The 2009 RopeofSilicon Movie Awards and Full Recap

I really want to see Colin Firth’s performance in A Single Man go home with the Best Actor Oscar even though I believe it will go to Jeff Bridges who delivers a performance that turns Crazy Heart‘s mediocre script into a highly watchable feature.

Firth is probably best known for his work in the BBC’s “Pride and Prejudice” and his role opposite Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones’s Diary, but should everyone get a chance to see him in A Single Man as George it may end up becoming the first character out of their mouths when talking about his work. Firth’s quietly emotional performance can be felt from the outset. Tom Ford’s adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s novel gave him room to emote rather than spell it all out with dialogue and he nails it.

SPECIAL NOTE: If I had one more runner-up slot I would have mentioned Alden Ehrenreich in Francis Ford Coppola’s Tetro.

I almost gave this to Zoe Saldana for Avatar and relegating Meryl Streep’s performance in Julie and Julia to runner-up status seems like a crime considering had it not been for her performance that film would have been unwatchable. However, after seeing Precious and then seeing numerous interviews with actress Gabourey Sidibe afterward there’s no way I could consider anyone else for this honor.

Sidibe comes off as someone so far removed from the pain and torture her character goes through in Precious that it astonishes me the emotional heights she was able to reach. Surrounded by capable talents and the menace that is Mo’Nique as her abusive mother, Sidibe delivers a character I will not soon forget.

It was the perfect combination of actor and script as Quentin Tarantino found the perfect man to cast as his “Jew Hunter.” Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds grabs you immediately with his eccentric introduction leading up to his request for milk, his pipe and his later insistence we wait for the creme. He’s a man you love to hate.

However, I would also like to pass on a certain appreciation for my complete list of runners-up. Alfred Molina was superb in An Education and Stanley Tucci as Julia Child’s husband Paul in Julie and Julia was excellent as Streep’s other half. Liev Schreiber was the best thing about Taking Woodstock and had it not been for Waltz I would have handed this award to Christian McKay for his performance as Orson Welles in a heartbeat.

I walked out of Precious with a small sense of hope, but at the same time I walked out praying I never meet anyone as vicious as Precious’s mother Mary (Mo’Nique). Known as a comedienne, I never would have expected this out of Mo’Nique. I typically avoid films with her as the headliner such as Phat Girlz. However, she proved here that she’s got more to her than just obvious jokes and she absolutely deserves to be recognized.

This was the hardest category for me by a mile. It was such a close race I am not even entirely happy with my runners-up as I wanted to include James Cameron (Avatar), Wes Anderson (Fantastic Mr. Fox) and Jason Reitman (Up In the Air). For these reasons it may surprise some to see Marc Webb included as a runner-up for (500) Days of Summer, a film that didn’t even make my top 25 or the eight films in my honorable mention, but I really liked his work on that film and it was the major reason I interviewed him.

Of course, when it comes down to it I had to make a decision and stick to it and I can’t deny Quentin Tarantino even though Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet beat out Inglourious Basterds as my favorite film of 2009. Tarantino’s work in Basterds is simply magnificent. All the way down the line it’s a film that has grown on me every time I watch it and its Tarantino’s control and mastery of his script and his actors that make it an absolute joy.

It probably comes as little surprise Tarantino’s script for Inglourious Basterds also tops my list as his piece of revisionist history really stuck with me and — as you will see on the following pages — certain portions still stick with me.

I would also like to point out, though, that Peterson, Docter and McCarthy’s script for Up was particularly beautiful and so well paced with a certain level of maturity mixed with comedy you don’t typically find in animated features. Haneke’s script for The White Ribbon is daring, cold and haunting and the film itself is particularly rewarding for those with the patience to allow it to slowly unfold. The original script for (500) Days of Summer is just that, “original,” and deserves attention for it’s non-linear yet entirely cohesive story even if the film itself didn’t end up one of my favorites of the year, and the script for A Prophet was nearly the winner here as its intensity and ability to create a character was one of the best.