by Chris Marshall:
I think the symmetry between the first and most recent Best
Picture winners is absolutely perfect. Way back in 1927, Wings became the first film to win the top award at the Oscars, and
as it turned out, it was the only silent picture to ever win… until this year.
Yes, in some sense, The
Artist is not a true silent film. There are moments of sound and even color
in the movie, but I have to imagine it’s the closest we’ll ever get to it
again. And in another fitting connection, The
Artist was set in 1927, the year Wings came out. I know this symmetry only exists because I happened to choose to
do The Oscar Project this year, but it almost seems pre-ordained.
I do have to admit that I prefer this year’s winner to the
first one, as much as I’ve defended the quality of some (thought definitely not
all) of those early winners. But that’s mostly because The Artist is a very good film, finely crafted and well-acted. It
didn’t win because it was a gimmick. I wouldn’t say it was the best movie of
2011—that title goes to Drive, based
on what I’ve seen from last year—but it was certainly one of the best.
