By Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune
The intimate drama “Past Lives,” about a Korean-American playwright reuniting with the boy she once crushed on back in Korea, was named the best movie of 2023 by the Utah Film Critics Association.
Writer-director Celine Song also received top awards for her directing and her original screenplay of the semi-autobiographical movie, in voting conducted by the Utah critics’ group Saturday at the Megaplex Jordan Commons in Sandy. “Past Lives” has been a critical favorite since it premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ surreal comedy-drama “Poor Things,” about a woman with a baby’s brain implanted in her body, was runner-up in the best picture and directing categories. Emma Stone won two awards for her portrayal of that woman: best leading performance (female) and best overall performance. The film also received an award for Robbie Ryan’s cinematography.
The award for best leading male performance went to Andrew Scott for “All of Us Strangers,” portraying a gay man who visits his childhood home and finds his long-dead parents living there.
The comedy-drama “The Holdovers” won both supporting acting categories, for Dominic Sessa as a lonely student and Da’Vine Joy Randolph as a grieving cook sharing the holidays at a ‘70s boarding school with a gruff history teacher (Paul Giamatti).
Here is the full list of winners:
Editing
Michael Andrews, ACE: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
Animated Feature
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
