Title: Swan Song
Year: 2021
Running Time: 112′
Country: United States of America
Directed by: Benjamin Cleary
Screenplay by: Benjamin Cleary
Starring: Mahershala Ali; Naomie Harris; Awkwafina; Glenn Close; Nyasha Hatendi; Adam Beach
© 2021 Anonymous Content, Apple, Concordia Studio and Know Wonder.
Review by Guifré Margarit i Contel | 03 January 2022
The feature debut of Benjamin Cleary is a solid romantic/existentialist sci-fi flick.
Similar to the idea of Ex Machina (2015, dir. Alex Garland) and Selvmordsturisten (2019, dir. Jonas Alexander Arnby), but relying much more on the love story element, the story suffers of a bit of underdevelopment on the main character/s conflict.
Its imagery is also very indebted to the style of recent sci-fi movies (again Ex Machina comes to mind) of isolated, minimalistic and monochromatic settings.
Still, it presents a very solid and engaging play with such a delicate matter as flashbacks (which if wrongly done can mess up a picture) and above anything else it has great performances from the entire cast (Mahershala Ali is stellar in it).
In conclusion, even though its idea and visual aspects might not be the most original in the current cinematic landscape, the overall well putted story and great acting provides us with an entertaining and emotional movie.