ObsessionCurry Barker’s acclaimed film about a wish gone wrong, has become a cultural phenomenon — the $750,000 project grossed more than $500 million worldwide and propelled star India Navarrette to the top of Hollywood’s A-list — and it’s now hot for awards season recognition.
A big subject of speculation in awards circles has been how the film’s U.S. distributor, Focus Features, will decide to promote it for the Golden Globes — as a drama, as a musical or a comedy — given that it is both terribly scary and darkly funny.
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Focus and its fellow stakeholders have made a decision: the film has been submitted as a musical or a comedy.
Many experts believed that the film would be presented as a drama, given that it chronicles the chaos and violence that ensues after a young man has his wish granted to a young woman who loves him “more than anyone in the fucking world”. But those associated with it insist that it plays like a comedy — audiences tend to laugh at Navarrette’s wilder expressions, remarks and behavior like the wish-list version of Nikki Freeman, many of which have been turned into memes — and that Golden Globes voters themselves have indicated they consider it a comedy.
Additionally, insiders cite as precedent many other genre-blurring films that have been submitted and accepted to the Globes in the musical or comedy categories, including To go out, The Banshees of Inisherin, Triangle of sadness, Poor things, The bottom And Bugoniaall of which received Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture (Musical/Comedy) — Banshees And Poor thingsin fact won – and went on to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
The decision is sure to raise eyebrows, as have many previous musical or comedy submissions to the Globes, including those mentioned above and, most famously, The Martian. A subsection of the Golden Globes organization may ultimately approve or reject a category submission, but it tends to defer to distributors.
So, in all likelihood, Obsession will fight for the Best Picture award alongside the likes of New wild horse, The invitation, Children’s Club, The beginnings And Michaelwhich represents formidable competition but perhaps less intimidating than the field of theater, which should include The Odyssey, The Black Bola, Hail Mary Project, Fjord, Suddenly, I play Rocky, Elsinore, Tender loving care, Paper Tiger And Dune: Part Three.
The musical or comedic categorization may also lead to an easier path to a Best Actress Globe nomination for Navarrette, given that most of the other best actresses in the running are expected to compete on the dramatic side of the ledger, including SuddenlyThis is Virginie Efira, FjordThis is Renate Reinsve, The LiberationIt’s Carrie Coon, Disclosure dayIt’s Emily Blunt, Misty greenIt’s Rosalind Eléazar, Gentle monsterit’s Léa Seydoux, Tender loving careit’s Marion Bailey, A talent for murderit’s Helen Mirren, BunkerPenélope Cruz and Sandra Hüller for both Pink And Country. But it also leaves a major obstacle in Navarette’s path to victory: she will now face the strongest of all the top actresses in the running, The beginningsThis is Julianne Moore.
Regardless of how things play out in the gender categories, one can be assured that Obsession will strongly compete for at least one Globe which considers all films: best box office result.
Gn entert
