I shan't manage to see all of the ten films that have been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars but I have seen all the Directing nominees so I've been musing about where I would cast my vote.

It's terribly difficult to spot what the Director has contributed to a play or a film that has made it much better than it would have been without his/her involvement or under someone else's direction. So difficult that I think you have to judge every aspect of the work as being in the end the responsibility of the director. So for example, whether an actor is good or bad I'm likely to attribute 75% of the result to the director's work.

I complained in a previous post about Jeff Bridges' diction in True Grit. I'm sure he can speak as clearly as any man on the planet so either he was told to talk that way by the director ( in this case directors) or he invented it himself and it was accepted by the directors or they cobbled it together between them or horror of horrors they didn't notice. But leaving that aside (and I am, honestly) I rule True Grit out. It's a thoroughly well made and entertaining western but I don't see a quality in it that raises it above the well made and entertaining western that other competent directors could have produced.

The King's Speech is another fine film. It's a gripping story with a happy ending. It deploys fine British acting talent and what's more it's true. One of my neighbours received his DSO from the hands of George VI himself. He was understandably very moved by the film and even hard hearted republicans could surely spare a little sympathy for an afflicted fellow being. But is it more than a west end play with a movie camera stuck in front of it? I don't think so, despite its going outdoors for a mist swirling walk where speech therapist gets a temporary bum's rush. So for me it doesn't qualify for a film directing prize.

You might then think that I'd write off Black Swan straight away since it doesn't include a single exterior shot and could surely have been done on the stage. Should we not at least have seen the heroine staring moodily out of the bus window as it wended its way through rainy streets or her slow and thoughtful progress along crowded pavements as she choked back her fear of not getting the part? Maybe we did and I just don't remember. That's quite possible. But I do remember the close ups of weird bleeding, the magnificent feather sprouting pirouette and various other surreal bits and bobs that made it undeniably a movie. However the director didn't make me care one way or the other what happened to any of the characters so it fails.

That leaves The Social Network and The Fighter both of which induced in me very strong reactions to the characters. Interestingly enough in both cases my early dislike of some of them metamorphosed into a more sympathetic and nuanced appreciation. At one stage I was all for rushing home and cancelling my Facebook account but in the end I felt a bit sorry for the chap. I'd heard an interview with the director of The Fighter in which he said that the family portrayed had seen the film and were happy with it. By the end I could believe that, but was incredulous earlier that any family could be content to see themselves as the hopeless bunch of ineffective squabbling losers who appeared on screen.

The Social Network was fast-moving and tense. It cut through a fairly complicated story very clearly. It's characters were well drawn and multi-dimensioned. Everything about its physical being; costumes, settings, photography and so on was perfect. Until I saw The Fighter it had my vote for both directing and best picture Oscars.

But the magnificent fight scenes in The Fighter and what the director does with such unpromising human beings swings my judgement in his favour for the directing prize and despite the slightly sentimental tone towards the end (after all it's a true story and it's not the director's fault that there was a real life happy ending) I'd give it best picture as well, with the caveat that I haven't been able to judge all the contenders.

For best actor I'll swim against the cream of British acting talent tide and, even although I've only seen three of the contenders, award the prize to the chap who plays the Facebook chap. I'm not good with names but I'm sure at least one of them is called Jesse.