Review: The Farewell
The Farewell, directed by Lulu Wang, tells the tale of a Chinese-American woman named Billi (Awkwafina) who struggles to get by living in New York alongside her mother (Diana Lin) and father (Tzi Ma). Things change however when the family gets some grave news as Billi’s Nai Nai or grandmother (Zhao Shuzhen) back in China is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. But rather than inform Nai Nai, the family opts to lie to her about her condition to spare her the grief and stage a fake wedding as an excuse to see their Nai Nai one last time. Billi is faced with the dilemma of whether telling the truth is truly the right thing to do in this situation or go along with the charade as per custom.
This is the second film from director Lulu Wang, who based this film on her experience with her own grandmother in China. The film won a lot of critical praise at Sundance earlier this year and as of this review is currently sitting at 100% on RottenTomatoes; not bad for the amateur director. I went to check it out and my sentiments are basically the same. The Farewell is a touching and very well made film with a unique concept that will resonate with everyone regardless of culture.
Wang’s direction really seems to stand out here; everyone in this film gives a pretty good performance. Awkwafina proves that she’s able to do more than comedy and gives a pretty great performance here. She still seems to be holding a bit back, but she manages to handle the film’s more touching scenes very well while still maintaining her fun personality that everyone loves. The rest of the cast does a great job on their own too. The cinematography is well thought out, the music is nice sounding, and the writing balances being funny and being more heartfelt incredibly well. This is probably one of the more better written films of the year so far.
The only real issue I had with the film is that it’s a little too simple given its pretty unique subject matter. Billi in the film doesn’t really have much of a character arc. I don’t know if there was a message to be learned here, but the sequence of events just happen without much consequence involved. Without spoiling anything, I also don’t really know how to feel about the film’s ending. Maybe if they presented it in a different way I would feel better about it, but as it is it kinda feels off. Regardless of these issues, however, this was still a pretty great film I would most definitely check out again.
Overall this is one of the better films I’ve seen so far this year. The characters are likable, the performances were great, the film-making was great, it’s a great film that proves that Lulu Wang is someone to keep an eye on in the future. I would recommend this film to pretty much everyone as I really find it hard to see someone dislike this film. It’s one of the most likable films to come out this year and I highly suggest you check it out when it’s available near you.
Final Verdict: 9/10