A Word or Two About Paul Dano's Oscar-Worthy Performance

Rating: 9/10 (13 September 2006)

After 230 plus reviews here, you get the idea: it's a really good movie. I'm one of those people that's very wary of hyped-movies actually delivering what's been promised. This one does.
This very funny ensemble piece is a delight from start to finish. I have the impression that when I see it again on DVD, I'll find layers of subtler humor that I missed on first viewing. In the initial dinner scene, for example, there's a lot more going on than just sharp dialog. It could easily go unnoticed.
I want to say a word or two about Paul Dano's performance. Even though reviewers have praised him, in the context of this ensemble of extremely accomplished actors in showy roles, his work is a tad under-appreciated. If anyone ever deserved to get nominated for a supporting actor award, it's Paul Dano for his interpretation of Dwayne Hoover's teen angst.
Dano does more with one simple sly look from under his dyed-black bangs then de Niro, Pacino, et al, do with an entire monologue. Even though you can barely see his eyes, they communicate meaning by the boatload.
In a group scene your eyes are drawn to him, partly because his non-speaking role compels you to watch him to see what he's "saying." A storm of dialog can be going on around him and he's fully participatory without uttering one little syllable. You watch him because you want to hear every word he's NOT saying. It's an absolutely mind-blowing performance.
Toward the end of the film, when he finally explodes into vocalization, it's letter perfect and utterly real. Afterwards, when he succumbs to his sister's simple gesture of love, he returns to the family fold with exactly the right exhausted tone of someone who's just unleashed months of suppressed rage. It's a five-minute arc of emotion that is astonishing.
All the performances are top tier, but Dano is mesmerizing. Toni Collette again rolls out her superb comic timing. You laugh just hearing her interject her husband or brother's name in a hopeless effort to curb their inane and inflammatory remarks. She does it in a dozen different ways, and it's funny every time. For me, Allan Arkin was the weak link. It was a good performance, but no different than the cranky roles he's played before. His character would have resonated more if it had been cast against type. Think about Bob Newhart or any nice-guy actor in the part and you'll realize how much funnier it could have been.
Above all, what I admired most about the movie was its dagger to the heart of child beauty pageant pedophilia. Absolutely brilliant.