Brad Pitt was in Mexico yesterday to promote Once Upon a Time …in Hollywood. He went for the camel monochrome look. At first, with that hat on, I thought in thumbnail that he was Don Johnson. Most of you are probably too young to remember the Miami Vice vibe.
Anyway, Brad’s on his own in Mexico for promotion as Leonardo DiCaprio’s been on a yacht in Italy the last few days recovering from the difficult press tour. We’ll get to Leo later. For now, Brad’s doing fine on solo duty, and it works well for him personally because he may currently be the frontrunner for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.
OUATIH did well at the box office. Some people think that Brad stole the movie from Leo. I agree with this statement. To me, he was the best part of the movie, a movie I didn’t quite like as much as some other people. I mean, it was fine. But it was also too long, too indulgent, and, as I’ve said before, Leo’s doing the same sh-t he always does. We’re so wrapped up culturally in the idea that “Leo is a great actor!” that nobody wants to talk about the fact that he never stretches himself, that he remains in the same lane over and over again.
Brad, on the other hand, doesn’t come with the fireworks. More often than not, the gift in his performance is making everyone else better around him. In OUATIH, you don’t know how layered his performance is until well afterwards, when it all comes together. If I were to ever see it again, I’d see it only to go back and pay closer attention to the work Brad lays down throughout the film that leads up to the end. Of course he should be nominated. He should probably win. If he campaigns, it seems almost a given at this point, even though it’s only August, for him to win: he’s popular in the industry, the film will no doubt be a contender overall in several categories, and you might say, in his mid-50s now, he’s overdue. More f-cking overdue than Leo was a few years ago when people were shouting about how “due” he was. If Brad can get over whatever will happen with Ad Astra – he will for sure not be hurt by Ad Astra – you might as well lock in that prediction now.
