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... Reece Daniel Thompson for his magnificent, spot-on portrayal of a stuttering high schooler who's recruited for the school's debate team by the Frankensteinian and equally outstanding Anna Kendrick in the 2007 release "Rocket Science" (the two are pictured here in a scene from the film).
I missed this fine picture in its initial theatrical release, but caught it when it came out on DVD a little over a year ago. Last night I revisited it again and, if you haven't seen this film, you really need to pick up a copy and watch it to see one of the finest unrecognized film performances of the last 10 years. I do not remember ever seeing Thompson in anything else. His only other major film role, it appears, was as Young Beaver in 2003's "Dreamcatcher," one of the many Stephen King adaptations I go to great lengths to avoid. The rest of his work seems to have been confined to television.
At first, "Rocket Science" appears as though it's going to follow the well-worn path of the standard "sports film" with a miracle victory climaxing the whole shebang, until it decides to take a turn toward reality. It is filled with a number of interesting characters. In addition to Kendrick's fine predatory performance, there's a wonderful portrait of the complex sibling from Vincent Piazza, a surprisingly human look at the superhero from Nicholas D'Agosto and a wonderful interlude at the end of the film from the terribly underrated Denis O'Hare as Thompson's father.
I'm betting most of these names don't ring any bells of familiarity (except for fans of "Law & Order" like me who will recall O'Hare's many varied appearances throughout the 20-year run of that show), which is one of the wonderful things about this film. But I think, based on this film, great starring roles are in the futures for both Thompson and Kendrick. I urge you to see this wonderful film so you can tell your friends, "Yeah, Thompson was really good in that, but did you see his magnificent performance in 'Rocket Science'?"
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