They shoulda been contenders

Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Synecdoche, New York"

Best Actor

It's no longer a surprise that Hoffman can do anything as an actor, but in Charlie Kaufman's endlessly ambitious cinematic odyssey he's found one of his most challenging roles yet. Hoffman, a likely nominee as best supporting actor for "Doubt," grounds this trippy meditation on art and life with the quiet desperation of a man trying to control the uncontrollable: his own life. —GB