RECAP 2016

Noteworthy Hollywood performances of the year

hollywood-2016

The year-end award season is upon us. The Golden Globe Awards will soon announce winners, while the Critics' Choice Awards set a precedent for the Oscars.

This year, the handful of films with good performances by actors are nowhere near the highest grossing films. While Captain America: Civil War, Finding Dory and Zootopia are the top earners this year, films like Moonlight and Manchester By the Sea are top picks among Hollywood critics.

This year has seen some breakthrough performances by actors like Casey Affleck and Andrew Garfield. Here are the most notable performances this year:


Casey Affleck

casey-affelck

In the touching tragedy Manchester By the Sea, Affleck put in his best performance yet. He won the Critics' Choice Award for best actor for playing a janitor who has to adopt his deceased brother's teenage son. Affleck, who made a mark with films such as Good Will Hunting and the Ocean's series, was Oscar nominated for the best supporting actor for his role in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. He is now in the race for best actor at Golden Globe, Screen Actor's Guild and several other awards.

Mahershala Ali

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Already having outdone himself with significant roles in TV series House of Cards and Luke Cage, Ali is likely to be one of the non-white contenders for the best supporting actor at the Oscars. In Barry Jenkins's Moonlight, a powerful coming-of-age tale about an impoverished boy growing up in Miami, Ali plays a drug dealer who also is a father figure for the boy. He has already been nominated for a Golden Globe award for the role, with critics praising him and director Jenkins for an emotionally introspective role and film.  

Andrew Garfield

andrew-garfield

The Amazing Spiderman star had outstanding performances in both of his releases this year—Mel Gibson's war epic Hacksaw Ridge and Martin Scorsese's historical drama Silence, which has so far been screened only at film festivals. He was nominated for Golden Globes best actor and Critics' Choice awards for his convincing performance as Desmond Doss in the Gibson film. The biopic, set in World War II era, tells the story of Doss's refusal to touch a gun during battle and save army men's lives as a medic.

Natalie Portman

natalie-portman

Portman plays Jacqueline Kennedy in the Pablo Larrain-directed biopic Jackie, which highlights the First Lady's life after John F. Kennedy's assassination. Having studied Jackie's persona in detail, Portman uses her own elegance and experience to add to the character. Produced by Darren Aronofsky, who directed Portman in her Oscar-winning role in Black Swan, the film created quite a buzz in film festivals. For her efficacious portrayal, she has been nominated for the Golden Globe and several other awards already.

Emma Stone

emma-stone

La La Land seems to be critics' favourite film this year, and Emma Stone stands out in this Damien Chazelle milestone. She plays a struggling Hollywood actor, who is in love with a failed jazz pianist played by Ryan Gosling. It is touted to be a tribute to the golden age of musicals in Hollywood, with Stone and Gosling singing and dancing and falling in love. Stone, who has done the jig for musicals on Broadway, was also Oscar-nominated in 2015 for Birdman.

Amy Adams

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It takes a lot to play a person who meets aliens and communicates with them, without looking unrealistic or silly. In Arrival, Amy Adams plays the character of linguistic expert Louise Banks flawlessly. She breathes life into her character by accentuating emotions like fear, curiosity, surprise and empathy quite convincingly. Adams, who was last nominated for 2013's Oscar for Best Actress for American Hustle, has five nominations till date, and is on her way to get a sixth.

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Topics : #Recap 2016 | #Hollywood

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