Netflix is mounting a full awards-season campaign behind Lee Chang-dong's "Possible Love," and the centerpiece of that push is a Best Actress bid for Jeon Do-yeon, multiple people familiar with the streaming platform's plans told USA Film News.
The Korean-language drama, which opened in theaters on September 23, has become the most talked-about arthouse release of the fall, and Netflix brass are said to view Jeon's performance as Mi-ok as the campaign's strongest card. The film currently sits at a 9/10 rating on TMDb - an unusually high figure for a title that has been in release for barely two weeks.
At 165 minutes, "Possible Love" is a slow-burn ensemble piece in the vein of Lee's previous work, following a laid-off worker and his wife who cross paths with a documentary filmmaker and her spouse, a meeting that forces all four to confront desires they had kept buried. Jeon anchors the film as Mi-ok, a role that requires her to carry long stretches of near-silence before the character's interior life surfaces in the final act.
The campaign blueprint, according to those familiar with the discussions, leans on Jeon's standing as one of Korean cinema's most decorated actors. She has been the face of several of the director's most acclaimed films, and the pairing of actor and filmmaker is expected to be the emotional hook of the Netflix awards narrative.
A crowded Best Actress field awaits
Netflix's decision to go all-in on Jeon rather than spread resources across multiple categories reflects both the strength of her notices and the shifting math of the race. The Best Actress field is expected to be unusually deep this year, with several studio-backed performances already jockeying for position. By concentrating its spending on a single category, the streamer avoids the dilution problem that has undercut some of its past campaigns.
The supporting ensemble could also factor into the strategy. Sul Kyung-gu plays Ho-seok, Jeon's on-screen husband, while Zo In-sung appears as Sang-woo and Cho Yeo-jeong as Ye-ji, the filmmaker at the center of the couple's entanglement. Jeong Seop rounds out the principal cast as Cheol. Young Mi-ok and young Ho-seok are played by Jo Yuri and Choi Min, respectively, with Jeon Woon-jong as Jeong-dae - flashback roles that suggest the film traces its characters' desires back to earlier chapters of their lives.
Whether Netflix pushes any of those performers in supporting categories remains unclear. The studio has not commented publicly on its plans, and a spokesperson declined to confirm the scope of the campaign when reached this week.
Lee's return to the awards conversation
For Lee, "Possible Love" marks a return to the center of the international film conversation after a period in which his output has been more selective than that of many of his contemporaries. The director's reputation rests on a body of work that has made him a fixture at major festivals, and the new film's theatrical launch in late September was designed to establish an eligibility window and a critical foothold before the streaming release widens its audience.
The strategy mirrors the playbook Netflix has used in recent seasons: a limited theatrical run to generate reviews and industry buzz, followed by a platform launch timed to the peak of awards voting. The difference here is the degree to which the campaign appears built around a single performer rather than the film as a whole.
That focus carries some risk. A Best Actress nomination is among the hardest gets in any awards season, and voters sometimes resist campaigns that feel narrowly engineered. But Jeon's body of work gives her a credibility that few contenders can match, and the early TMDb score suggests audiences are responding to the film with unusual intensity.
What remains to be seen is how the film holds up through the long months between now and nomination morning. At 165 minutes, it asks a lot of voters - and of audiences - but that has rarely been an obstacle for Lee's champions. For Netflix, the bet is that Jeon's performance is the kind that voters remember long after the screener pile has been cleared. The company is expected to begin formal screenings and talent appearances in the coming weeks, with Jeon's participation in the campaign seen as essential to its chances.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
