With all due respect to this year’s crop of Best Supporting Actor nominees, Sam Rockwell wuz robbed.
Rockwell filled in all the Oscar ballot blanks as the mercurial brother in “Conviction,” out this week on Blu-ray and DVD. He allowed himself to age over a span of nearly 20 years, anchored every scene he was in and made a potentially despicable character worth our admiration – and tears.
But Rockwell emerges as an actor of consequence all the same. Here’s betting he has a longer shelf life, career wise, than many of today’s A-listers.
Here are some of WWTW’s favorite Rockwell movies, some of which got precious little attention during their theatrical run:
- “Joshua” -Creepy kid movies seem a dime a dozen these days, but “Joshua” is superior to films like “Orphan” and “Case 39.” Rockwell plays the parent of a rather peculiar child, and the film avoids most of the annoying tics found in this horror genre subset.
- “Moon” -This sci-fi sleeper might be a feature-length “Twilight Zone” episode, but Rockwell mesmerizes as a lone astronaut who may be going mad during a lengthy space flight.
- “Matchstick Men” -Consider this a four star movie marred by a thoroughly underwhelming final reel. Still, Rockwell shines as Nicolas Cage’s con man associate.
(Photo: Sam Rockwell, right, plays a man imprisoned for life for a crime he may not have committed in “Conviction.” Fox Searchlight)
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
My favorite is his hysterical performance as Guy Fleegman in Galaxy Quest. You’ve got to hand it to an actor who can steal scenes from Alan Rickman.
Also agree Rockwell will be giving killer performances for many years (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind a personal favorite, too). However, I will sorry for his Oscar woes the day Gary Oldman even gets a nomination. Of course, the Replacements or Judas Priest will probably be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (another dubious institution) before that happens.
If this was a free and just world, Rockwell would be nominated for Iron Man 2, because he stole the movie as the overly-styled and unctuous Justin Hammer. But I would have nominated Downey Jr. for the first Iron Man, and gave a best editing nod to “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man,” so that is probably why I’m banned from Hollywood.
“Moon”. Enuf said. This was the best *true* sci-fi film of recent memory. This was no fan-boy space opera but the real deal.