In his review of the movie Choke, Roger Ebert liked Sam to a latter day Christopher Walken, saying, "...not all the time, but when you need him, he's your go-to guy for weirdness." Sam does tend to play characters with a bit of an edge and both he and Walken can be zany show-stealers in otherwise lackluster comedies. However, Sam differs from latter day Walken in that many of his best performances of late have been in dramas, not comedies. I'd compare Sam more to Robert Downey Jr., because both actors are charismatic, good at playing likable anti-heros, have great comedic timing, and are a bit off-kilter. In fact, Iron Man director Jon Favreau had Sam on the shortlist to play Tony Stark. Downey Jr. won that part, but Favreau liked Sam so much that he cast him as Justin Hammer in the sequel. Here we take a look at Sam's most recent movies, including many of his best performances:
Everybody's Fine (2009).
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Gentleman Broncos (2009). From director of Napoleon Dynamite, Sam's role here is definitely skirting on Walken territory. He plays the main character in the sci-fi novel written by Benjamin Purvis (Michael Angarano). Probably the best thing about this movie are all of Sam's strange costumes (see above).
Find it in the catalog!G-Force (2009).
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Moon (2009). One of my favorite movies of last year and the only movie ever to have enough Sam Rockwell in it. Sam plays an astronaut finishing up a three year job on the moon working for a company called Lunar Industries that mines for Helium-3 (a clean and reliable energy source) . Sam is the lone occupant of the lunar station besides a computer named GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey). Sam longs to be home with his wife and infant daughter Eve, and he begins to notice some health problems from being on the moon so long. This is an interesting, thoughtful science-fiction movie similar to Silent Running, Solaris, or 2001: A Space Odysessy. It is tense, moody, and frequently funny. Writer/ director Duncan Jones wrote this movie for Sam and it shows. Sam gives one of the best performances in his career. This is definitely a movie you can talk about for hours afterward.
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Frost/ Nixon (2008). Sam plays reporter James Reston Jr, who along with Bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt) must help semi-clueless playboy David Frost (Michael Sheen) come up with hard-hitting questions to ask Nixon in an interview. Both Reston and Zelnick wrote exposés on Richard Nixon, and they bring a lot of passion and urgency to their task. They, however, have some doubts about Frost's abilities as an interviewer. Rockwell and Platt both add energy and humor to their roles.
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Choke (2008). Imagine All the Real Girls written by Fight Club author Palahniuk. Sam plays Victor Mancini, a sex addict with a heart of gold. Victor runs scams and works as a historical reenactor at Colonial Williamsburg theme park to keep his Alzheimer's-afflicted mother in the hospital. There he meets Paige Marshall (Kelly MacDonald), the one girl he is afraid to sleep with. This movie has lots to be offended by, including lots of nudity and some minor sacrilege, but it's basically a romantic comedy. Victor reminds me a bit of Dexter from the Showtime series, both characters are compulsive, have funny voice overs, and do terrible things but we somehow like them anyway.
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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007). Sam gives a great supporting performance as Charley Ford, brother to the Coward Robert (Casey Affleck). Charley is Robert's in for joining the James gang. My favorite part of the movie is after (spoiler alert!) James is shot, and Robert and Charley reenact their kill in a Wild West road show. Charley's guilt about James' murder eats away at him. Charley is a somewhat stupid thug, but Rockwell brings depth and emotion to the character.
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Snow Angels (2007). Sam gives a dark performance as Glenn Marchard, a recovering alcoholic with anger issues, who is some what unwillingly separated from his wife (Kate Beckinsale) and daughter. Glenn has had some problems in the past, but he's trying to start over with a new job and by becoming a Christian. I'm a huge fan of director David Gordon Green and Sam, but I held off watching this movie because the subject matter is somewhat bleak. However, this is a beautiful movie with light touches like the relationship between Michael Angarano and Olivia Thirlby. Gordon Green infuses all his movies with funny, quirky touches like Glenn jumping barefoot on a carpet while trying to make a sale.
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Still want more Rockwell?
Check out his other movies in Part 1 and Part 2.
