Items20The creator’s order
  1. 1Arrival (2016)Arrival (2016) 7.9/10 on IMDbReleased 10 Nov 2016Amy Adams missed the 2017 Actress in a Leading Role nominations; Emma Stone won for La La Land. The argument for Adams rests on how much she lets you read without announcing it. Louise's concentration while listening to an alien language, and the private feeling she carries into those sessions,…0
  2. 2Nightcrawler (2014)Nightcrawler (2014) 7.8/10 on IMDbReleased 23 Oct 2014At the 2015 ceremony, Jake Gyllenhaal was not nominated for Actor in a Leading Role; Eddie Redmayne won for The Theory of Everything. Lou Bloom's unnervingly eager manners are the case for reconsideration: self-improvement language becomes a way to negotiate away other people's boundaries.…0
  3. 3Hereditary (2018)Hereditary (2018) 7.3/10 on IMDbReleased 7 Jun 2018Toni Collette was absent from the 2019 Actress in a Leading Role field, won by Olivia Colman for The Favourite. Hereditary's strongest acting case is the tension between family grief and the effort to keep functioning: a face can harden before a sentence becomes openly hostile. The later horror is…0
  4. 4Us (2019)Us (2019) 6.8/10 on IMDbReleased 14 Mar 2019Lupita Nyong'o missed an Actress in a Leading Role nomination at the 2020 ceremony, where Renée Zellweger won for Judy. In Us, her contrasting roles depend on more than a changed voice. The same gesture can carry protective urgency in one body and terrifying deliberation in the other. That physical…0
  5. 5First Reformed (2018)First Reformed (2018) 7.1/10 on IMDbReleased 18 May 2018Ethan Hawke was not nominated for Actor in a Leading Role in 2019; Rami Malek won for Bohemian Rhapsody. First Reformed had its theatrical release in 2018 after a 2017 festival premiere, so this is the relevant ceremony. Hawke's minister seems to expend energy on remaining still, with his carefully…0
  6. 6Uncut Gems (2019)Uncut Gems (2019) 7.4/10 on IMDbReleased 13 Dec 2019Adam Sandler's Howard keeps trying to talk his next disaster into becoming an opportunity. The unstable rhythm between charm, evasion and mounting panic is why his absence from the 2020 Actor in a Leading Role nominations still invites argument. Joaquin Phoenix won that year for Joker. Sandler's…0
  7. 7Da 5 Bloods (2020)Da 5 Bloods (2020) 6.5/10 on IMDbReleased 12 Jun 2020Delroy Lindo missed the 2021 Actor in a Leading Role field, whose winner was Anthony Hopkins for The Father. As Paul in Da 5 Bloods, he lets grievance, fear and an urgent demand for loyalty compete within a single address. Direct looks into the camera make the viewer another person he needs to…0
  8. 8The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) 8.1/10 on IMDbReleased 8 Feb 2014The Grand Budapest Hotel won four Oscars at the 2015 ceremony, but Ralph Fiennes was not an Actor in a Leading Role nominee; Eddie Redmayne won for The Theory of Everything. Gustave's impeccable diction and sudden verbal vulgarity are funny in themselves. Fiennes also lets courtesy become a fragile…0
  9. 9All of Us Strangers (2023)All of Us Strangers (2023) 7.6/10 on IMDbReleased 22 Dec 2023Andrew Scott was absent from the 2024 Actor in a Leading Role nominations, won by Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer. All of Us Strangers asks him to move between adult self-possession and the helpless wish to be understood by a parent. Tiny hesitations make the transitions feel lived rather than…0
  10. 10Till (2022)Till (2022) 7.2/10 on IMDbReleased 14 Oct 2022Danielle Deadwyler did not receive an Actress in a Leading Role nomination for Till at the 2023 ceremony; Michelle Yeoh won for Everything Everywhere All at Once. As Mamie Till-Mobley, Deadwyler makes public composure look like a choice made under immense pressure. The effort to look, speak and…0