SO interesting that you mention this because the first time I ever noticed Paul Giamatti was when he first appears in Saving Private Ryan. His eyes and face were so expressive and said so much that I actually thought for a moment that they found some G.I. from 1944 and brought him through time to place him in the movie. That's how effective he was in that scene - unforgettable. And every time I think of Saving Private Ryan, that's the first thing I remember. Samuel Jackson's eyes in the crack house scene in Jungle Fever is another example of that kind of power.

I don't get how Giamatti was not nominated and Hayden-Church was, I thought Paul made the movie.
Y'know, I could eat a peach for hours

I watched it last night and I agree. You knew what he was feeling and the struggle for h8im to keep in inside. Brilliant.

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He should have been thinking about how lucky he was to have escaped a relationship with someone so insensitive.
That's the most you'll ever get out of me Wordman. Ever.
-Eddie Wilson

The only issue I have with OP's statement is that Miles' face wasn't the sole emotional transportation.
The way Paul delivered his lines really helped with the sell. Not only could you see it in his face, but you could hear it in his voice, his replies. The lines written there were just as much a part of the sell for me. Disjointed, nothing overly fake, just his reality has been taken and he's going to reboot from that point on.

Very hard to argue with the OP. I wouldn't say it's the greatest performance by and actor in a single scene but it is very very good. His whole performance caught me off guard and proved his ability as an actor and yes this scene sums up his performance well.
"Doublethink. To deliberately believe in lies, while knowing they're false." Henry Barthes

Giamattis being able to say so much in this film without
actually
saying anything makes him nothing short of a brilliant actor. My heart breaks for Miles, both in this scene and the scene with Virginia Madsen when shes talking about wine.

Completely agree. I'm still amazed by that scene. Giamatti was unbelievable in this movie.

the actor Dennis Quaid
the scene customer appreciation day
the movie AT ANY PRICE

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Denzel in the GLORY campfire scene.

Fantastic scene. Her character had so much depth. Not just a pretty face who likes wine, but rather a woman who thinks as deeply (if not more deeply) about things as he does.

I liked the scene where Maya was describing winethat was just such an excellent speech. how she thought about the people who made it and how many were dead now and how if you open it any other day it tastes different and so onethat was just an excellent passage delivered perfectly.
and then Miles blowing a perfect moment and in the bathroom after was also very good. but Maya in that scene was teh best in the movie to me.
I thought Miles expression after the wedding also was up there, as was Jack when he wanted miles to go back for the wallet.

Another single shot that's burned into my mind is Meryl Streep's look of absolute horror in Sophie's Choice as
her daughter is taken away by the Nazis.
I wouldn't be surprised if that single reaction shot won her the Oscar.

Those are some stellar examples. All three films remain favorites precisely because of the first rate acting the way the camera just holds on the performance, catching all the nuances of the eyes and delivery.

This scene was indeed incredible. I can remember only two other times I've seen a scene performance as powerful Elisabeth Shue as Sera in Leaving Las Vegas, watching over Ben as he wakes up in the morning after staying over at her apartment, and Judy Parfitt as Vera in Delores Claiborne when she tells Delores about how her husband's brakes "failed" on the way home from his mistress' apartment.

Good spot.

Wedding scene the OP mentioned was great, but I'd like to add another that happened earlier in the movie:
At the scenic overlook where Miles reminisces to Jack about how he and Victoria enjoyed wine at a picnic and extolled her wine-smarts and Jack tells Miles that Victoria remarried.
Miles reaction was of near devastation. His voice cracked and quivered as he asks who: "To that guy with the restaurant?" Very real.

You take 100 people and I guarentee at least 20 of them could be oscar winners if given the chance.
Yeah, right.

The Oscars don't like giving awards to "Loser" characters. Any actor playing a character who's down on life and constantly depressed is bound to get snubbed. The Academy likes actors who fight adversity or conquer their demons or rebound from disaster, etc. Although Miles does, somewhat, come out a winner at the end, for the bulk of the movie, I'd say he's a "Loser."
Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda & Leo DiCaprio in Aviator were nominated that year
in less powerful roles, but got the nomination because their characters were such winners.
You think I'm crazy? Perhaps we're all a little crazy. I know I am.
-Hugo Simpson

Derek, agree. Remember being very surprised he didn't get nominated for an Oscar.
Frank S.

That scene was POWERFUL.
The real joy of "Sideways" is how ordinary and simple it SEEMS. That's the whole point. To the casual viewer, it's a bland, boring movie about a depressed guy getting drunk in wine country with his buddy. But to those who care to look a little more closely, it's a very powerful and intelligent movie about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness (which is really the only way I can describe it). Paul Giamatti in that scene with his ex, especially after all we've learned about the character, portrayed that raw emotion so subtlely and perfectly. How he didn't get NOMINATED is beyond me.

I agree, he did a great job and he is a great actor.
HOWEVER, don't give too much credit to actors though. You take 100 people and I guarentee at least 20 of them could be oscar winners if given the chance.
Acting is a skill, but it's nothing like being a singer, artist or musician. Actors receive too much credit for what they do in my opinion, and they are overpaid.
Paul Giamatti did a great job, but that doesn't make him the most talented man in the world.