SPIRITED CHOICES OSCARS' UNEXPECTED WINNERS MADE FOR PLEASANT SURPRISES.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

In these troubled times, there is, I guess, comfort in sure things. But even though ``Chicago'' has been Oscar's designated darling from the minute a septuagenerian academy voter saw those dancing dames make their first kill, the surprising moments of Sunday's 75th Academy Awards ceremony felt the most rewarding.

Top among these were ``The Pianist's'' wins for controversial but creatively deserving director Roman Polanski and first-time nominee Adrien Brody's besting of four big, formidable vets in the lead actor category - which he used to make so heartfelt a plea for peace that everybody in the room, not to mention the worldwide audience, could applaud.

Also exhilarating was the academy's uncharacteristically hip choice of Eminem's ``Lose Yourself'' for best original song (even if, despite presenter Barbra Streisand's praise of free speech, the show's producers nixed a performance of the expletive-laden ditty).

And there was one for the art crowd right off the bat: Hiyao Miyazaki's ``Spirited Away ,'' the long-shot anime masterpiece from Japan, which overcame its four more-commercial animated feature challengers (yes, even the bomb ``Treasure Planet'' did better box office).

Of course, some upsets were welcome by their absence. Nicole Kidman held off a late-race surge by Renee Zellweger to take home her well-earned best actress Oscar for ``The Hours.'' The same applies to Chris Cooper, who kept ahead of beloved stretch-surger Christopher Walken.

``Working with this woman was like making great jazz,'' the supporting actor winner said of his ``Adaptation'' co-star Meryl Streep. And indeed, it was that kind of disciplined but free-flowing creativity that marked their movie, and made this award another feather in the academy's cap. Truer to form, the academy wasn't swift enough to hand Streep the supporting actress Oscar that brilliant duet demanded ... not when Catherine Zeta-Jones' much easier-to-get show-tuning was in the house. The best thing to say about that decision is that, at least, the most talented ``Chicago'' performer won.

The ``Chicago'' juggernaut got rolling early, too, though it mercifully started to sputter when the screenwriting and directing races came due. Art direction was one of the few categories ``Gangs of New York'' legitimately deserved to win, not to mention that the other three nominees were worthier works. But that was a repeated refrain. ``Chicago's'' retro-Victoria's Secret costumes, soundstage-safe sound and MTV-lite film editing all won out over superior efforts in their respective categories.

But those and a pair of ``Frida'' nods were all Miramax Films could go home singing about. Sure, the aggressively campaigning New York company also has a half-interest in ``The Hours'' and its bosses, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, own a piece of the ``Lord of the Rings'' franchise. But the academy handed out awards to more non-Miramax productions than expected, and shut out the one film, ``Gangs of New York,'' that Harvey pushed for the hardest.

Like I said, the surprises were the most satisfying.

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Hayao Miyazaki's ``Spirited Away,'' the least commercially successful of the best animated feature nominees, pulled off an early upset.