By Kat Giantis
Special to MSN Entertainment

Tipping the Scales: It would be so easy to poke fun at Marion Cotillard's aquatic gown. For instance, we might wonder if it's from Mrs. Paul's new couture collection. Or perhaps an homage to Daryl Hannah, who highlighted one courageous mermaid's literal fish-out-of-water struggle in "Splash." Then there's the small matter of her décolletage, which we're pretty sure is suffering from the heartbreak of fin rot. Instead, we're going to offer the Best Actress winner kudos for daring to -- oh, we're very sorry for this -- swim against the tide on what turned out to be a comparatively tame (read: zzzzzzzzzzzzzz) red carpet. Maybe it's that innate French sense of style, but Marion shines in this bold, white-and-gold Jean Paul Gaultier design, which she sets off with matching metallic eye shadow and delicate strands of diamonds. As for her chocolate-tinted classic waves, they wouldn't look out of place on Lauren Bacall when she sultrily reminded Humphrey Bogart how to whistle ("You just put your lips together and blow") in "To Have and Have Not."

(Lester Cohen/WireImage.com)