Margot’s Oscar Picks

Margot has decided to get in on the Academy Award festivities this year. Here are her picks for the five main categories (with some loose interpretation by me):

• Best Picture: The King’s Speech. Whether it’s giving a wartime address or learning to say “papa”, Margot understands that speaking clearly and with purpose can be a challenge for persons of any age. Her choice of Director Tom Hooper’s latest tour de force is a vote for all those people who never give up on their linguistic dreams.
• Best Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit. Some babies are cute. Some babies are quiet. Some babies like staying put. Margot thinks those babies are wimps. In her view, if you’re hungry the best way to get attention is to yell – nice and loud. If she sees a toy she likes, neither man nor beast can prevent her from sticking it in her mouth. Hailee’s tough and brassy performance in True Grit epitomizes this spirit exactly, which is why she deserves the Oscar nod.
• Best Actress: Annette Bening for The Kids are All Right. Notwithstanding her feisty exterior, Margot has a soft spot for moms. They bring food, they give you hugs and they tuck you in at night when you’re really tired. Margot thought Annette’s performance as a lesbian mother in the first five minutes was so believable that she was inspired to fall asleep for the remainder of the film.
• Best Supporting Actor: John Hawkes for Winter's Bone. She hasn’t seen the film. She doesn’t know who John Hawkes is. But according to Margot, sometimes you have to cast off the metaphorical soother and break free from the Hollywood "playpen" that has everyone liking the same films and actors and go with the underdog.
• Best Actor: Colin Firth for The King’s Speech. Not even Margot is immune to the Bridget Jones’s Diary star’s passionate portrayal of King George VI. Contrary to the masses, which seem keen to vest Colin with an Academy Award for his supposedly subtle yet sublime good looks, Margot likes Colin for the loving manner in which he played a loving father to his daughter and future Queen, Queen Elizabeth II. She especially liked his penguin story.