Review: The Farewell

Image courtesy of A24.

Apparently "based on an actual lie," Lulu Wang's poignant and funny "The Farewell" chronicles a real life incident in the director's life. In the film, Billi (Awkwafina, proving she has dramatic chops) lives on her own in New York City, barely scraping by, despite having the type of New York apartment that only exists in movies, and learning early in the picture that she has been turned down for a writing fellowship.

Although her grandmother, Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen), lives in China, she and Billi are very close and speak frequently on the phone. Noticing that her parents seem downcast, Billi quizzes them and finds out that her grandmother's sister has recently been given the results of an MRI test that Nai Nai took, and she only has a few months to live.

But rather than tell Nai Nai, the family concocts a wedding for one of Billi's cousins, who lives in Japan, as an excuse for the family to all get together before she dies. Billi wants to take the trip with her parents, who are concerned that she will be too emotional and, therefore, give away the secret. But as it turns out, Billi is more emotionally stable than many of the other family members, who reflect on their own woes and occasionally squabble.

"The Farewell" is often funny - for an apparently dying woman, Nai Nai is full of zest - but also heartfelt, without laying either quality on too thick. And both Shuzhen and Awkwafina, whose relationship is the heart of the film, give memorable performances that anchor the picture, although the supporting cast is fairly impressive as well. In previous films featuring Awkwafina, the comedian and rapper has been more of a quirky supporting character (in "Ocean's 8" and "Crazy Rich Asians," for example), but here she proves that she is even more adept at weightier material.

There's an often interesting - and frequently amusing - battle taking place between the family members in the film as to which way of life is better - the East or West. Resentments have seemingly lingered among family members after Billi's father, a semi-alcoholic translator, moved his family to the United States, while his older brother took his wife and son - the one who's getting married - to Japan, thereby leaving another sibling to care for Nai Nai. There's a tense conversation in which Billi's mom grills another China-based character as to whether she will send her son to America to study.

Also debated between the family members is whether Nai Nai should be told that she will die - and, therefore, give her the opportunity to say goodbye - or kept in the dark, allowing her to live her final months in happiness and peace. Both arguments are convincingly made by various characters.

But for a film about impending death, "The Farewell" isn't particularly gloomy - often somber, yes, but not downbeat. It has what some might call a light touch, and manages to be moving without being overbearingly so. Wang is previously responsible for one other feature (unseen by me) and several short films. In other words, she's a filmmaker on the rise - and if there's any justice, her lovely sophomore film will allow her to do just that.