Oscar Betting Odds

The bookies consider The Artist a shoo-in for best picture.

I guess I'm OK with that, but not wildly enthusiastic.

Best Actress is a very close race between Viola Davis and Meryl Streep. They were both terrific, but I have seen all five of the nominated performances, and would vote for Michelle Williams. Her performance was absolutely magical. Her face and body look nothing like Marilyn's but she never had a false moment, and she was both appealing and real. You want to protect her, just as men wanted to protect the real Marilyn. Michelle just plain sold that sumbitch.

The Best Actor race is also neck-and-neck, with the two horses being Clooney and Jean Dujardin. I have not seen Demian Bechir, but have seen the other four, and I guess I'd vote for Dujardin.

Best Director is starting to look like another runaway victory for The Artist. I don't agree with that one. I have not seen The Tree of Life, but among the other four I would vote for Scorsese, despite the fact that The Artist is outstanding. In terms of sheer craftsmanship and imagination, Hugo is dazzling. You might argue that the story of the film is sappy or shallow (I don't agree, but I can see how you might think that), but I don't think you can call the direction anything but flat-out brilliant. It is a demonstration of a master at work, using every visual aspect of the craft. Scorsese takes everything he has learned from his own experiences and incorporates it into the techniques of the men who usually do this kind of film. Ranging far from his comfortable gangster milieu, he out-Jeunet's Jeunet, out-Gilliam's Gilliam, out-Lurhmann's Luhrmann, and throws in some Proyas and Burton as well. I can see why people might vote for another film for Best Picture, because people like different kinds of films, but I would anoint Scorsese as Best Director (and, at least by the standards of my fellow film geeks, I'm not even that big a Scorsese fan!)