Don’t count out Celine Song (‘Past Lives’) to win Best Screenplay at Golden Globes
Since “Past Lives'” premiere almost a year ago at the Sundance Film Festival and its theatrical release on June 2, the romance film starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro has continued exceeding expectations. Consistent word-of-mouth, getting regional critics’ awards nominations and wins, and being selected as one of the Top 10 films of the year by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute are all strong indicators for the Oscar lineup in Best Picture. Now it has over-performed with five Golden Globe nominations, including one for Best Film Screenplay for writer/director Celine Song in her debut feature. Will she potentially turn that into a win for that category?
This year is the first time the Golden Globes have six slots for their film and television categories, giving more opportunities for nominees to get in. This resulted in “Past Lives” being recognized in Best Film Drama, Best Drama Actress for Lee, Best Director and Best Screenplay for Song, and Best Non-English Language Film. An impressive haul for the delicate romantic drama, but a major surprise was the Best Director category where outside of a few regional critics, Song was not being highly predicted as other flashy, established directors, so her notice here shows strong support for the movie and raises her visibility.
But it is her script that gets singled out whenever the film is acknowledged, as it connects straight to the heart, portraying the relationship between two Korean immigrants over the course of almost a quarter of a century as they reflect on their inherent connection and choices in their lives as they grow older. The long, graceful scenes in the second half of the film — mostly centered between two characters — are very intimate with little movement from the actors and feel like watching a play. They are balanced with shorter sequences in the first half depicting the time period when the two immigrants reconnect and separate again, with the emotion of the words hitting just as hard.
Perhaps the scene that showcases the writing the most in “Past Lives” is towards the end when the three main characters are at a bar together — which is also what opens the film — but only the two leads are speaking to each other in Korean, coming to terms with their complex relationship and where they are in their lives, but wondering the infinite possibilities that might have happened to them in a past life. It’s a simple, but poignant standout scene that hits with the greatest emotional extent, and is the defining point of the movie with memorable lines of dialogue.
As it currently stands at Gold Derby, “Past Lives” is fourth in the overall Golden Globe odds at 5/1. Ahead of it is the leading contender “Barbie” (Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach) at 4/1, and “Poor Things” (Tony McNamara) and “Oppenheimer” (Christopher Nolan) at 9/2 odds, while “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese) and “Anatomy of a Fall” (Justine Triet and Arthur Harari) trail behind it at 6/1 and 7/2 odds, respectively.
But don’t let the low placement fool you. “Past Lives” should not be underestimated as a screenplay contender as its passion and buzz continues to increase and its popularity has been a contributing factor for its awards boost. This would be the one category at the Golden Globes where it would most likely win and it would certainly get the ball rolling for Song. The movie has surprised across the board with awards bodies for its over-performance so a win here would not be shocking in the least for one of the most well-written films this year.
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