Best of 2011: Male Performances

5. Brad Pitt, "The Tree of Life"
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As a temperamental, disciplinary father trying to raise his family in rural Texas in the 1950's, Brad Pitt's performance in many ways provides the backbone to Malick's odyssey on family, loss and creation. Both disquietingly menacing and vulnerable, Pitt fleshes out his capricious father figure with but a glance or a grimace. 
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4. Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
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As the muted, determined Mr. Smiley, Oldman's internalized central performance as the retired spy is in many ways the perfect compliment to the icy, cold precision of Tomas Alfredson's immaculately-crafted spy thriller. Though he hardly puts on a show, Oldman subtly, expertly portrays Smiley's redemption as he attempts to uncover the mole atop British Intelligence and recover his scandalous marriage and sullied career. 
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3. John Boyega, "Attack the Block"
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As Moses, Boyega transformed Joe Cornish's bass-bumping action film into a surprising tale of redemption. The mysterious leader of a petty street gang at first, Moses is hesitantly forced to play hero as he comes to realize that he's partly responsible for the attack. 
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2. Bruce Greenwood, "Meek's Cutoff"
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Kelly Reichardt's beautiful, spare anti-Western concerns the tumultuous, haggard journey through the Oregon terrain of a small group of settlers. Almost unrecognizable under a bushel of facial hair and a whiskey-growl, Bruce Greenwood - as the titular Stephen Meek, the group's cynical, ignorant frontier guide - is a revelation.
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1. Ryan Gosling, "Drive"
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Turning in what I believe to be his greatest performance, Ryan Gosling, an actor stuck on terrific, brooding, method performances ("Half Nelson", "Blue Valentine") pulls off one of the trickiest turns of the year in Nicolas Winding Refn's grime-and-chrome muscle-car crime drama, "Drive". 
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Almost mute, Gosling takes a perilously under-written character and fills in the rest, turning the unnamed 'Driver' into a smoldering, violent romantic with a wardrobe to die for. 
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Honorable Mentions:
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Tom Cruise, "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" - Nobody can pull off the physical, charismatic stuff he does here, much less at 49. 
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Alex Shaffer, "Win Win" - Nobody is talking about his contribution to that excellent ensemble. His introverted, blank blonde-haired wrestler Kyle was a wonderful debut.
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Brendan Glesson, "The Guard" - Gleeson's irreverent, foul-mouthed cop in the dry, winning Irish action-comedy was a one-man show. 
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Jean Dujardin, "The Artist" - No joke, his performance is so full of wit and non-verbal charisma, he's practically a silent star re-incarnate. 
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Michael Shannon, "Take Shelter" - Jeff Nichols' film is quite good and it doesn't work without Shannon's desperate, manic, but more importantly, sympathetic lead turn.