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I’m over a decade into the past now. Sure, there are decades more of film history to go, but I am making progress. Making progress by going backwards in time, funnily enough. Being in 2011, or that general range, is probably something of a sweet spot. There has been time to catch up on films released that year, but it’s not so far in the past that I missed a lot of movies, or certain movies have fallen by the wayside. So what are my personal awards for 2011’s film landscape? Time to hand out the hardware.
Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, Hanna
The primary reason I decided to see Hanna? Seeing Blanchett in the trailer. She was doing some bold accent that somehow she managed to pull off. She was playing the villain in a serious-minded action movie. Blanchett was chewing scenery without overdoing it. Saoirse Ronan was of course more talented than most kid actors, but having Blanchett around to help shoulder that load was huge.
Best Supporting Actor: Seth Rogen, 50/50
At this point, we’re used to somewhat serious turned from Rogen. It still felt fairly fresh in 2011, though. A cancer dramedy is tough to pull off. 50/50 did better than most at that. Rogen plays the supportive friend, whose both a little rough around the edges but, ultimately, kind and caring. He is vital to helping the film actually work.
Best Actress: Charlize Theron, Young Adult
I don’t particularly like Diablo Cody or Jason Reitman. However, I did like Young Adult. I don’t want to dismiss the work Cody and Reitman did in making this movie work, but Theron is pivotal. She plays a truly-unlikeable lead who, spoiler, never grows or changes. Personally, I have no issue with unlikeable leads, but usually they aren’t in a story like this. Theron is the primary reason Young Adult works at all.
Best Actor: Brad Pitt, Moneyball
A lot of people love Moneyball. Even people who don’t like sports like Moneyball. I will admit, the first time I watched it I didn’t necessarily get all the laudations for Pitt’s performance. I mean yeah, he was good, but an Oscar nomination? When I rewatched the movie, though, I got it. The movie is now showy, and neither is Pitt’s performance, but he is stellar as Billy Beane.
Best Picture: Moneyball
This was tricky. Not because I was dying to give multiple movies Best Picture. No, it’s because there is no great movie from 2011. There are a handful that are quite good, but nothing that really stands out. I felt like I was choosing between four or five B+ movies. Again, after the first time I watched Moneyball I don’t think I would have declared it my best movie of 2011. However, people’s love for it got me to check it out again, and that was enough to help the movie click with me better. See, the benefit of extra time to assess a year in film.
