Matthew McConaughey finally won an Academy Award.
I mean that completely sincerely too. It’s high time he landed a role that was actually deserving of him. It’s really easy for many to scoff and roll their eyes at this statement, when you look at his past filmography. The man is, after all best known for his laid back surfer meets Texas persona, usually found in nearly unwatchable romantic comedies along side Kate Hudson. In between those he usually took some oddball roles here and there trying to find his footing, dabbling in action, drama, and non romantic comedy. But no matter anything else, he’s mostly coasted on a career of charisma, only occasionally giving us some gravitas.
In 2001 and 2002, my perceptions of McConaughey were altered drastically forever. He starred in two underrated movies that made me sit up and take notice that this guy had some pretty cool range and was willing to make weirder choices in his roles. The first was in 2001 with the the Bill Paxton directed “Frailty”. McConaughey plays Fenton Mieks, a disturbed young man no longer able to live with his family’s past, and confesses to an F.B.I. Agent that he knows that his brother is the serial killer they have been looking for, who is in turn continuing the work started by their father in the 70’s. The movie is mostly told in flashbacks, with McConaughey narrating his family’s haunted past. He displays at the same time a sense of deep inner turmoil, and the haunting intensity of a man broken by the horrors of his past.
Much deeper than his role that Texas Chainsaw sequel.