Runaway Favorites, Unsettled Races and New Rules: It’s Time to Vote in Another Odd Oscar Season

By Steve Pond

Like the old story about the blind men and the elephant, this year’s Oscar race is a lot of different things, depending on your vantage point.

It’s a fait accompli, with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” seemingly coasting to inevitable Best Picture and Best Director wins and “Hamnet” star Jessie Buckley doing the same in the Best Actress category.