The director, Lulu Wang, brings us a story of the shockingly true tradition of many Chinese families (that tradition being not telling someone they are dying before it happens, and reuniting the family to give one last goodbye to the loved one) through her first major feature film. Brought to us by A24 (the company responsible for "Eighth Grade" and others), this movie is made and directed with such care and craft for the story being told. Every moment feels painfully real and earnest. Awkwafina, who plays Billi, helps guide the audience through this emotional roller coaster by giving her best performance as of yet. Each shot is constructed to represent the feelings of each individual perfectly. And the ending (which I will not spoil) is satisfying without feeling forced or cheesy in any way. I can't remember a film in recent memory that I can say I had never seen anything like before to this extent, to the point where I gasped during the last shots of the film. I hope very dearly that the Oscars represent Awkwafina's performance in this film with at least a nomination. She holds my favorite female performance of the year, and my hopes go out to her. I look forward to seeing what she and the director, Lulu Wang brings us in the future.
Review of The Farewell
