Bruce Davison

Bruce Davison is often the father or the man in authority, but reassurance is not guaranteed. In Robert Altman's Short Cuts (1993), his Howard Finnigan belongs to one of the central family stories within a much larger ensemble. We were absorbed by these people: sharp acting and lucid editing made 188 minutes feel worth spending in their company. It is a good setting for an actor whose strengths are tenderness and restraint, and who need not be the centre of a film to matter.

His film career began with Last Summer (1969), followed by the breakthrough title role in Willard (1971). Supporting parts came to dominate, though that describes the work available rather than any failing in the acting. As the caregiver David in Longtime Companion (1990), he found a part suited to the tenderness we value in his work. His account of working on that film gives a useful clue to his approach: “It was so beautifully written. All the pauses were in the script.”

The authority roles provide a useful contrast. He plays Reverend Samuel Parris in The Crucible (1996) and Senator Robert Kelly in X-Men (2000), familiar sorts of assignments for an actor frequently cast as men with standing. His effectiveness as both sympathetic and antagonistic authority figures keeps that casting from becoming entirely predictable. We would still begin with the intimate dramas, where his careful emotional work is the stronger attraction.

Our recommendation of Short Cuts rests on the company as a whole, and it would be misleading to assign its success to Davison alone. Altman's sour view of relationships becomes repetitive, and good performances cannot entirely remove that objection. Even so, the ensemble gives us enough reason to stay with a long film whose people are not always agreeable company. Start there if a crowded drama appeals; for a closer look at Davison's tenderness, make Longtime Companion the next choice.