2008 Oscar picks

Best Picture

Heart says: “There Will Be Blood.” Audacious in its ambition, extraordinary in its execution, the film isn’t perfect, but it’s the only one of the five that deserves to be called a masterpiece.

Head says: “No Country for Old Men.” Though “Atonement” is the kind of gorgeous, grand tragedy with a literary pedigree for which academy members love to vote, “No Country” will win. Voters will, like the critics, mistake its bleakness for moral seriousness.

Best Director

Heart says: Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood.” He combined drama, performance and music together in such a seamless way that Wagner would have been jealous.

Head says: Joel and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men.” The brothers are critical favorites without a best director or best picture Oscar to their name, and this is their biggest success yet, both commercially and critically.

Best Actor

Heart says: Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood.” Performances like this come along only once every few years — that’s how often Mr. Day-Lewis makes a film these days.

Head says: Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood.” “Michael Clayton” wouldn’t have gotten the attention it has without George Clooney’s sharp performance, but “There Will Be Blood” is just unimaginable without Mr. Day-Lewis.

Best Actress

Heart says: Julie Christie, “Away from Her.” Any other year, I would have rooted for “Juno’s” Ellen Page, who gave a startlingly accomplished performance for someone so young. But even she could learn much from Miss Christie, who slyly communicates both confusion and knowingness at once as a woman recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Head says: Julie Christie, “Away from Her.” She was simply heartbreaking.

Best Supporting Actor

Heart says: Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton.” The actor has never put in a bad performance, and Tony Gilroy’s direction of his excellent cast is what made an extraordinary film out of an ordinary legal thriller.

Head says: Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men.” Everybody loved the hideous haircut; everybody loved the performance.

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