Best of 2009: Top 10 Performances by a Leading Actor

While the women this year mostly have roles that deal with their relationships with their men, the best performances by male actors are dominated by men of the law or military. The other performances are all intelligent, at times creative men dealing with their women. It rings true that drama - in the Aristotle sense - is solely about what it means to be human and discovering this through our surroundings and the other humans around us.

The militaristic/men of the law roles in 2009 include Nicolas Cage's turn for the best in "Bad Lieutenant" in which he entangles himself in criminal activity, drugs, and other shenanigans police shouldn't involve themselves in; the absolute non-stop brilliance of "The Hurt Locker's" Jeremy Renner, who proves himself worthy of every meaty, conflicted role out there in Hollywood; Brad Pitt as the cocky, hilarious leader of the Basterds in, of course, "Inglourious Basterds"; and Ben Foster's disturbed role in "The Messenger" went unnoticed during award season, and really should've been recognized here and there. Military roles are the perfect fit for any actor yearning to discover through cinema what it is to be human. Renner faced death every scene, Pitt showed the 21st century what it would've been like to slaughter Nazis, and Foster took us into the mind and life of soldiers telling other families that their son or daughter has died in the war.

Out of the other roles, two are filmmakers in the movie. Lluis Homar starred in the Almodovar film, "Broken Embraces," in which he controls two personalities - in one a blind man and the other a lustful director - and has an affair with his muse, Lena (Penelope Cruz). In "Nine," Daniel Day-Lewis clears a large path for himself as the sole male character and dominates the scene in a beautifully agonizing way. On a side note, while "Nine" certainly wasn't as good as Rob Marshall's other musical film, "Chicago," it certainly didn't deserve the snubs it did.

Next, there are the men dealing with the women in their lives - and these guys are the more creative of the bunch. Jeff Bridges - who won the Oscar for this role - helms "Crazy Heart" as he delves into the life of an alcoholic, washed-up ex-country star. He begins to find himself when he meets Maggie Gyllenhaal's character, and he has so many great, moving scenes that show that he deserved the Oscar (even though I don't agree). In "(500) Days of Summer," Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the best tortured greeting card maker out there. The chemistry between him and Zooey Deschanel is mesmerizing, then when you discover that it's one-sided, Gordon-Levitt allows you in, really feeling bad for this guy. His genius lies in his ability to not be super whiny and to keep his role heartfelt.

And finally, my list includes two college professors, both with VERY similar movie titles. Michael Stuhlbarg - an almost unknown actor - heads the Coen Brothers latest film, "A Serious Man." Stuhlbarg is funny, witty, sad, and deserving of any leading role. The entire ensemble of the film deserve a spot on these lists, but unfortunately they don't have enough camera time. In "A Single Man," Colin Firth delivers one of the best performances of the year as the grieving professor who goes through a sort of "Catcher in the Rye" kind of day. While receiving his first, much overdue Oscar nomination for "A Single Man," predictors are saying he's the top runner for his upcoming film, "The King's Speech."

So, here are the Top 10 Performances by a Leading Actor in 2009:

10. Nicolas Cage as Terrence McDonagh in BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL - NEW ORLEANS

9. Lluis Homar as Mateo/Harry Caine in BROKEN EMBRACES

8. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom Hansen in (500) DAYS OF SUMMER

7. Brad Pitt as Lieutenant Aldo Raine in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

6. Ben Foster as Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery in THE MESSENGER

5. Daniel Day-Lewis as Guido Contini in NINE

4. Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake in CRAZY HEART

3. Michael Stuhlbarg as Professor Lawrence "Larry" Gopnik in A SERIOUS MAN

2. Colin Firth as George in A SINGLE MAN

1. Jeremy Renner as Sergeant First Class William James in THE HURT LOCKER

August in December

Funny People
Starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, and Jason Schwartzman

It's funny, it's sad, and it has excellent performances by Sandler, Rogen, and Mann, but this Apatow dramedy is just like every other Apatow film - too freaking long!

Grade: B


(500) Days of Summer
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel

Some indie films feel indie, probably because they're more indie than others, but I don't really know. "(500) Days of Sumemr" creates a world where the audience knows the ending, knows the heartbreak's looming in the future, and still we hope for the lead man. It's an indie that can stand on its own feet and feel like a high-class film. The point of view is perfect, allowing us not to see the enitre picture at once, and the ending is hilariously perfect. Also, I knew he was going to start a song-and-dance routine!

Grade: A-


District 9
Starring Sharlto Copley

The thing about most sci-fi-alien-attacks-earth movies is that most of them never let you care. "District 9", on the other hand, presents us with a likeable, unknown actor named Sharlto Copley as the shit-on protagonist who undergoes changes that defy the usual character transformations (talking psychological/emotional here), and break into mutating characters physically without losing the character drama that is "District 9".

Grade: B+



Inglorious Basterds
Starring Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, and Diane Kruger

Tarantino at his best! When screenwriting books and blogs and guidelines tell you NOT to keep your characters in the same scene for too long, they should have a meeting with Quentin. It felt like a play but a kick-some-Nazi-ass one. The screenplay created a sense of entertainment, of old-fashioned Hollywood, like something in between "Casablanca" and "Taxi Driver". "Inglorious Basterds" glues you to your seat, makes you sweat, nervous, and jealous that Pitt and his Nazi-killing thugs are having so much fun. Watch out Oscar, here comes Christoph Waltz - the best villain since Anton Chigurh.

Grade: A