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★★★★★
11 July 2019
A movie review of THE FAREWELL. |
“It’s a good lie,” Doctor Song (Jim Liu)
What the film excels at is asking the audience to decide on an ethical conundrum, which on the surface is cut and dried, and then cogently arguing why it is not so simple. Beyond the central conceit, there are other thematic strands demanding your brainpower. And no easy solutions are offered. Awesome, right?! THE FAREWELL enthrals.
What the film excels at is asking the audience to decide on an ethical conundrum, which on the surface is cut and dried, and then cogently arguing why it is not so simple. Beyond the central conceit, there are other thematic strands demanding your brainpower. And no easy solutions are offered. Awesome, right?! THE FAREWELL enthrals.
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“Based on an actual lie,” states an opening title. Secrets and pretence permeate proceedings. In less adept hands, the various narrative time bombs would go off clunkily and ostentatiously. However, this creative team opt for a more rewardingly subtle approach.
THE FAREWELL quietly and with dignity deals with the discrepancy between dreams and tough reality, while never being gloomy. Billi (Awkwafina) is struggling to make ends meet, while also seeing her goal of a prestigious fellowship rejected. Both blows are kept from her parents. Simultaneously, father Haiyan (Tzi Ma) is unable to conceal that his mother, and Billi’s beloved grandmother, Nai Nai (Shuzhen Zhao), has terminal lung cancer. Her prognosis is three to four months. Billi in New York and Nai Nai in China, yet they still maintain their deep bond. The movie efficiently sets up relationships, sans resorting to sentimentality or lazy dialogue.
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Shockingly, Nai Nai is not told of the diagnosis. Her sister, Little Nai Nai (Yongbo Jiang), finds out, fibs, and gives her the all-clear. The crux of the story is that the entire family has agreed not to tell Nai Nai of her own condition. They decide to fake a wedding, as a masked goodbye to the matriarch. The argument is that fear of death brings on death. This verses putting your house in order. Billi’s devotion to Nai Nai, and her perceived inability to hide emotions, means the lead is not invited to the nuptials. Billi goes anyway. We have all seen enough cinema to predict the inevitable drama. Though, THE FAREWELL continually, winningly subverts expectations.
Forget simplistic relationships. Billi’s childhood, her parents’ marriage, familial life choices, etc. all comes under the spotlight. Nai Nai is not perfect either. Various meals are awkward, funny, and poignant, epitomising the film. The wedding thankfully sidesteps climactic confrontations. Everything is carefully measured.
The extended family is so engaging, and there is so much material, there could be sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. T.F.C.U. – ‘The Farewell Cinematic Universe’. Who wouldn’t want to watch that?! I am v. excited for the next project from writer-director Lulu Wang. Her framing here has a floating quality. It made me think of director Spike Lee. Plus there is a bold choice of lead. Comedy actor Awkwafina (OCEAN’S 8, CRAZY RICH ASIANS) demonstrates her dramatic chops.
Grief, guilt, and a wedding, THE FAREWELL is a gripping family dramedy. Humour skilfully underpins the sadness, and vice versa.
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