Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
When a family finds out that the matriarch of their family, Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen), has terminal stage four lung cancer, they travel from America and Japan to pay their last respects. However, the Chinese tradition is to keep this news from Nai Nai until it is absolutely necessary to tell her. This is difficult for her granddaughter, Billi (Awkwafina), who cares deeply for Nai Nai and expresses all of her emotions.
The Farewell is perfect showcase for the amazing talent that is Awkwafina. She gets her chance to shine in a lead character role, displaying a wide range of emotions that cement her career ahead after a fantastic 2018 which included Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8. This is based on a true story and is beautifully brought to the screen from Writer-Director Lulu Wang. It’s loaded with Comedy and rich Drama that will touch anyone lucky enough to see it.
The Farewell screens at Sundance on Fri., Jan 25 at 12:15PM at Eccles PC, Sat., Jan 26 at 1PM at Redstone 2 PC and 9:15PM at Grand SLC, Tues., Jan 29 at 9:15PM at Sundance Resort, Wed., Jan 30 at 12PM at Library PC, and Fri., Feb 1 at 8:30AM at Egyptian PC.
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