Who Won the Movie?
Tom Wilkinson or George Clooney (1-1 on distinct ballots; a further Wilkinson pick in 192-193 may be a third voice, which would make it 2-1 Wilkinson)
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:45Read transcript
- The field is narrowed to the actors themselves, Clooney, Wilkinson or Swinton, since Tony Gilroy has already received plenty of hosannas.
- Wants to say Clooney, and does: part of the appeal is that he kind of lost too, embodying the film's sense of disappointment and loserdom in its afterlife, with both the movie and the performance underrated. — Lindsay Zoladz
- Another answer is Wilkinson, with the film renamed Tom Wilkinson, Wilkinson on the posters and a franchise with Tom Wilkinson Too, not even the character Arthur but the actor.
- Swinton's performance is called so potent that this is hard, but a further 'it's Wilkinson for me' follows, preposterously tight between the three; the transcript does not show whether this is the earlier Wilkinson voice or a third participant.
- Swinton is the curveball: maybe not the winner, but the film might not work with Annette Bening as Karen, without the otherworldly, disorienting presence that keeps the whimsy going; 'you don't want the money' is called the best line delivery in the movie; styled and lit like a wax figure of a businesswoman, she plays the most normal person she has played in a long time yet is creepier for it, and nobody else would steal the scene and win the Oscar for it.
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Tom Wilkinson