In the romantic farce If I Were You,University of Texas alumna Marcia Gay Harden delivered a performance every bit as accomplished and unexpected as those that were Oscar-nominated-and yet she never even got the chance to compete. Forgive me, however, for feeling that the competition is a bit rigged this year. As Oscar night draws closer, the prognosticators have declared a neck-and-neck-and-neck race between Jennifer Lawrence ( The Silver Linings Playbook), Jessica Chastain ( Zero Dark Thirty), and Emmanuelle Riva ( Amour) for the Best Actress prize.
