Awards season is heating up, with Hollywood’s biggest night right around the corner. The Oscars are set to air this Sunday, February, ninth, with performers, filmmakers, and industry bigwigs coming out to strut the red carpet.
This year’s best actor race is a stacked category, featuring a varied set of performances from the past year. While many have their bets on Joaquin Phoneix’s Jokerrole, some have taken time to ponder an Adam Driver win this year for his performance in Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story.
Should - His Dynamic With His Co-Stars
Marriage Story is a film built on the assumption that these are tight-knit relationships. You need to belive that these people have lived and loved together for years and that the end of this journey is a hard one. Thanks to Driver’s performance as Charlie, you believed it.
Nearly every relationship that Charlie has is believable thanks to the chemistry Driver and his co-stars share. Whether it is as complicated and long-standing as that between himself and Scarlett Johansson, or as recent as himself and Alan Alda performed attorney, you are invested to them all.
Shouldn’t - Some Weren’t Convinced By The Fight Scene
The penultimate clash between Charlie and Nicole was one of the most iconic moments from movies in 2019. The slowly building confrontation exploded into a screaming match full of harsh words and near violence. Sadly, there is no denying that a small group of fans didn’t buy the scene.
This is what the entire movie is building towards, and is the ultimate explosion of the conflict. Instead of remaining that, folks took to twitter to meme the sequence as much as possible, with some calling it the most standard argument that one might see in a begging acting class. While this writer disagrees with the sentiment, there’s no denying a contingency believes it to be true.
Should - His Comedic Timing Supported The More Dramatic Moments
Marriage Story succeeds thanks to its contrasting tones. While the film is certainly stylized and not strictly realistic, the tonal shifts and dialogue make the actions ultimately believable. A lot of the film relies on this strong sense of emotional tension and explosion, but it only works thanks to the overall comedic bits interspersed throughout.
Charlie certainly has the best of the bunch. There are little moments of dialogue that Driver takes and just delivers perfectly. Perhaps the funniest moment though of the entire film is when he accidentally slits his wrist during a home-visit with a court-appointed social worker. It’s one of the most shocking and horrifyingly funny moments of last year, and Driver sells it perfectly.
Shouldn’t - Some Might Find His Character Unlikable
The power behind Marriage Story is that it doesn’t let anyone off the hook. The problems between Charlie and Nicole are ones that real couples face all the time, and the way they address them is just as real. Sadly, like existant couples, people often take sides and favor one over the other.
While the film tries to keep an even footing, it still favors Charlie’s point of view most of all. In all honesty, though, Nicole’s actions make total sense considering Charlie’s behavior, and many audience members might feel little sympathy for his role, tarnishing their vote.
Should - Those Singing Chops
Signing is not a huge point in Adam Driver’s corner, but the moment is one of the most remarkable points of the film. In a film marked by a fairly slow pacing and realistic conversations, a musical number was anything but expected.
When it comes to a performer like Adam Driver, he is not particularly known for his showmanship, instead being cast in roles that are more brooding or deadpan. But to watch him stand up on that mic and sing his heart out, exploding in all the emotion shown throughout the film, was a moment that many academy voters shouldn’t forget.
Shouldn’t - His Deadpan Delivery
That being said, this is an Adam Driver performance through and through. There are a lot of awkward moments, tension, and deadpan delivery that signifies that this is similar to a lot of his other work as an actor.
While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, some academy voters might find this too similar to his other roles. Some might be more interested in the garishness of Phoenix’s Joker or the loveable and inquisitive version of Johnathan Price’s Pope Francis.
Should - This Feels Like Adam Driver’s Moment
Adam Driver has had a hell of a couple of years. The combination of Girls, his multiple indie roles, and of course his performance as Star Wars’ Kylo Ren has left Driver as one of the most bankable performers in Hollywood.
Shouldn’t - He Has A Long Career Ahead Of Him
That being said, this is just the start of a long and happy career for Adam Driver. The thirty-six-year-old actor has been making a name for himself in the business for a few years, but he only recently has become a household name across the nation.
At such a young age, there is no doubt that if he continues the fantastic work that he’s been putting out, he will have a long and fruitful career. While we should base these awards on the merit of the films alone, there is probably some thought among voters that we haven’t even seen the best of this actor just yet.
Should - The Realism Of His Performance
Marriage Story might be one of the hardest films to watch if you’re a child of divorce, or a divorced spouse yourself. The film captures all the nightmare realities of both marriage and divorce in a way that few films have done before it.
Adam Driver’s Charlie captures the experience of many fathers who go through a divorce. All the games that lawyers play among each other ultimately leave dad’s left much farther behind than mothers and Driver brings that pain and resentment to life in a way that is almost too much to bear.
Shouldn’t - His Competition Is Certainly Hard To beat
Adam Driver is one of the greatest actors of his age. but as the youngest performer in this year’s lineup of best actors, there is some stiff competition ahead of him. It took Leonardo Dicaprio years to get his first Oscar for The Revenant, and his performance in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is one of his best.
Johnathan Pryce is perfect as Pope Francis as well, combining the perfect balance of wit and heart. Of course, Joaquin Phoneix though still remains the favorite, overtaking a majority of the major awards this year. While Driver might have given an incredible performance and one of the year’s best, his competition is his biggest hurdle.
