as her husband. Hinds, who grew up in Belfast, is one of those actors who, especially in repose, seems to carry within him an entire universe of feeling. His stillnesses are more eloquent than most actors鈥� orations.

But lest you think I鈥檓 averse to watching talented actors strip-mine the scenery, three unnominated hambones especially caught my eye last year: Richard Ayoade as the hypertemperamental film director in 鈥淭he Souvenir Part II鈥�; Bradley Cooper in 鈥淟icorice Pizza鈥� as the real-life movie producer Jon Peters 鈥� a definitive sendup of showbiz egomania; and Al Pacino as one of the egregious Guccis in 鈥淗ouse of Gucci.鈥� If there were an award for most acting, these guys would rate high.

Peter Rainer is the Monitor鈥檚 film critic. The Oscars award ceremony airs on ABC on Sunday, March 27.聽