The Golden Bin Awards: Best Actor in a Supporting Role

April 12, 2021 0 By Jeff Bulmer

Getting the right guy for the role

In this series based on the Oscars Deathrace series of articles I wrote for The Phoenix News over the last few years, I spotlight my personal picks for this year’s Oscars, as well as some notable snubs.

Winner: Paul Raci – Sound of Metal

In Sound of Metal, Riz Ahmed plays Ruben Stone, a recovering addict who abruptly loses his hearing. When Stone’s sudden deafness causes his girlfriend to worry he may relapse, he checks into a rehab facility for the deaf and hearing-impaired to address his drug issues and hearing loss simultaneously.

The rehab facility is led by Joe (Paul Raci), a recovering alcoholic who lost his hearing in Vietnam. Joe is sympathetic and kind to Stone, but also tough. Though he does his best to help Stone, he puts the needs of the community first, and quickly reprimands Stone when he steps out of line.

Joe commands respect through likeability and charisma alone. He’s remarkably patient, doing his best to ease Stone’s transition into a world unfamiliar to him. While he occasionally takes a sterner tone with Stone, we never see him lash out. Instead, Joe acts as a father figure to Stone, complete with the emotion that entails. In the final scene of Joe and Stone together, when their relationship is at its lowest point, Joe delivers an emotional speech making clear that he’s not mad, just disappointed.

Joe is important to Sound of Metal not only as an emotional foil to Stone, but also as representation of the deaf community. When Stone regularly brings up experimental surgeries that promise to bring back his hearing, Joe reassures him that being deaf is not a disability, simply a way of life he is unfamiliar with. It’s a nuanced depiction of deafness that’s shockingly uncommon in film. Through Joe, many audience members will be introduced to a world they likely never thought about.

Joe is an important, three-dimensional character, and Raci’s portrayal of him is truly touching. Though Raci is far from a household name, having appeared in only a handful of movies, his performance is powerful and easily one of the best of the year.

Runner-Up: Alan Kim – Minari

Minari follows a Korean American family that moves from California to Arkansas so that patriarch Jacob (Steven Yeun) can realize his dream of becoming a successful farmer. While Jacob is passionate and excited to build a life his kids can one day be proud of, the move from a city on the coast to the middle of nowhere doesn’t sit well with the rest of the family. To soften the blow, Jacob and wife Monica agree to bring in Monica’s mother Soon-ja (Yuh-jung Youn) to help look after the children.

Most of Minari revolves around the relationship between Soon-ja and Jacob’s son, David (Alan Kim). As the youngest of the family, David has the least connection to Korea. When Soon-ja enters David’s life, the two are immediately at odds. Though the two are related and share a language, that’s all they have in common. Soon-ja knows nothing about American society, and David knows just as little about Korea. When the two are unsurprisingly unable to meet each other’s expectations, their disappointment is palpable, and it leads to the most visible conflicts in the film.

However, David and Soon-ja are not as different as they seem at first. Throughout the movie, the Soon-ja regularly teases her grandson, while David retaliates with pranks. Through their tendencies to get on each other’s nerves, the two form a close, realistic bond.

On his own, Kim delivers an effortless performance. In every scene his emotional beats are natural, and his chemistry with every other cast member is excellent. It would be easy to mistake Kim for Youn’s real-life grandson.

Kim’s performance is one of the best by a child actor in recent history, and has already gotten him recognition at a few awards shows. Though it didn’t net him an Oscar nod this time, his career is sure to be an exciting one to watch.