THE GARY OLDMAN REVIEW

By Nate Lee

BEST FILM: Harry Potter Not only is Sirius Black one of Oldman’s best roles, through his skills he has made the part more integral than it might have been. Brilliantly pulling off the half-mad fugitive who Harry, and everyone, thinks is going to kill him, Oldman seamlessly slides into the role of Harry’s godfather, portraying a deep kindness that unfortunately Michael Gambon as Dumbledore doesn’t seem to be able to quite pull off. Rather the reverse of his usual villainous turns, here he conveys the troubled past of a very good man instead of the goodness inside very bad men. Speaking of which, Dracula is a very strong second. Try the early roles, too: Joe Orton and Sid Vicious.

GREAT PERFORMANCES YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN:

Prick Up Your Ears (playwright Joe Orton)

Sid and Nancy (Sid Vicious)

Immortal Beloved (Beethoven)

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Rosencrantz, or was it Guildenstern)

Leon: The Professional (aka just “The Professional”) (a drug-addled psychotic DEA agent)

Romeo Is Bleeding (a corrupt cop)

True Romance (Drexl, a pimp who thinks he is black)

Interstate 60 (a leprechaun of sorts)

Track 29 (a strange sadist, opposite Theresa Russell)

BLOCKBUSTERS:

The Book of Eli (Carnegie, the bad guy out to get the book)

The Dark Knight (the Police Commissioner)

Batman Begins (the Police Commissioner)

The Harry Potter series (Sirius Black)

JFK (Lee Harvey Oswald)

Dracula (Dracula)

Lost in Space (Dr. Smith)

The Fifth Element (the evil Zorg… no, really!)

Air Force One (a terrorist who captures Air Force One)  

THE REAL OLDMAN:

Nil by Mouth

Written and directed by Oldman, the film is semiautobiographical, dealing with a tough kid and drug addict in working-class London thrown out of his house by his father. Oldman, himself, has had bouts with alcoholism.

ACTING STYLE:

The best actor to have never been nominated for an Oscar. A Brit, you’d never know it; Oldman finds a different voice, style, look and tone that is fully immersed in each character. Known mostly for playing bad boys, or people beyond the outskirts of society, he is the same guy who plays Harry Potter’s beloved uncle Sirius, and the quiet, even demure Police confidant to Batman.

BITS AND QUIRKS:

Specializes in accents, produced through a whisper. Even when he shouts, it comes out barely audible. Sometimes, a funky little walk without bending the knee. Throw-away lines; in Batman, you have to rewind to hear some of his jewels. A good stare, though not psychotic. A funny lean forward at the waist, with the head bent up.

GREAT SCENES:

THE DARK KNIGHT

Captured by Aaron Eckhart, pleading for his family’s life > “He does that” scene, commenting on Batman’s sudden disappearance > In the armored car and after the crash

HARRY POTTER SERIES

The reveal of Sirius Black > Being saved from the dementors by Harry > Saying goodbye to Harry before riding off on Buckbeat > Transforming from a dog at the train station to talk to Harry > Talking to Harry in the fire > Showing Harry his family tree in the Black mansion > The fight at the ministry

PRICK UP YOUR EARS

The Tunisian vacation > Picking up guys in the loo

ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN

On the ship > The coin-flipping > Meeting Richard Dreyfuss and the players > The acting out of Hamlet’s play > The continual messing up of their names

THE PROFESSIONAL

Leading a killing spree while on drugs

TRUE ROMANCE

The discussion and fight with Christian Slater

AIR FORCE ONE

Executing the NSA agent > Talking to the President’s daughter > confronting Harrison Ford, and then holding his daughter at gunpoint > the final showdown at the back of the plane

THE BOOK OF ELI

The showdown in the street with Denzel Washington > The shootout at the farmhouse and the aftermath > With the book, and the reveal, at the end