'The Farewell' Review

Synopsis: A Chinese family discovers their grandmother Nai Na has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies. As Billi navigates a minefield of family expectations and proprieties, she finds there's a lot to celebrate: a chance to rediscover the country she left as a child, her grandmother's wondrous spirit, and the ties that keep on binding even when so much goes unspoken.

Runtime: 100 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG (for thematic material, brief language, and some smoking)

Who should see it? Those who don't mind reading subtitles since much of the dialogue is spoken in Chinese.

Chinese tradition encourages families to withhold news of terminal illness from the affected person. While Americans pride themselves on individualism, decisions in China are made for the greater good of a collective family. Written and directed by Lulu Wang, The Farewell is influenced by Wang's personal experiences or, as an opening title card would tell you, "based on an actual lie." Lulu Wang first shared her anecdote three years ago on the weekly radio program This American Life, and the subject is understandably ideal as the premise of a feature-length dramady. 

The ethical dilemma and clash of cultural values naturally supply conflict while the audience awaits the seemingly inevitable, an unintentional slip of the tongue. Throughout The Farewell, there's palpable tension whether a family member will mistakenly reveal the truth of Nai Nai's condition to the affected matriarch. I won't spoil whether that occurs, but these instances lead the viewer to question the morality of such a choice. As Billi points out to her family, it'd be illegal to lie about this in America. But does that make it wrong? Within the specific cultural context, Wang pinpoints a universality in the character's emotional responses, so viewers sympathize with Billi's struggle.

However, the proceedings are relatively light in spite of the grim subject matter. Amid pre-emptive mourning, Wang uncovers levity in the family interactions as every facade is transparent to the audience. Therefore, something like Nai Nai's obliviousness concerning her health can be tragic or amusing depending on the context. Lulu Wang incorporates humor in such a way that it feels genuine, never coming across as gratuitous or undercutting the film's poignancy. 

Central to it all is an excellent lead performance from Awkwafina. Awkwafina's recently served as effective comic relief in films like Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean's Eight but proves to have a vast dramatic range here as well. Even at her happiest, the audience can sense Billi's inner turmoil regarding this secret, which is subtly conveyed by Awkwafina. In the role of Nai Nai, Shuzhen lends warmth, kindness, and a no-nonsense attitude to the loving matriarch. The persona of Zhao's affectionate Nai Nai contrasts well with Awkwafina's troubled Billi, and the two share a delightful dynamic. 

Filling out the remainder of the cast, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Aoi Mizuhara, Han Chen, Yongbo Jiang, and Lu Hong each offer wonderfully layered supporting turns as they also deal with this burden of knowledge. Otherwise, I found Alex Weston's score composed mostly of strings and vocals to be quite entrancing. Some scenes seem a bit unnecessary and could have been trimmed down a tad, but the film's runtime is only 100 minutes, so this isn't a significant concern. 

To sum things up, The Farewell is soulful, joyous, and undoubtedly one of my favorite films of the year thus far. I was taken aback when it ended rather abruptly, but I soon realized that it was because I wasn't ready to say goodbye.

Film Assessment: A

'Eighth Grade' Review

Eighth Grade follows an introverted teenage girl as she struggles in the last week of her disastrous eighth grade year.

Written and directed by first time filmmaker Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade chronicles a bona fide coming-of-age tale for the social media-crazed teens of today. Burnham's a twenty-seven year old comedian mostly known for his YouTube and television work, yet he manages to ideally encapsulate the struggles that middle-schoolers are facing now. I'm a twenty-one year old male, so I can't personally attest to the experiences of being a thirteen year old girl in 2018... Fortunately, my youngest sister is thirteen years old! Upon first seeing Eighth Grade about a week ago, I was reluctant to review the film without her perspective because I felt that her insight was invaluable. I asked if she'd be willing to watch it and she was more than happy to oblige, so here's an eighth grader's review of Eighth Grade for those curious:

@boburnham @ElsieKFisher, I saw #EighthGrade last week and immediately thought it would be perfect for my little sister who will be entering 8th grade this year! I took her to see it today and she thought it was gucci! 👌🏼 pic.twitter.com/chaqjXd3CW

— David Weiser (@weiser_david) August 12, 2018

As you might be able to surmise by the huge grin on her face, she loved it and felt it was really realistic in its portrayal of modern middle-school and teenagers today. She's brought the film up in conversation several times in the few days since we saw it, so I imagine she can't wait to see it again and I'm really glad that she enjoyed it as much as she did.

Anyways, despite setting Eighth Grade in the modern day, Burnham's made a feature which we can all relate to in some way or another (provided you're older than 13). The awkwardness of our teenage years is a fairly universal experience, and plenty of awkward social interactions ensue as Kayla goes about her day-to-day life. From beginning to end, Eighth Grade is incredibly authentic in its awkwardness. Nothing feels fake or manufactured for the purposes of dramatic tension. The kids act like kids and it's as if Burnham simply captured a few days of a teenage girl's typical life.

Social media and cell phones certainly play a large role in the proceedings, but Burnham never treats the devices as an unhealthy obsession. He certainly gets into the good and bad of today's tech, but for the most part, Burnham depicts the devices as teens see them: a way of life. There's even a conversation in which Burnham directly acknowledges the significant lifestyle differences between the childhood of an eighth grader and a high school junior/senior. Technology's progressed, and in this day-and-age, kids often receive their first cell phone or activate their first social media account comparatively much earlier than their elders did. With three younger sisters, I've even witnessed it firsthand. 

Thematically, Eighth Grade is remarkably genuine on so many levels that most coming-of-age stories just aren't these days... Though there are certainly exceptions to that, Bo Burnham understands today's youth or was at least willing to hear them out and gather feedback on his own interpretation of adolescents. Stylistically, the filmmaking approach is very personable, so overall, Eighth Grade is an intimate experience that's hilarious and heartfelt. There are some neat flourishes in regards to the editing and cinematography while Anna Meredith's synth-driven keyboard score establishes an atmosphere that can be both inviting and nerve-wracking (an ideal summation of what 8th grade is really like). 

Holding it all together is Elsie Fisher's wonderfully sincere performance. You may know Fisher best from the first two Despicable Me movies where she adorably voiced Agnus, but this will surely be a defining moment in her career. Fisher is onscreen for just about the entire hour and a half, but not a single second of it feels forced or fake. You forget you're even watching an actress because Fisher's anxiety, innocence, and vulnerability all feels so heart-breakingly genuine. Matching her beat-for-beat every step of the way, Josh Hamilton portrays a kind, loving, and supportive dad. Like any good parent, his character only wants what's best for his little girl, and Hamilton conveys his caring nature beautifully. A heart-to-heart conversation between the two of them had me on the verge of waterworks. Filling out the supporting cast, Emily Robinson and Jake Ryan are well-deserving of a mention for their roles as high school mentor Olivia and the hilariously dorkish Gabe (the chicken nuggets scene is the comedic peak of 2018 thus far). 

After some reflection and a second viewing, I feel confident enough to declare Eighth Grade as not only one of the best films I've seen all year, but my new favorite A24 feature, and I'd certainly place it among the very best coming-of-age films. If you're an adult who's considering taking a teen to see Eighth Grade, please don't be discouraged by the R-rating. It's overblown on account of a few F-bombs and some slightly mature content, but I can guarantee that the child has seen and heard far worse. To put it simply, films this sincere and sentimental don't come around that often. Eighth Grade is a film for everyone who has ever been through eighth grade and for those who have just begun the rollercoaster of their teenage years. An exceptionally authentic coming-of-age story for the social media generation.

Film Assessment: A+

'Hereditary' Review

When Ellen dies, her daughter's family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry. The more they discover, the more they find themselves trying to outrun a sinister fate they seem to have inherited. 

Hereditary is helmed by writer-director Ari Aster, and I was astounded to learn this was a filmmaker's feature debut after seeing Hereditary last night because the exquisite artistry on display. Despite having previously only directed six short films, Aster demonstrates the control of an experienced auteur as he unleashes an unrelenting and unforgiving experience that will plague your mind long after the credits finish rolling. 

Where I largely use my reviews to evaluate my subjective enjoyment of a film, that will not be the case here. The reason being is that I didn't particularly "enjoy" Hereditary. I actually didn't know how I felt about it afterwards aside from finding the film to be deeply disturbing on many accounts. While that may be the case, I certainly appreciated the craft behind it. Where some audience members may write it off altogether for the two hours of insanity, I must admit Hereditary was quite effective in regards to accomplishing its objective since my entire audience was perturbed.

With that being said, nothing will prepare you for the unsettling imagery you will bear witness to should you choose to watch Hereditary anytime soon. Its worth mentioning that Hereditary has some strange symbolism fixated on particular types of disembodiment and destruction. Once you see the film, you'll know exactly what I'm referring to as you're liable to pick up on these if you pay close enough attention. Interpreting the symbolic significance is another story altogether.

In regards to scares, Aster brought a brilliant blend of arthouse and mainstream horror that should appeal to indie-cinephiles and general audiences alike. Aster mostly relies on the narrative's unpredictable nature to provide varying forms of shock value, but you'll be in a sense of unrest regardless of the approach. I wouldn't say that I scare easily, but I was unnerved for a large portion of the film's runtime to the extent where it was legitimately difficult for me to sleep last night. If you crave that feelings of fear and anxiety, you'll certainly find them here.

 

While supernatural forces are fairly prevalent in the horror genre, a scene towards the end verged a little too far in the direction of being a straight-up Satanic ritual, and that made me even more uncomfortable than the uneasiness that had been built up over the course of two hours. While it's totally your prerogative to find this ending acceptable or simply shrug it off, it was too much for me. For those who have seen the film, I'm referring to the last five minutes rather than the whole ordeal shown in the image above. Beyond that, there were moments meant to be intense that wound up being unintentionally hilarious (I'll revisit this) and some dialogue and story elements that just didn't work for me either.

Aside from those nitpicky gripes, I relished in Pawel Pogorzelski's stellar cinematography, found the editing and sound design to be spectacular, and was endlessly unnerved by Colin Stetson's score which steadily encroached with eerie dissonance before accosting your heart rate in the crazy conclusion. One nice touch was how the crew occasionally utilized the miniatures and models spread throughout the house to help tell the story in inventive, unique ways. 

As for the acting, there's not really a weak link in the core ensemble. The supporting actors seen throughout are another story, but they're largely irrelevant. However, Toni Collette provides a powerhouse performance as Annie that's easily the best I've seen this year. While I haven't really seen any of the heavy awards contenders yet by nature of release schedules, Collette turns in what I consider to be the first Oscar-worthy performance I've seen all year, and I've got a gut feeling it will stick till the end. Colette not only exhibits a wide range for such a complex character that goes through some unbelievable trauma, but she accomplishes the task with incredible nuances.

The remaining family members Steve, Peter, and Charlie are portrayed with a quiet intensity by Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, and Milly Shapiro respectively. These actors each do a fine job internalizing their character's worries and anxiety amidst the insanity, but Shapiro is well-worth noting because this is her first feature role. 

As I've mentioned, Wolff turns in a commendable performance, but some of his scenes involving crying were a little over-the-top to the point where many audience members, including myself, laughed in specific scenes. Otherwise, I really connected to his character because of a major event that came out of nowhere and really affected him. It struck a chord with me largely because I'm also an older brother and can totally understand his thought process afterwards.

There's no doubt about it, Hereditary is horrifying and I highly doubt you'll see anything scarier in theaters for quite some time. If you're up for seeing something sick and twisted, Hereditary should be right up your ally. Otherwise, you'd be much better off skipping this one to see a tamer summer release like Solo: A Star Wars Story or perhaps either Deadpool 2 or Upgrade if you want something in-between those extremes.

Film Assessment: A-