The King's Speech wins 83rd Annual Academy Awards

The show started off with a former Oscar host Alec Baldwin's journey through his dreams, inspired by the movie "Inception". Fragments of his dreams were actually clips from nominated movies such as "True Grit" and "The Social Network", where Franco and Hathaway found themselves, conversing with Jeff Bridges and Natalie Portman whilst they remained unaware. It was a much applauded attempt at humour, and then the show began.

With "The Social Network" in the forefront for most awards, the audience wasn't expecting many surprises. Movies related/relevant to recent events always won top prize as "The Hurt Locker" and "Slumdog Millionaire" can testify. However, this year it was all a bit different. "The King's Speech" fought off competition from "The Black Swan" and "The Social Network", for the Oscar for the best picture. This was indeed a throwback to the past, when movies having historical values would usually win as opposed to movies based on current scenarios. Would this set the mood for what is to come in 2011? Time will tell.

Colin Firth and Natalie Portman picked up the Oscars for Best Actor and Actress, respectively. Firth sealed the deal for his remarkable depiction of King George the VI, while Portman's portrayal of a ballerina sunk in depths of self-deception and losing touch with reality just before the performance of her life, won rave reviews and Oscar-cries right after the film was released. Thus, these wins came as no surprise.

The Oscar for Best Actor and Actress in Supporting Roles had much more drama. Bale's role as Dicky Edmund, the drug induced and maniacal former boxing legend, spoke at lengths. It seems that he picked up a thing or two from his former co-star, the late Heath Ledger, but Bale had already proven his capabilities previously in the dark movie "The Machinist". No man deserved the Oscar more. The Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role went to Melissa Leo. At 50, it was surprising how she beat off Helena Bonham and Hailee Steinfeld, but then again Melissa's role called for far more on-screen time and had more depth.

The Oscar for Best Original Screenplay went to the 73-year old David Seidler for "The King's Speech". Accepting his Oscar, David said, "I was told I would be a late bloomer." The award for Best Director went to Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech", while "Toy Story 3", predictably, won an Oscar for Best Animated Picture. The Oscar for Best Foreign Film went to Denmark's entry, "In a Better World". Of course the award ceremony would not be complete without an Oscar for "Inception", which won in the Best Cinematography category. Questions persisted throughout the evening why "Inception" was not even in running for any of the other major categories, but at least the movie deservingly left with something.

Though this may not have ushered in a hip new era that Hollywood or rather the Academy was craving, it was indeed a dignified affair. As the audience reverted back to traditions of folklore and Billy Crystal reminded us of when times were better, a feeling of preservation prevailed. The 83rd Academy Awards managed to showcase the best of Hollywood with no question of partiality arising.