Two things.
I was really rooting for Mickey Rourke for the best actor Oscar last night (although Sean Penn was great as Harvey Milk), I mean, Mickey gave us a superb performance in "The Wrestler," and it would have been pop culturally cool and significant, and possibly "train- wreckingly" entertaining to see him get up there and say whatever he was gonna say after his long walk in the desert and his recent loss of his last good friend, his trusted dog Loki.*
And best original screenplay should have gone to Martin McDonagh for "In Bruges." McDonagh is one of the great writers (Lately I've been reading all of his plays) working today. "In Bruges" is McDonagh's first film (see Brenden Gleeson and Colin Farrell have a field day with their characters and lines) and he wrote and directed a masterpiece. Stunningly good. Funny and touching too.
* Plus the whole "redemption" of Mickey Rourke meme worked in perfect parallel in two worlds. The real world story of Rourke crashing and burning up after a meteoric rise to the top. And the theme of the movie, a beat and burned out hulk of a wrestler, trying to take one more chance on a life. One of those great symbolic, pop-mythical convergences.
