Best Supporting Actor 2016

5. Lucas Hedges - Manchester by the Sea
Hedges is great in a subtle portrayal of grief and sorrow. Rightfully was this performance his breakthrough to more great roles in Hollywood. As Patrick, he is able to even bring the right amount of humour into the film and has got a great chemistry with Casey Affleck. In some brief moments you can see his inexperience, but those moments are forgivable, as they are really very brief.

4. Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water
Bridges is great especially in the escalated moments of the film, but makes a nice presence throughout the entire film. The film itself is quite forgettable and Bridges doesn't help it, but it probably isn't very much his fault. Bridges uses an accent that is a bit distracting, but you get used to it quite easily. Long story short, it is a respectable performance in a decent film (though I'd prefer Foster to be nominated) and one certainly belonging into the year's top ten.

3. Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
This is a very fine winner that actually stood the test of time as one of the better ones and I can't complain too much about it. In a short time, Ali is able to leave a long lasting impression in a role that is not very showy (and it's not villainious, either). Very subtle performance, but works perfectly for the film.

2. Michael Shannon - Nocturnal Animals
Shannon is an that usually has a great on-screen charisma, though sometimes it is not used for the best. Furtunately, Nocturnal Animals uses it very well. He handles the character full of twists and layers with ease. The cherry on top of it is a masterfull scene in a cabin at the end of the film. It's only the script's holes (some of whom he can't save) that prevent him from being my win.

1. Dev Patel - Lion
Very consistent nominees throughout, in terms of quality. For now, I'm going with Patel. He makes a lasting impression, has got a great on-screen charisma and in fact elevates his film (rather than being overshadowed by it). Great chemistry with his co-stars and being able to lead his part of film gets him this win.

My Nominees:
1. Yosuke Kubozuka - Silence
2. Ben Foster - Hell or High Water
3. John Goodman - 10 Cloverfield Lane
4. Trevante Rhodes - Moonlight
5. Dev Patel - Lion

Best Supporting Actor 2016: Michael Shannon - Nocturnal Animals

Nocturnal Animals is a very divisive film, but I really loved it – the atmosphere, directing and editing of it are all perfect and they create one very enjoyable film experience. Though the line with Amy Adams is less interesting, the subplot involving Aaron Taylor-Johnson is very entertaining. Michael Shannon is a part of this subplot, luckily.
Unlike his performance in 99 Homes, he uses his on-screen charisma that this time actually works. The fact that he wasn‘t nominated for that is considered a snub and I think the mementum after the snub helped him to gain this nomination, so it was for the best. This is a better role and a better performance given by Shannon.
From the first moment we see Bobby Andes, he gets our attention and we can‘t take our eyes of him. It‘s the way he stands, or speaks, even the way he smokes his cigarette – so much charismatic Shannon is. Andes seems like a flegmatic cop, but once he comes to confronte a suspect, he won‘t give him anything for granted. Shannon portrays this ambousness with ease and even though we don‘t understand it at first, as the film goes on we are able to discover more and more layers underneath this character. So the character is full of twists and surprises, which could be an acting mess. Not in Shannon‘s hands.
A great example of this is a scene in a restaurant, where Bobby confesses to Gyllenhaal‘s character Tony that his health is not very good and that he might die soon – the paradox of the fact is that he really wants to punish the murderers.
One might wonder, why would he want to do it, without having any evidance about them doing it, except from Tony‘s word (that‘s especially the case of Aaron Taylor-Johnson‘s character). Shannon solves this problem rather greatly. In his portrayal of the cop he creates something twisted about him and so we assume that he would be able to do it just for the pure joy of trying to suffocate somebody. It‘s his entire on-screen persona that created this and by that he was able to cover up for the holes in the script.
The best scene of Shannon‘s performance would be one of his latter scenes in the cabin, in which he really violently questions the suspects – he is a delight to watch. In fact he brings to the role some enjoyable effect that reminded me of Christoph Waltz‘s Oscar-winning performance in Inglourious Basterds.
The chances of winning an Oscar: Happy to be nominated.

Next Year: Best Supporting Actor 2016

The Nominees:
Dev Patel - Lion
Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges - Manchester by the Sea
Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
Michael Shannon - Nocturnal Animals

What are your picks? What is your prediction for my ranking? What are your nominees? Write in comments!