There Are No Small Parts

One of the things I love most about movie-going is the private ecstacy of a public experience. You can be sitting in the theater and what you're feeling or focusing on can be totally different than the people around you. I sometimes can't shake a single person or a single element from my mind even when other stuff has faded away. I already shared that cat purring scene from Children of Men that lodged itself in my movie-addled brain. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about.

There were two actors this year who are totally stuck in my thoughts who don't fit any acting category --not even "limited or cameo" -- they're in a good portion of their respective movies but their roles are so backgrounded that you might not have even noticed them.

I'm talking about Elizabeth Rodriguez as Detective Gina Calabrese in Miami Vice and David Oyelowo as Dr. Junju in The Last King of Scotland. Nick wrote a nice piece on the supporting cast of Scotland so I'll just direct you there and add "yup, what he said" rather emphatically. Aren't I so eloquent? As for Ms. Rodriguez. All that Miami Vice really asks her to do is fill a space in a team that movie stars work with. She does that as well as anyone might have but, for all of the film's furious visual beauty she, an actual furious beauty, was the unexpected takeaway. Detective Calabrese is always in the background, looking like someone you just don't want to mess with. She projects formidable laser focus and maybe chronic seriousness... probably not fun at office parties. But I just love how she held the frame, held the gun, held her own all while the movie asked so very little of her.

Egads, even with all these extra categories I don't have enough room! Posted Updates to the Film Bitch Awards include: Best Actor and Actress in a Limited or Cameo Role, Best Action Sequence, Best Character Intro and Best Credit/Titles and Best Opening Scene. Almost done with this insanity.