Word: actorly
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...released months before any of the other nominees. The film has been out of the public eye for too long, and the lack of current hype will take its toll. Second: since the film was Jim Carrey's break-through dramatic role, viewers remember this cautionary tale as an actor's triumph, not that of a director. Third, and most damning: Weir did a good job directing Truman, but perhaps he was too good for his own good (say that five times fast). In creating a dark, surveillance-oriented world, the director forced himself to reach an unappealing level...
...Hanks, Saving Private Ryan: TomHanks is America's good man, our decent soldier.The parts that he takes tend to be sointrinsically sympathetic that, combined with hisclassic stoic-yet-vulnerable schtick, it's almostoverkill. Almost, but not quite; no one can denyHanks' talent as an actor. However, Ryan's CaptainMiller is not his best role. And since Hanks hasalready strutted his stuff twice before for a BestActor award, the Academy may be less willing toreward him yet again-which is part of what makesthe Best Actor race so exciting and tough to callthis year...
Roberto Benigni, Life is Beautiful: Thenewly-internationalized comic superstar seems tobe out of luck in the Best Actor race. TheAcademy's aforementioned xenophobia will take itstoll, surely, but there's another problem as well.It's not a great dramatic performance. As in thedirecting category, Benigi's portrayal of therelentlessly mirthful Guido is for the film but bythe same token is necessarily unextraordinary.Bengini is an actor of great comic talent, butthat can only take him so far. The whole point ofLife is Beautiful is that Guido must keephis dopey, funny face on from start to finish inorder to combat the horrors...
Edward Norton, American History X:Edward Norton is unstoppable. At the tender age of29, he's up for his second Academy Award. He wasrobbed in the 1997 race for Best Supporting Actor(though he won the Golden Globe) by Cuba Gooding,Jr., but now he's hit the big time. Norton isalmost unsettlingly talented; in just a few yearsaudiences have watched him leap, chameleonlike,from psycho killer (Primal Fear) to dancingpreppie (Everyone Says I Love You) to thesemi-reformed white supremacist of the year'sAmerican History X. Though the performancewas intense and thrilling, the Academy probablystill feels that Norton...
...WILL WIN: There's no clear answerhere. By process of elimination we can probablynarrow the playing field down to Hanks andMcKellen (commercial darling; critical darling)purely from industry buzz. But to tell the truth,it's anyone's game. Five strong performances, allflawed, make for a tight Best Actor race thisyear...