façade: Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper with the wonderful Margaret Wycherly in Howard Hawks' "Sergeant York" (1941)

Belatedly, I refer you to an astute essay by my friend and colleague, Carrie Rickey, film critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer. In a piece that ran on her Flickgrrl site on 26 January, Carrie questioned, "Is the Oscar for Best Acting or Most Acting?," anchoring her query to the over-the-top work of Christian Bale and Melissa Leo in David O. Russell's "The Fighter."

It's an apt question, given that title star Mark Wahlberg's quiet performance is actually the most satisfying in that entertaining, if chaotic, film. But few people have acknowledged Wahlberg, not even some critics and certainly not the voting membership of the Motion Picture Academy.

Wahlberg's subtly comic performance in Russell's "I ♥ Huckabee" was also ignored by the Academy and, for my money, that was the best male performance of 2004 - arguably, of course. FYI: Jamie Foxx won that year for "Ray"; the other nominees were Don Cheadle for "Hotel Rwanda," Johnny Depp for "Finding Neverland," Leonardo DiCaprio for "The Avaiator" and Clint Eastwood for "Million Dollar Baby." (And, by the way, Wahlberg and Russell also collaborated on 1999's "Three Kings.")

This is my round-about way of finding a way to bring up Gary Cooper, an actor often described as "laid-back," meaning that he largely underacted and never so effectively than in his 1941 Oscar winner, Howard Hawks' compulsively watchable, "Sergeant York." Given the heated acting climate today, where actors underline and italicize everything, it's difficult to image that particular performance commanding any attention from people who should know better (read: other actors). Standards have changed.

Seemingly.

When contemporary actors speak of what actor from the past they most admire, Cooper's name is never on the list. The usual suspects show up - Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Laurence Olivier, Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster and, that master of overacting, Marlon Brando. In the 1950s, every actor wanted to be the next Brando. And they still do.

In a piece I posted last 9 July, titled "when men were men," I lamented the demise of the kind of on-screen manhood that Gregory Peck, another underactor, represented. Cooper also represented that ineffable brand of manhood and acting style - only much more so. He effortlessly projected strong innocence and innocent strength. But innocence has become an undesirable trait these days, at least where men are concerned.

Much like "American Idol," a show whose participants predictably belt, shout and scream unmemorable songs to the rafters, acting in American movies has become a matter of overkill. Maybe that's why critics and moviegoers have been enamored (unconsciously perhaps?) of Colin Firth's hearteningly modest performance in "The King's Speech."

So maybe standards really haven't changed - at least for British actors.

Incidentally, "Sergeant York" airs on Turner Classic Movies at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, 19 January. Watch it and be prepared to be seduced by another modest performance that speaks volumes in spite of itself.