The Farewell stars Awkwafina as Billi, a Chinese-American aspiring writer who gets news that her grandmother in China Nai Nai, played by Zhao Shuzhen, has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and only has a few months to live. She is further shocked to learn that her family has chosen to hide the illness from the ailing matriarch. The family plans a wedding in China for Billi’s cousin as an excuse for everyone to get together and see Nai Nai for one last time. Billi is initially told not to join due to potentially blowing everyone’s cover, but goes anyway, and soon finds herself dealing with a moral and ethical crisis as to whether or not to reveal the truth to Nai Nai.
I have to admit, when I heard the premise of this movie, I thought the whole concept was silly and somewhat unrealistic. Despite the fact that it was meant to be a mostly serious movie and based on a true story, the whole idea sounded gimmicky. I didn’t fully understand how a group of people can pull something like this off, as how can a doctor diagnose a patient and tell the rest of the family but not them.
Luckily this is something that gets directly addressed in the movie, and isn’t explained as just exposition that detracts from the rest of the film. It turns out this is actually a widely accepted thing in China, as there’s a moral reasoning behind such a decision that’s a stark contrast from American culture. If there’s one thing this movie is above all else is the fact that it’s educational and offers American audience a unique perspective that more than likely they had no clue ever existed before seeing this movie.
Because the movie essentially revolves around one basic idea - that the family is hiding this fatal diagnosis from Nai Nai and simply want to spend time with her - a lot of the film plays out as a “slice of life” film. There are a lot of scenes of just characters sitting around, talking, and just enjoying each other’s company while trying to not think about the looming tragedy in the back of their minds. There isn’t always a constant conflict that’s driving each scene forward, so to speak.
The decision to go down this road in terms of story winds up having both its pros and cons. On the negative side of things, while this is only a 90 minute movie, it isn’t always paced very well. There are scenes where not a whole lot may happen. While it’s fine to simply just spend time with these characters and hear them just talk, unfortunately not every moment and conversation is exactly the most interesting, particularly in the second act. There are a few scenes that could have been cut down, as they don’t feel as emotional since the majority of the characters are trying to play things normally. They’re just normal, mundane conversations.
But that’s not to say that every scene is like that. There are plenty of scenes in which it’s really obvious the family is trying to hide the painful news and really struggle with it, and those are without a doubt the most heartbreaking to watch. Scenes in which family members try to keep a straight face and can barely get through the conversation are incredibly well-acted, and can resonate so powerfully with audiences. The third act contains easily some of the film’s finest acting, and there are moments towards the end that can easily bring audience to tears.
The film’s acting is easily its biggest strength. All around the cast - with the only big name from the supporting roles being Tzi Ma as Billi’s father - do a great job bringing each of these characters to life, especially Zhao Shuzhen. The film’s standout performance though is easily Awkwafina, who is surprisingly really effective here. Normally known for loud, supporting comedic roles, this is a huge change of pace for her. While she can be funny at times, she’s much more somber here, and really commands the scene as she argues with each of the family members about the approach they took with this news, sometimes subtly while Nai Nai is in the room. Her performance was easily one of the most shocking of the year, just for how much range she has. She still has a distinct personality that doesn’t make her all doom and gloom, and is someone audiences can easily relate to.
The Farewell isn’t exactly the most riveting movie of the year. It’s essentially a movie about a family who are simply in the moment and just trying to enjoy each other’s company while trying to avoid discussing a horrible tragedy that’s upon them. Because not every scene is necessarily driven by this huge emotional conflict, it can drag a few times due to some scenes needing to be shortened. But it’s a mostly very emotional movie, and one that many audience members can easily connect to. And it contains what may go on to be one of the best performances of Awkwafina’s career.
Recommendation: Watch It
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