I was actually in the middle of writing this article yesterday when the trailer for Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close dropped. It was a bit frustrating to be honest. In fact, I wish I had been able to get this up and then have the trailer drop today, that would have been better timing, but what can you do?
Buzz for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close had pretty much been non-existent until yesterday and the pot was beginning to boil before that trailer even came online. Yet, before all that it was pretty much a film you looked at solely for the sum of its parts.
I do my best to know virtually know nothing about a movie before seeing it. There are always exceptions to this rule and sometimes I can’t help but learn a little more, but when it came to my current #1 Best Picture prediction being Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close it was a pick that had to do with the director, actors and the subject matter. In this respect I’m specifically looking at Stephen Daldry, Tom Hanks and the fact this is a 9/11-themed picture. When it comes to Oscar do I really need much more ammunition to make a case? If so, I’ll go ahead and throw producer Scott Rudin and screenwriter Eric Roth at you and see how they stick.
One name I’ve yet to mention (and no, not Sandra Bullock, though she is currently ranked in the top five on my Supporting Actress predictions) is Max von Sydow. Coincidentally, yesterday was the first time I’d heard anything about his role in this film thanks to a new post from Kris Tapley at HitFix where he speculates after hearing some positive buzz that “[Von Sydow] could be good enough to ultimately trample the Best Supporting Actor competition and win his first Oscar in what would be a glorious moment.”
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close had a test screening Sunday night in New York and Tapley heard from one specific person in attendance, giving him the lowdown on the performance. At this point I should also say if you don’t want to know know anything about the plot for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close you should stop reading, but from what I understand what follows is not a plot spoiler.
The story surrounds a young boy (Thomas Horn) whose father (Hanks) died in the attack on the World Trade Center. Von Sydow plays the boy’s grandfather and, obviously, Hanks’ character’s father. The following is what Tapley’s source had to say about von Sydow’s performance:
“[Von Sydow’s character] lost his ability to speak in Germany during WW2 (apparently, there’s a whole parallel story about his surviving the war in the novel that is only talked about in the movie). He has the words ‘yes’ and ‘no’ tattooed on his palms and wears a notepad around his neck. It’s a very expressive performance, lots of interesting shrugs and expressions. He accompanies the boy on his journeys around the city and plays an important role in his healing. I’m not spoiling anything here, but an important element in the film are the voice messages the father leaves on the family answering machine while trapped in the tower. The grandfather listens to them for the first time and the camera is on von Sydow listening to his son’s final messages. It’s a little master class in reacting.”
Sounds exactly like a role the Academy would melt over, especially considering it is Max von Sydow who came very close to an Oscar nomination with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly in 2007 and whose only Oscar nomination was back in 1989 for Pelle the Conqueror. The Academy loves to honor the aging greats even if it means they have to walk away saying, “It’s great just being nominated.” Just ask Peter O’Toole.
And with all of that said, von Sydow makes an impressively high debut in my Best Supporting Actor predictions, bumping his co-star (Hanks) out of the top five. As of today, my Supporting Actor top five looks like this:
- Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
- Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn)
- Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady)
- Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)
- John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
I’ve also added Armie Hammer (J. Edgar) to the mix and as a result of these two new additions there has been some movement on the board. For the full list of 21 Supporting Actor contenders and where I have them ranked click here.
