The Farewell: A MOVIE THAT'S DEFINITELY NOT ABOUT CANCER

When I first saw the trailer for “The Farewell,” I thought here we go again another movie with Asian people in it that will end up making them look like idiots ala Crazy Rich Asians. I don’t want to go into it too much since this isn’t really about that movie but I think talking about it can give some context to my thoughts on “The Farewell.” I absolutely hated Crazy Rich Asians and especially the fanfare it got for the all Asian cast. The movie is a generic rom com that could have replaced the ethnicity of the characters and the story wouldn’t have changed. Also, to claim it as an accurate depiction of Asian culture/people would be like claiming Talladega Nights is an accurate depiction or American culture/people. I felt like all it did was further stereotype Asian people. But last week I did go see “The Farewell” even thought I wasn’t too into it from the trailer.

“The Farwell” is the sophomore film directed and written by Lulu Wang. The movie stars Awkwafina as Billi, a 30 something (I think she may actually be 29 or 30. They do mention it in the film but for the life of me I can’t remember) Chinese American woman living in New York City. Early in the film she learns that her grandmother has terminal cancer. The family has decided it is better to keep the diagnosis from her since they feel like it would only worry her. So the family decides to travel to China to see her under the pretense of a wedding for Billi’s cousin. The rest of the movie follows Billi and her family as they plan to hold the wedding and struggle with the decisions about keeping her grandmother’s diagnosis a secret.

I went into this movie with no expectations at all and ended up loving it. It had heart and a uniquely Chinese story that wouldn’t have worked if the ethnicity of the characters were replaced. I can’t speak for other people but so many of the little nuances in the film felt like they could have been taken directly from my own experiences. The plot was simple but the movie was more about the complicated relationships and interactions that arose because of the cancer diagnosis and the family’s decisions regarding the diagnosis. Everything felt genuine and all the characters felt like real people and got enough screen time to show their personalities.

Before this movie I was never a fan of Awkwafina. I thought she was just this comedian that “acted” but just did her comedy shtick in movies. But after seeing her in this role as Billi I am now 100% a fan. She was incredible. I read that she learned Mandarin for this film. The fact that she was able to put so much emotion into a language that she just learned is mind blowing. She was a completely different person that the roles she’s played in other movies and from her YouTube videos. The “wow this woman can actually act” moment for me was when she first got to China to see her grandmother and she walked into apartment as everyone else was eating and she stood in this sort of slouched position while talking to her grandmother because she knew about the cancer diagnosis and also was supposed to pretend to be happy.

With all that being said, I did have some minor issues with the movie. I didn’t like that it was classified as a comedy. I think it should haven fallen into the drama category and I think it was a marketing choice because honestly how many general movie goers would go see a Chinese drama. Now market it as a comedy starring Awkwafina and people will show up. There were some parts during the movie when I don’t think comedy was intended but since it was marketed as such people in the theater forced some tentative laugher that kind of ruined some of the more dramatic scenes.

However, there was intentional comedy and at first, I hated it but as the movie progressed, I understood why it was done. The issues the movie was tackling were heavy and the comedy added levity to it and pulled you back in after some of the downer scenes that left a darker mood. Some of the comedic scenes and lines got a laugh out of me but Wang has a bad tendency to use line repetition as comedy. In one scene Billi is talking with her uncle and he keeps saying “we’re not going to tell her [about her cancer]” with Billi replying “I know.” The same lines are repeated I think 3 or 4 times for comedic value. This same thing was done I think on two other occasions throughout the movie.

I also wasn’t crazy about the cinematography. I can’t quite put my finger on why I didn’t like it but I think it felt like a film student using a lot of techniques from other movies. She had a lot of these long cityscape shots and for the life of me I can’t remember where specifically I’ve seen this done but it’s been done before and better. Which is kind of similar with all the other shots. Wang does these close ups of faces that just feels pulled out of another movie. She also chose to do the slow-motion walking away shot that is a signature trope of action movies. I know they were put there for comedic value but they felt shoehorned in and went on for way too long. The film could have been something really special if put in the hands of a more capable director.

But I’ve always believed that a good story trumps all else and with it you can overlook a lot of the flaws. This is the case with “The Farewell” it is a beautiful movie in terms of storytelling but not so much visually. I know the subject matter may not sound interesting in and of itself but the emotion and truth about the human condition that this movie is able to portray is worth the price of admission and then some. If you haven’t heard of the movie it’s worth checking out.

TL; DR Awkwafina can act! You’ll probably cry. 9 crabs out of 10