Diversity has now become pandemic at the awards. If you are black, or Hispanic,gay or physically disabled, you stand a better chance of winning an Oscar . If you are white, straight and physically fit there is a chance that you may be bypassed, as Benedict Cumberbatch was . Of course he was better in The Power Of The Dog than Will Smith in King Richard,who, mind you, was not bad at all. Smith was in great shape(and we don’t mean that in the physical sense) imbuing the bully dad’s character with a sense of empathy that was moving.
But as far as bullies go Cumberbatch’s toxically masculine cowboy in Jane Campion’s The Power Of Dog was a class apart.
So was Jessica Chastain in The Eyes Tammy Faye. This was the only surprise winner this year at the Oscars. Everyone presumed Kristen Stewart would win in this category.Why? Because everyone loves Princess Diana and Kristen Stewart, in that order. I had found Stewart’s Di act surprisingly stilted, and considering the selfconscious slouch, tilted.
I have a huge problem with Coda getting the Best Picture Oscar. Pardon my political incorrectness but this is sheer playing to the galleries.The story of a deaf couple and their not-deaf daughter trying to come to terms with the reality outside selfinterest was, at best, a heartwarming drama. In a year where there were such magnificent odes to socio-political introspection as Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up and Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog, Coda seemed a distant poor cousin hobbling behind the formidable competition. As far as till-deaf-do-us-part cinema is concerned, Sanjay Leela Bhansali did it much better than Khamoshi The Musical.
No. Coda did not deserve the Best Picture award. Neither did the grossly overrated elegiac Japanese Drive My Car. Its Oscar for Best International Feature. A sluggish slow-motion saga of self-actualization Drive My Car is no more than a sumtotal of all its quirky components. A much better choice was Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Danish animation film Flee about two gay refugees seeking a commonground for asylum.
Drive My Car got it because, well, we must not make the Japanese feel excluded.
I don’t mind Troy Kotsur getting the Best Supporting Actor award for Coda. He is deaf. But he is also very compelling as a possessive parent. But Ariana DeBose as Best Supporting Actress for Westside Story! Really? I am happy that a queer Hispanic woman(looks at how many boxes that ticks!) got the award. But Ms DeBose, I am afraid, has done nothing to her role as the Anita in Steven Spielberg’s execrable awful musical . Nothing in this dud is awards-worthy. It’s like honouring Kriti Sanon in Bachchan Pandey.
And why on earth did they not give the Best Documentary award to our Writing With Fire? It is a far superior look at the rise-and-revolt theme than Summer Of Soul.
The Oscars this year just about covered all the niche communities, from the gay to the Hispanics. But how long must these niche harkatein continue for the sake of inclusiveness? Aren’t the awards somewhere sacrificing merit for minortyism?