How “Ink” Could Leave a Lasting Mark on Oscar History

The world of awards season is always dramatic, but this year’s crop has a particularly timely story brewing. Netflix’s adaptation of James Graham’s stage sensation “Ink,” directed by Danny Boyle and starring Guy Pearce as young Rupert Murdoch, has been making waves with its scorching hot performances and bold production design.

The film tells the origin myth of modern media: Murdoch’s 1969 acquisition of The Sun tabloid and the rapid transformation that followed. Graham approaches this story as a heist, while Boyle supplies the velocity needed to propel it into awards contention. This is more than just a story about one man building a newspaper; it’s an exploration of how two men helped invent the modern attention economy.

By humanizing the young Murdoch, Pearce taps into a particular charge in voters’ minds. This is a moment where actors can make an impact by playing figures responsible for the fractured information environment we’re living through. The performances of both Pearce and Jack O’Connell as editor Larry Lamb are undeniable showstoppers.

The film’s production design is a marvel, with Carson McColl and Gareth Pugh rebuilding a vanished Fleet Street. Fin Oates’ editing gives the film a kinetic energy that recalls Hank Corwin’s work on Adam McKay’s films. Johnnie Burn’s sound design lends an Oscar-winning ear to the film, while Daniel Pemberton’s original score provides the propulsion needed for Boyle’s movies.

Netflix has the resources to make all of these cases. The question is whether they have the bandwidth to contend in a crowded awards season. With their fall slate stacked and multiple contenders vying for attention, “Ink” will face significant competition.

The Venice-Telluride-Toronto sequence has given the movie an early critical footprint that can turn an awards campaign into a sustained conversation. Boyle’s presence adds another narrative thread: his distinctive visual signature is unmistakable, and this fall circuit debut was always going to be an obvious choice.

Graham’s connection gives “Ink” a larger cultural context. His work has repeatedly mined the intersection of power, institutions, and public life, from politics to journalism. “Ink” arrives in a media environment where questions surrounding Murdoch’s influence feel less like history than an origin story for the world audiences inhabit now.

“Ink” argues that we are all still living in the paper they printed. This is a film that will continue to resonate long after awards season has ended, and its message is a timely one: be mindful of the power you hold and the stories you choose to tell.