The film follows Nora (played by Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (played by Teo Yoo), two childhood friends with a clear meaningful connection who are split when Nora's family immigrates to Canada. Flash forward to 20 years later, and Hae Sung flies to New York to visit Nora putting the two in the same place for this first time since they were 12, forcing them to confront unresolved feelings and notions of fate and love.
This film is frankly perfect in my eyes, Song brings so much of herself to telling this story and that love and passion translates brilliantly in the final product. She handles it with a delicacy and care, making each character emotionally fleshed out and empathetic. Aside from the two leads the most crucial character is Nora's husband Arthur (played by John Magaro), but rather than have him as an antagonistic figure (as is joked about at one point in the film), he shows just a different perspective on fate and how love can come to be. You aren't rooting for either man in the situation but instead feeling both of their emotions, Hae Sung's feelings of what could have been and Arthur's almost guilt of being in the way of what could have been.
While Song's mastery of dramatic tension makes this story work so well, it helps that she has a trio of incredible performances here. Greta Lee carries the film brilliantly, showing confidence throughout but also this underlying lack of closure that she buries under the surface that I found crucial in the emotional payoff of the film. Teo Yoo also brings a kind of lack of closure to his performance, and the way he balances his feelings for Nora and his happiness that she has found someone is honestly heartbreaking. John Magaro might be the biggest surprise for me. His character so easily could have gone badly and just been a guy you hate because he's in the way of this crazy love story, but Magaro brings so much charm to the role and a heartbreaking sense of uncertainty towards how he should be handling the situation. Hae Sung's visit also heightens an insecurity in him as being white he isn't able to fully connect with something crucial to Nora's life, that being her Korean heritage. It would be so easy for this character to not work but he comes out just as empathetic as the other two, making this such a richly emotional watch.
This is also just a stunning film to look at. Take away the terrific acting and direction, and you're still left with one of the most beautifully shot films in recent memory, with DP Shabier Kirchner bringing beauty to seemingly mundane streets and capturing areas of New York better than I've maybe ever seen. From clever composition to stunning silhouettes, this is one of those films that you could take damn near any shot from and hang it in a museum.
Maybe it's just that this is right up my alley, a romance about longing and what ifs that doesn't limp into genre conventions, but the mass praise this has gotten since premiering at Sundance tells me that this may just be one of the best we've gotten in a while. It's a stunning portrait rich with heartwarming and heartbreaking themes and ideas, with a trio of terrific characters at the heart of it.
Comments
Post a Comment