Time to place your bets and win big at the Oscars

Best Picture: The Artist

Who knew a black and white silent film could be this charming, crowd-pleasing and moving? In this advanced day and age of sound, colour and computer graphics, Michel Hazanavicius (director) grasped the hearts of audiences worldwide by taking cinema back to its roots. It’s a love story between the two leads, but also a loving tribute to Hollywood. Scooping up pretty much every single Best Picture award there is in America, it’s hard to see such a revolutionary film not walking away with the top prize. The only real potential competition this faces is from another critics’ favourite, Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, but the buzz around The Artist is far too strong to topple at this point.

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin – The Artist

Without any audible spoken dialogue, the little-known French actor managed to make everyone fall in love with his handsome and likable George Valentin. The range of his facial expression is astonishing, and the same can be said for his tap-dancing skills. With Cannes, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA and numerous critics’ circle award wins already under his belt, it would be a safe bet to assume that he is a shoo-in for Oscar glory. George Clooney (The Descendants), the next best in the category and the potential upset for the night, needn’t be too disheartened. He’s already won an acting Oscar back in 2006 for Syriana; and the Academy isn’t a fan of repeat-winners.

Best Actress: Viola Davis – The Help

A tough one to guess, since she faces such a strong competition from the always amazing Meryl Streep, who gives yet another superb performance in The Iron Lady (the other nominees, I’m afraid, can all forget it). But the tides seem to be turning in support for Davis. Having won over her peers as evidenced by her Screen Actors Guild Award win, the much underrated actress who has always impressed in dozens of supporting roles, it only seems right for her to be credited for her tremendous performance here. It’s a shame to say that Streep’s third Oscar win will just have to wait another couple of years. There is also huge support for Davis’ film, whereas very little exists for Streep’s Thatcher biopic.

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer – Beginners

It’s great to see so many veterans (i.e. old and have been in the industry for a long, long time) in running for this category and if/when Plummer wins on Sunday, he will be the oldest Oscar winner (82) for acting. After decades in the business and several major films, this is only Plummer’s second nomination, but it will be wise to start polishing up on his acceptance speech. His restrained yet absorbing performance as a gay father and recent widower who comes out of the closet in the last few years of his life has won the critics over, having already scored more than a dozen prestigious awards for this role. It’s never too late to win an Oscar, and Plummer certainly proves that.

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer – The Help

Not much room for debate here. Spencer is hands-down the most memorable performer of the lot as the straight-talking, strong-spirited Minny Jackson. The fact that there is much critical acclaim around the film is also a strong pushing point, a key factor a couple of her competitors seem to lack (Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids, Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs). The only real visible threat is Bérénice Bejo who, if The Artist decides to clean house on Sunday can cause an upset with a surprise win in her category, but Bejo herself hasn’t been the subject of much attention when it came to actual winning. Spencer is a relative unknown, but this awards season will do wonders for her career.

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist

It takes guts to make a silent, black and white film, but Hazanavicius (above, with the canine star of The Artist, Uggie) managed to create something truly enchanting and extraordinary. It has been years since the Academy paid attention to a black and white film, let alone a silent one, but The Artist has been the talk of the town and Hazanavicius is the man responsible for this miracle. Hopefully he has paved the way for filmmakers to take more bold, unusual steps, but only time will tell on the legacy he will leave behind with his latest work. But for the time being, he should enjoy and soak up all the applause and acclaim he and his film are currently receiving. He deserves it.