After a long, bumpy awards season, the Oscars are finally tonight, and have come down to the worst fear of hand-wringing Hollywood traditionalists: for the first time, the two best picture frontrunners are from streaming platforms, while the traditional studio releases have all fallen behind.
In the one corner: Netflix’s The Power of the Dog, Jane Campion’s elegant, sinuously queer western, which led the field with a whopping 12 nominations – though insider whispers suggest it’s more admired in the industry than it is adored. In the other, Apple’s Coda, a perky coming-of-ager about a hearing teen breaking away from her deaf family: there are few great claims to be made for it artistically, but it warms people’s hearts, and that’s seen it surge ahead in the American guild awards.
