Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Producer Samuel Goldwyn once said, God makes the stars, its up to us producers to find them.
Watch: Denzel Washington More Than Deserves His Nomination for Roman J. Israel Esq.
Goldwyn frames stardom as mythic, divine, a matter of unquestionable chemistry.
History has proven otherwise.
Excellence is, at this point, a state of being for Washington.
Hes played slick private detectives traversing postwar Los Angeles and madmen with badges to mask their impropriety.
Hes played political icons and common men, saints and sinners.
But what Washington has never been onscreen, at least fully, is awkward and unsure.
Until his tremendous performance in writer-director Dan GilroysRoman J. Israel Esq.
Related Stories
Roman J. Israel Esq.is a film mired in an identity crisis.
Its the story of a man losing his soul.
The man in question is the titular character, played by Washington.
Hes a dedicated, even hopeful civil-rights attorney with genius-level intellect who is clearly on the autism spectrum.
While Washingtons performance was mostly praised, the film itself wasseen asa failure.
Its noir by way of character study.
And the character allows Washington to coax new dimensions out of his star image.
One of the greatest and most underrated gifts an actor can have is the ability to actively listen.
This is something Washington excels at, which is what makes his performance as Roman so intriguing.
But whats most transformative and moving is how Washington listens and looks at the world around him.
Roman often doesnt look people in the eye.
His gaze is furtive, unsure.
He doesnt seem to listen wholly to people.
In aconversation about the rolewith Gilroy, Washington says he did considerable research on Aspergers and mimicking neuroatypical behavior.
Washington plays Roman as a man trying to replicate the rigors of a world he doesnt quite understand.
Theyre charismatic, with a blend of ease and intensity.
Roman is the antithesis of this.
Hes a man out of time.
He is cut from the cloth of 1960s activists, with the same ardor and sense of self-sacrifice.
His work is admirable, his intellect unquestionable.
This isnt 40 years ago, one young woman notes derisively.
They become a bit more vicious considering Romans etiquette is sexist rather than chivalrous.
Washington becomes flustered, as if uncomfortable in his own skin.
He slicks his hair back, revealing his curl pattern.
He wears a resplendent suit.
He goes out with Maya, taking her to a lavish restaurant he is uncomfortable at.
Roman seems uncomfortable in his new guise despite wholly giving himself to it.
He says, Im going away, launching into a consideration of this frightful chapter in his life.
Washingtons voice moves between regret to something at the pitch of a sermon.
He knows hes failed.
And this failure is not just personal, but historical.
Its as if his sadness reverberates with the weight of black American history itself.
I have found myself quite haunted by Washingtons performance, particularly its most minute moments.
Washington has a slim shot at winning Oscar gold this weekend.
Oldman as Winston Churchill inDarkest Houris positioned at the front-runner with a narrative about his win being long overdue.
This does a disservice to Washingtons immense performance, which is tender, heartfelt, and layered.
