Review of The Farewell (2019) by Theraggedflygon — 25 Aug 2019

The Farewell is a powerful film that demonstrates a side of Awkwafina's repertoire that we do not often see-her more dramatic, serious side. She plays the lead role fantastically and is supported by quality performances from the rest of the cast.

While this film's tone is for the most part serious, it does have good comedic beats that are truly funny rather than just your average slapstick comedy. Overall, Lulu Wang is able to carefully walk the fine line between making the movie flat out depressing and making the audience unable to take it seriously through her clever blend of drama and comedy.

The plot of this film ultimately takes a unique approach into investigating cultural differences and how said differences affect our familial relationships. This film at the end of the day is about those familial relationships and how they can be strained during times of sadness.

You don't have to be Asian or Asian American to find this film relatable or enjoyable. My criticisms of this film are brief and mainly amount to: this film didn't do a whole lot that I haven't seen before.

This film is very well crafted from start to finish. The direction, writing, cinematography, and acting are all superb, but at the end of the day I feel that a lot of the messages that this film tries to get across can be found in very similar ways in other films.

This film is a must see, but in my opinion is not as revolutionary as some might say.