10 Reason Mad Max: Fury Road Should Win Best Picture
4. The Acting Is Underrated
Charlize Therons powerhouse performance as Imperator Furiosa in Fury Road drew widespread acclaim. Although Therons work garnered several awards and nominations, she failed to score an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. This years Best Actress category is chock-full of amazing performances, but Therons snub counts as a major oversight. Even without its stellar acting, Fury Road would have wowed audiences and critics alike, but the cast, especially Theron, went above and beyond. The cast made the orgy of vehicular violence resonate. The performances in Fury Road grounded the feature with a human element; if they acting had been subpar, Millers symphony of mayhem would have lacked emotional resonance. Brie Larson and the other Best Actress nominees acquitted themselves well in standard dramas. However, Theron delivered a different kind of performance all together. Fury Roads breakneck pace left no room for long dialogue sequences or showy histrionics; Theron had to portray Furiosas character development mostly through expressions and physical interactions with the environment around her. Unfortunately, the Academy tends to undervalue this kind of performance. The fact Theron managed to prevent the visuals and action from overwhelming the human drama is the most impressive thespian feat from an actress all year.
