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Leading up to this year's Academy Awards on March 7, critic Christopher Kelly discusses who he thinks deserves to take Oscar gold in the major categories.
Today: Best Actor
The nominees: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
If Chris chose the winner: Jeff Bridges
Sometimes when a beloved actor has been nominated many times before but never won, he ends up taking the prize for a lesser role — the “body of work” Oscar, as it’s unofficially termed. (Paging Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman and John Wayne in True Grit.) But in the case of Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart, the five-time nominee has come through with the performance of his lifetime; it’s the rare case where the sentimental favorite also happens to be far and away the strongest performer in the pack.
As country singer Bad Blake, Bridges conjures up a physically detailed portrait of decay, spiritual and physical. Wandering from dumpy bowling alleys to dilapidated roadhouses, still trying to eke out a living as a musician, the character is a tragic figure given a chance at redemption, in the form of a beautiful young journalist (fellow Oscar nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal) and her young boy. Sure, it’s a slightly hokey story, but Bridges vividly charts Blake’s struggle — one step forward, two steps back — and conveys the poignant heroism in his unwillingness to give up.
Who will win: Jeff Bridges
Coming up:
Friday: Best Actress
Saturday: Best Picture
