2009 Oscar Best Contenders Part 5: Best Supporting Actor

This category is going to be one of the most watched for one reason: Heath Ledger. Fans have been clamoring for him to get a posthumous award for his mesmerizing portrayal of The Joker in The Dark Knight that led to his eventual overdose on pain medication. Let's review the nominees:

Josh Brolin, Milk - It's often difficult for actors to keep up with Sean Penn when they star alongside him in a film. Penn has a way of taking over a film, and it makes it hard to keep up, even for the most skilled actors (See: Mystic River). Brolin attempted this in Milk, but his character just wasn't stretching the limits beyond the roles that Brolin has been doing recently. As a result, Milk was all about Penn.

Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road - With all the other nominees in this category, Shannon is going to fall into the background. A nomination will be good enough to boost the career of this actor, who is quickly making his way from bit part to star performer.

Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder - Largely considered the comedy option for this award (pun intended), Downey Jr.'s role as Kirk Lazarus, the actor with a tortured soul who went to great lengths for his role in an action film, was one of the most complex and difficult roles of the year. Downey Jr.'s self-identifying statement in the film, "I know who I am, I'm a dude playing a dude pretending to be another dude!" echoed the lengths that Downey Jr. went to portray Lazarus. In an age where most comedies star actors playing themselves (or their comedic "character") in every film, Downey Jr. went the extra mile. His serious portrayal parodying actors who get far too invested in their role was almost the only source of constant laughs in Tropic Thunder. In what is one of the great ironies of our time, he was nominated alongside an actor who went to such great lengths to portray a character that it actually killed him. Downey Jr. deserves the nomination for this controversial role.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt - I was surprised that Hoffman wasn't nominated for Best Actor for his role as Father Flynn. This could have been due to the fact that the Academy had many choices for Best Actor, and Hoffman was simply knocked down to the supporting category. It also could be that Streep's portrayal of Sister Beauvier was the main focus of the film and thus relegated Hoffman's character to a supporting status. Regardless, Hoffman delivered his usual fierce performance as Father Flynn, a pastor accused of molesting a child. Dialogue is what carried Doubt, and the back and forth banter, the stares, the subtleties that were shared between Streep and Hoffman were nothing but brilliant. Hoffman is a strong contender for the win in this category.

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight - What else can be said that hasn't been said before? Ledger's performance was simply magnficent. Until The Dark Knight, no one really knew the depths to which the infamous Batman villian could be portrayed on screen. The actors who had played the role before him did play him maniacally, but it was always with a hint of comedy with a wink and a nod to the audience. Ledger took it far beyond what anyone could have imagined. The Joker and his psychosis fully realized and explored.

Conclusion: Ledger would have been a lock for this category even before his untimely death. The fact that he died only furthers the fact that this will be given posthumously. Look for Michelle Williams to accept the award.