And the character actors shall lead

The pleasant surprise
Terrence Howard was the best news on nomination day. Before the noms I’d heard idiotic talk that the Academy wasn’t going to vote for black actors this year because black actors had been “too honored” recently. Thankfully it turned out to be just that — idiotic talk.

Crunk Pictures / Reuters

But you can’t satisfy everyone. MSNBC’s Darrell Bowling recently complained because the Academy honored Howard for playing DJay, a pimp, in “Hustle & Flow,” rather than for playing Cameron, a rich TV producer, in “Crash.” Bowling sees it as part of the film industry’s ongoing “glorification of negative images of black people.” Certainly one can’t argue with that historical negativity. It goes beyond 1915’s “Birth of a Nation” to the 1896 Edison kinetoscope “Watermelon Contest,” which can be viewed in the documentary “Edison: The Invention of the Movies.” “Contest” is what you think it is: two black men eating watermelon. Four years later they re-made it with four black men eating watermelon and fighting over the rinds. The early kinetoscopes were also unkind to country bumpkins and old maids.

But how does this historical negativity apply to DJay? You can just as easily find fault with Bowling’s wishes as with the Academy’s reality. Cameron is a neutered man who stands by helplessly as his wife is felt up by the cops, while DJay is a strong man who takes his last best shot to do something good with his life. Which image is more positive? Cameron is a small character in a “race” movie while DJay is the lead role in a complex character study. Which role is more prestigious? Oh, and “Hustle & Flow” is a good movie while “Crash” sucks. Which movie would you rather see?

DJay transcends the stereotype. Just as straight people can identify with Ennis in “Brokeback,” white people can identify with DJay in “Hustle & Flow.” His desperation is ours. Some critics have mocked this universality — “the mid-life crisis of a pimp,” they say — but these critics are comfortable people in comfortable jobs who can’t imagine being in their mid-30s and looking around and thinking “How did I end up here?” and rousing themselves for one last stab at something worthwhile before their time runs out.

Which is to say: I wholly identified with DJay, and rooted for him, and marveled at Howard’s quiet performance. DJay marshals his few smarts and fewer connections and what courage he has to not be a pimp. This is negative how?

The man in black

Twentieth Century Fox / AP

Joaquin Phoenix’s chance of winning the Oscar this year was probably blown last year when Jamie Foxx won the Oscar for playing Ray Charles in “Ray.” Two best actor awards in a row for actors playing legendary musicians? It doesn’t help that their storylines are basically the same: dirt poor, childhood trauma, slow rise, sudden wealth and fame, drug habit, kicking the drug habit, redemption. Of course this is the storyline for most music biopics — unless, of course, the musician dies in a plane crash.

The only fault with Phoenix’s performance, really, is that he didn’t quite get Johnny Cash’s singing voice down. A tall (or deep) task.

The journeyman
Don’t get me wrong. David Strathairn was great as Edward R. Murrow, but he only got to play the public Murrow; the movie didn’t really give us a glimpse into the private Murrow. In the movie, Murrow represents this one thing (journalistic integrity), and deviation from this one thing wasn’t part of the script. Which is why the script shouldn’t win for best original screenplay.

Warner Independent Pictures / Reuters

But I’m happy Strathairn was nominated because, as a movie fan in general and a John Sayles fan in particular, I’ve admired his work for years: Ron Desjardins, Wesley, Man in Black, Police Chief Sid Hatfield, Eddie Ciccote, Asteroid, Ira Lowenstein, Mack Laflin, Whistler, Rennie (one of the most accurate portrayals of a Cajun in movie history), Joe St. George, Pierce Morehouse Patchett, Rev. Russell, Jumpin’ Joe Gastineau.

So you could say this was overdue.

The sum up
As I said: All great performances. All great actors.

But who do I think will win? Philip Seymour Hoffman. Who do I want to win? Philip Seymour Hoffman. Who do I think is one of the best actors of his generation? Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Hoffman’s next role, by the way, is again a supporting one. He plays a supervillain trying to destroy Tom Cruise in “Mission: Impossible III.” I’ll be rooting for Hoffman in that one, too.

Erik Lundegaard assumes that Truman Capote’s beautifully written “The Muses are Heard: An Account” is still out-of-print because the publishing industry is full of idiots. Tell him he’s wrong at: .

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