With all due respect to the performances of Matt Damon in The Odyssey and Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary, I came away from Wild Horse Nine, which had its North American premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on Thursday afternoon, with the strong impression that John Malkovich was now the clear frontrunner to win the best actor Oscar. But by Friday evening, when Elsinore had its world premiere in Telluride, I was forced to revise my hypothesis.
That’s because the Irish actor Andrew Scott gives a performance for the ages in Elsinore as the Scottish actor Ian Charleson, who was best known for starring in the best picture Oscar winner Chariots of Fire, but whose most impressive accomplishment was how he insisted on continuing to act — in the role of Hamlet at London’s National Theatre, no less — even after he was diagnosed with terminal AIDS.
The response inside Telluride’s Palm Theatre to the listing of Scott’s name in the film’s post-credits — as both a producer and the lead actor — was undeniable. It’s a sensitive and shattering performance from an actor who just keeps getting better, as demonstrated in everything from his film performance in All of Us Strangers, which premiered in Telluride three years ago, to his stage performance last year in Uncle Vanya, in which he singlehandedly juggled 10 different characters.
In the Oscar race, Malkovich could have a slight edge because he’s older (73 versus 49), because he has been doing important work for longer and because his film is all but certain to land noms in a bunch of categories, including best picture, whereas aspects of Elsinore other than Scott’s performance are more of a question-mark.
I wouldn’t count out the possibility of noms for Olivia Colman for best supporting actress (she plays Charleson’s doctor), Stephen Beresford’s script for best original screenplay (even though the film’s credits say it was inspired by “an idea” from someone else), Valerio Bonelli’s film editing (particularly awesome late in the film as he cuts between Charleson on stage and at home), Stefan Gregory’s original score or even the film for a best picture nom. But the truth is that Scott’s performance is so extraordinary that other aspects of the Simon Stone’s film — which The Hollywood Reporter’s critic has argued is solid but less spectacular — could be overshadowed.
One final note. Quite a few actors and actresses have won Oscars for their portrayals of LGBT characters facing adversity and/or tragedy, including William Hurt for Kiss of the Spider Woman, Tom Hanks for Philadelphia, Hilary Swank for Boys Don’t Cry, Sean Penn for Milk, Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club and Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody. But none of those people were themselves gay, and indeed never has an out gay actor or actress won an Oscar. Scott could well become the first.
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