‘The Artist’ silences its critics

LOS ANGELES – Octavia Spencer crowned her Cinderella story year with a best supporting actress Oscar on Sunday for playing a mouthy housemaid who reluctantly tells her story in the US civil-rights era film ‘The Help’.

Spencer, whose mother was a maid and who had never been nominated before for an Academy Award, got a long standing ovation from the audience as she nervously walked to the stage to accept her award.’Thank you Academy for putting me with the hottest guy in the room,’ she said, referring to the golden Oscar statuette.But the big winner of the night was silent film ‘The Artist’. Frenchman Michel Hazanavicius won the Oscar for best directing for ‘The Artist’, a homage to Hollywood’s silent era that starred the filmmaker’s wife. The silent, black-and-white movie which also took the best picture award focuses on a fading star who finds redemption through the love of a woman just as silent movies are being taken over by talkies. It was Hazanavicius’ first Oscar nomination and his first win. He also won the BAFTA and Directors Guild prizes for ‘The Artist’, which he also wrote.Fighting back tears and thanking her family and fellow cast members, Spencer said, ‘I’m wrapping up, I’m sorry, I am freaking out. Thank you world.’Spencer’s night however was slightly dampened by the loss for fellow ‘The Help’ actress Viola Davis, who was beaten in the lead actress race by Meryl Streep for ‘The Iron Lady’.But a national domestic workers group said Spencer’s win was a ‘profound victory’ for maids everywhere.Jean Dujardin won the Oscar for best actor for his role in ‘The Artist’, becoming the first Frenchman to win an acting Oscar.Another memorable winner was Woody Allen who last won an Oscar 25 years ago, so his award for best original screenplay for ‘Midnight in Paris’ marks the end of one of the longest and most lamented career slumps in cinema history.The award for best foreign-language film went to the Iranian film ‘A Separation’. – Nampa-Reuters