While I enjoyed this film, the more challenging acting role was definitely Leonardo's character.
Are there any other movies that you can think of where the Oscar winners character was easier to play than another role in the film?
This is the only one I can think of.
I agree. I was a bit confused as to why Pitt was getting way more buzz than Leo, when Leo’s performance was far more demanding and impressive. Pitt did a good job but he basically just played Brad Pitt. I don’t get what made his performance so special. Of all the best supporting actor nominations, Pitt was the least deserving in my opinion.
shareWhy is Leonardo's older character wrestling with aging,ego and becoming less pertinent any less playing a part of himself than Pitt's playing the coolest guy in the room that doesn't care if he's less pertinent anymore?
shareBecause Leo was playing a character, while Pitt really wasn’t. Leo isn’t some fading star in his twilight years and anyone who thinks he is is a moron. Leo is one of biggest actors in history and he still has another 20-30 years of relevancy in him.
Also, Leo has played a vast amount of different characters; Jack from Titanic, Danny from Blood Diamond, Calvin from Django Unchained, Hugh Glass from The Revenant, the titular role in J Edgar, and Rick Dalton from OUATIH are all drastically different characters with different personalities. What’s the most diverse Pitt role? His godawful performance in War Machine? Tree Of Life maybe? Pitt has played the cool guy in every movie he’s ever been in, including this one.
"Leo isn’t some fading star in his twilight years and anyone who thinks he is is a moron. Leo is one of biggest actors in history and he still has another 20-30 years of relevancy in him."
Calm down, man. Leo is a great actor but this fanboy level of appreciation.
I guess I’m crazy, but I’m not even a huge Leo fan. He wouldn’t crack my Top 25 favorite actors list. He’s still certainly a better actor than Pitt in every regard and I thought that was a well known fact.
I guess I’m in some sort of minority here? I guess the way Pitt smoldered for three hours and spoke with a mediocre southern accent was better than what Leo did?
Leo won an Oscar for a role which didn't exactly tax his acting ability, now it was Pitt's turn. He was going to win eventually, and sometimes it is simply pre-ordained that it is an actor's year - I'd prefer it had been for something where he got to show a bit more range (The Tree of Life or Moneyball, say) but I enjoyed him in his LEADING role in OUATIH so I can live with this win, even though Pesci should have taken it in a walk.
shareAgreed.
There are interesting dynamics to the Oscar race in recent years, at least with regard to the actors.
After the early events are played out(The Golden Globes, the SAG awards) you can see the pattern.
And for 2019, the pattern was: Leo gets nominated for Best Actor , but CAN'T win; Brad gets nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and is ON TARGET to win.
Leo indeed already had a Best Actor Oscar(for the movie he did before this one), so it would be too soon for him. (The Tom Hanks Story rarely repeats.) By agreeing to compete in Best Supporting Actor, Pitt wasn't in competition with his co-star and cleared the way for a win.
Brad's biggest Oscar competitors were Pesci and Pacino, each of whom already has an Oscar.
But this: Oscar winner Jack Palance(City Slickers) said something that rings very true: "The acting doesn't win the Oscar, the CHARACTER does."
Palance's character in City Slickers. John Wayne in True Grit. Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs. Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockinbird. Frances McDormand in Fargo. And the actors who played Forrest Gump and Erin Brockovich.
Cliff Booth is a GREAT character. He's cool. He's tough(can beat up anybody). He's a war hero(at what cost? Did he kill a lot of people?). He's modest(living in a trailer with his faithful dog.) He's the best friend a man(like Rick Dalton) could have. And he's loyal even to someone he hasn't seen in 8 years(Bruce Dern's old George Spahnn.) Maybe he killed his wife, but she seemed like she deserved it, and no...we can't really believe he did that.
And with great relevance to the Oscar category in which he won, Cliff Booth SUPPORTS his friend Rick Dalton. Keeps his spirits up in the face of failure and career doom.
CONT
Leo sure was great -- and had more to do -- as Rick Dalton. His crying. His stammer. His accent. HIs drunkenness. His ability(in the clutch) to prove to be a great actor after all(in that Lancer episode.) His "star ego" hanging on. But for 2019, the Academy decided that a guy playing the Joker(again!) was more deserving of the award. (Note: The Joker is a GREAT example of "the character wins, not the acting.")
That's show biz.
I thought this whole film sucked, but especially the acting of both of those fools. Brad Pitts Oscar win is a farce. Renee Zellweger deserved hers for Judy though.
shareI don't know if what you say is true, but I think Pitt's character was the cooler, and I believe he pulled it off brilliantly; he was nonchalant and sometimes it might be harder to play a low-key personality than someone with as much angst as DiCaprio's character sometime had. You shouldn't have to play a tortured soul to win an award.
shareThe significant factor here is that Brad Pitt's role was as big as -- maybe bigger than -- Leonardo DiCaprio's, but he was only in the Best Supporting Actor category. Generally speaking, when that happens such an actor wins the Oscar.
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You could argue that Pitts character was the lead male (most important to the story) and that DiCaprio's character was the supporting role.
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