Who were the Oscar nominees that deserved the award more than the actual winners?

Who were the Oscar nominees that deserved the award more than the actual winners?

In 2019, Joaquin Phoenix took the world by storm with his transcendent Joker.

Immediately, heaps of praise was thrown at the actor. He had instantly become the most popular man in Hollywood with a single role. Critics loved him, fans loved him, and the awards circuit definitely loved him.

He performed a clean sweep. Critics Choice? Check. Golden Globe? Check. BAFTA? Check. SAG? Check. And Oscar…

Check.

But it was a very strong year for male performances. So strong I didn’t just think Phoenix’s nuanced portrayal of a mental man didn’t deserve the Oscar, I thought he was only the third best nominated. Let me explain:

The first fantastic performance, and the one who I would guess finished second to Phoenix, was Adam Driver as Charlie in Marriage Story.

Here he plays a man who is slowly beaten down by the act of getting divorced. Driver clearly communicates each one of Charlie’s complex emotions. You can tell that he is a good man, yet you can also tell he is a conflicted one. Made deeply sad by what he feels is betrayal after betrayal from somebody he loved.

Just look at the now famous argument scene, where Driver allows deep sadness to control deep anger; voice breaking as he yells unspeakable things.

Then, we have the best performance of the year. Not Driver or Phoenix, but Antonio Banderas as Salvador Mallo in Pain and Glory.

Here he portrays a man deeply tied to a nostalgic past. He perfectly portrays a tortured artist who goes to great lengths to avoid the constant pain he finds himself in.

The true magic of Banderas’ performance is in the eyes. There is one magical moment at the beginning of the movie where a friend asks him what he will do if he doesn’t make any more films. “I’ll Live” he replies.

But the eyes tell the full story. They show an ocean of indecision. In them we see that Mallo has no clue what living really means. We see a man who is totally directionless through the deep sadness of one glance.

Banderas gave one of the most subtle, powerful performances of the last ten years and the fact he never stood a chance at beating Phoenix is a tragedy.