Friday, February 6, 2015

Favorite Scene Friday - Oscars Edition! Lost In Translation: Charlotte & Bob

We're looking at Oscar nominated and/or winning films for Favorite Scene Friday all month long! This should make for a nice contrast to last month's fantasy & sci-fi scenes. Enjoy!

Getting older. We all do it. I turned 30 recently, in fact. The big 3-0. The Dirty Thirty. Maybe that's why I decided to post today's scene.

Matt Taylor

To be honest, I was watching Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation a few months ago, and I decided to feature this week's scene back then. But it's definitely speaking to me now. Charlotte, (Scarlett Johanson) a young American visiting Tokyo with her entertainment industry husband, has met Bob Harris (Bill Murray), an aging celebrity in town to film a whiskey commercial. Charlotte and Bob, both lonely in a strange land, formed an immediate bond. Our scene is simply the two of them talking about life.


Charlotte talks about not knowing what she should do with her life, about trying her hand at writing and photography but not being happy with her work, a sentiment any creative ne'er-do-well can sympathize with. She's a perfect contrast to Bob, who's been through that "easy" future that Charlotte wonders about. Some aspects of it get easier and some don't, Bob tells her. "Keep writing," he says.

I love this scene because it's a genuine conversation between two great characters played by two great actors. Bill Murray was nominated for Best Actor for his performance (he just knocks it out of the park in this role), and, while that's more than enough to qualify for this week's scene, the film was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director and won for Best Original Screenplay. I also can't help but think that Bill Murray's Bob is talking directly to me. I WILL keep writing, Bill!

Also, I finally watched The Bling Ring and that flick's so boring and empty compared to this.

What's your favorite scene from Lost In Translation?

AND do you think Bill Murray should have won the Best Actor award for his performance?

1 comment:

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