![]() In “Sid and Nancy,” Oldman approximates Vicious’ wiry, stumbling demeanor and nasty charisma, but what’s most memorable is how vividly Vicious’ bone-deep stupidity and childishness come across. He was also a moron of extraordinarily limited talent. Sid Vicious was, in many ways, the ultimate punk rock figure, a sneering, rebelling-against-whatever icon. Whether there’s anything there is part of what makes his breakout role in Alex Cox’s “ Sid and Nancy” so memorably chilling. There’s someone in there, but whether he’ll ever emerge again is not known. It’s a fearsome, charismatic performance that nonetheless shows unexpected grace notes with relative kindness toward Tim Roth’s withdrawn Colin, as if there’s still signs of the boy he may have been before he adopted an outsized manner and worldview in reaction to a decaying working-class England. He made an impression as a drunk in “Remembrance,” a moody gay artist in “Honest, Decent and True,” and, most notably, as a skinhead in Mike Leigh’s “Meantime.” As Coxy, Oldman exhibits a predictably impulsive, menacing nature, belching, towering over anyone he can intimidate and generally shooting a “I dare you to do something” look at anyone he doesn’t like. Like his most acclaimed contemporary, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gary Oldman got his start in British theater before taking smaller roles in films and television. It’s in line with his history of using overtly theatrical techniques to play figures who, by force or by habit, keep others on the outside looking in, trying to find a there there as Oldman’s characters race together toward total or moral oblivion. His Churchill is a man removed from his own party, a figure whose brusque demeanor and self-regard keep people from fully embracing him. “Darkest Hour” is not one of Oldman’s finest performances-the script isn’t rich enough to give him much to dive into beyond Churchill’s mannerisms and an admittedly impressive physical embodiment beyond the heavy make-up-but it does have signs of what’s remained fascinating about him as a performer over the years. By all appearances, he’s the frontrunner for Best Actor this year for the Winston Churchill biopic “ Darkest Hour,” the kind of actor/role pairing that becomes an assumed trophy-winner sight-unseen. ![]() ![]() For decades, Oldman was acknowledged as one of the greatest living actors without an Oscar nomination (this was rectified only six years ago with a Best Actor nod for “ Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”).
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