Posthumous Oscar recognition is something that doesn’t come up very often. We still only have sixteen posthumous winners, and a higher number of nominations across categories than you’d think. While several of the nominees got multiple nominations after their death,only one actor has received multiple acting nods from beyond the grave. That actor wasJames Dean, who was nominated for Best Actor for two of his films that were released after his death, capping off his propulsive yet momentary three-film career. The Academy tends to be late recognizing new breeds of greatness, yet they recognized Dean’s explosive ambition for two roles that show the extreme binary that his brief range presented.
James Dean Faced Painful Family Drama in ‘East of Eden’
His first nomination was forEast of Eden,Elia Kazan’s big screen adaptation ofJohn Steinbeck’s classic novel about a family’s multigenerational drama. Cal (Dean) and Aron Trask (Richard Davalos) are brothers who grew up under the harsh parentage of Adam (Raymond Massey),a devout Christianwho brought everything in the boys' lives back to being free of sin. While Aron largely followed the teachings,Cal has always been rebellious against Adam, believing himself to be full of sin and that his father resents him for it, along with much preferring Aron. As Cal learns more about his family history and tries to make money to make his father proud, it only drives the wedge between them further, leading to tragic results. While boasting some of the best direction of Kazan’s career and an Oscar winning performance fromJo Van Fleetas Cal’s mom, Kate, it’s James Dean’s performance that supercharges the film with its Greek tragedy punch.
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For all of Cal’s rebelliousness, Dean plays him as less of a bad boy and more ofa painfully open-hearted puppywho can’t bear to be whipped any longer. His surliness and cool exterior don’t carry callousness or indignation, but hastily thrown-up walls that he frantically cowers behind out of desperation. He only knows unabashed love, and you can only hate something once you love it first, andDean’s running-on-fumes weariness excavates every ounce of pathos he could muster. One of Dean’s best attributes as an actor was to take characters who indulged in toxic and unappealing behavior and make them not simply interesting but overtly sympathetic, if not at least pitiful. Cal inspires admiration and exasperation in equal measure, and Dean pulls you by the collar into the rollercoaster that is his emotional turmoil. WhileEast of Edenmakes for the sharpest display of his distressed acting style, it’s his second Oscar nominated role that stands as the richest performance of his career.
InGeorge Stevens' saga of money and romantic tension,Giantfocuses on a love triangle between Texas rancher Bick Benedict (Rock Hudson), cattle empire heiress Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor), and ambitious ranch hand Jett Rink (Dean). Bick and Leslie quickly fall for each other, whileJett pines for Leslie, which motivates him to beat Bick in every way he can. When he strikes oil on his land, it makes him a millionaire, where he gradually becomes increasingly closed off and loses his soul. Having never gotten over his love for Leslie and resentful of Bick’s growth as a man, Jett becomes bitter and vengeful, prefering to hide away in his mansion likeCharles Foster Kane.
Dean’s prior roles relied heavily on his youthful exuberance to sell the audience on malleable young men struggling to find themselves, butGiantshowed an evolution in his range by playing an already formed adult who endures a massive change throughout his life.Playing a character that ages over 25 years, with graying hair, a padded body, and a change in voice, Dean is more transformative here than ever before, getting away fromhis raw Method instinctsand creating more of a mannered and specific character. His arc from swaggering gambler to delusional sadsack is one that Dean carries off with a devastating grace, unifying Jett’s beginning and ending with an uncomfortable social isolation that he can never get out of his system. WhileGiant’s story is ostensibly more about Bick’s and Leslie’s romance and efforts to learn to be antiracist,it’s Jett’s story that speaks most directly to the themes of money and power not being enough to heal the wounds in your soul. He gives the sprawling epic its eroding heart, and James Dean’s performance makes that possible. Dean pulling off a character that complicated and grand makes it heartening that the Academy chose to honor it, and all the more painful to see the upward trajectory Dean was on before his untimely demise.
Giantis now available to rent or buy on Prime Video in the U.S.
Sprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.
