3. W.P. Inman - Cold Mountain (2003)
Cold Mountain is a strange beast of a movie - seemingly one part mediation on the "wife at home whilst her husband goes to war" trope, one part drama about "soldier deserts the war and tries to find himself," this American Civil War story comes recommended for one reason and one reason only: Jude Law's sensational performance. As W.P. Inman, a Confederate deserter, Law unveils a quiet, completive and throughly understated turn (one that unfortunately jars so very horribly with the Rene Zellweger performance at the other end of the picture, which she hams up to no end). Still, even Zellweger's miscalculated appearance (surprisingly, she won an Oscar for her role) can't take anything away from the work that Jude Law does here. As Inman, disillusioned with the war, he spends the majority of the movie trying to get back to his lost love - on the way, he interacts with a variety of individuals. For lack of a better phrasing, there's so much "acting" going on here that it's no wonder Law was bestowed with another Best Supporting Actor nomination. But it's what Law implies beneath the surface with Inman that makes it such a next-level performance.