Currently on screens as Rebecca inRenfield,Awkwafinais slowly carving a spot for herself in the world of 21st century comedy. The actress first came to our attention as a comedic rapper, blowing up on YouTube with singles like“My Vag”and“NYC Bitche$”. Then, she made a name for herself as the lead in Comedy Central’sAwkwafina is Nora from Queens, all while co-starring in high profile movies such asCrazy Rich AsiansandOcean’s Eight. Though her big breakthrough is yet to come, there’s no denying that she’s been slowly building recognition for herself as one of the most reliable comedy stars of our era.
That’s not without reason: Awkwafina is indeed very talented at comedy, capable of doing over-the-top with the same level of skill as deadpan. Even if you’re not into her kind of humor, you have to admit that the girl has talent. However, something that not enough people know is that Awkwafina isn’t just a gifted comedian: she can also do drama with her hands tied behind her back. If you doubt this statement, look no further than 2019’sThe Farewell.
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What Is ‘The Farewell’ About?
Directed byLulu Wang,The Farewellis a heartbreaking film about a family forced to deal with the inevitability of death with a smile on their faces. The plot is set into motion when it comes to everyone’s attention that the family’s matriarch, played byShuzhen Zhao, is dying of Stage 4 lung cancer. Played by Awkwafina, our protagonist Billi is devastated to learn that her beloved Nai Nai (or grandmother) will soon be departing this world. And so, alongside her parents, her uncle, and her cousin, she takes the first flight she can find to China to say her goodbyes.
There is, however, one catch: there’s someone in the family that can’t know, under any circumstance, that Nai Nai has just a few months to live. That person is Nai Nai herself. In China, when an elderly person is terminally ill, it isn’t uncommon for the family to choose to keep this information from them. That way, the person can die in peace. Due to cultural reasons, Nai Nai’s family has decided to keep her upcoming death on the downlow. Billi isn’t exactly okay with this. Throughout the movie, she frequently tries to get her dad and uncle to tell her grandmother the truth. However, as it becomes clear to her how happy her Nai Nai is, she agrees to participate in the ruse.
‘The Farewell’ Is a Delicate Exploration of Grief
to gather the whole family around Nai Nai without raising suspicion, Billi’s uncle, Haibin (Yongbo Jiang), plans a whole wedding for his son. Thus, instead of merely keeping Nai Nai’s fate a secret, the family must also pretend to be extremely happy about young Hao Hao (Han Chen) and his bride, Aiko (Aoi Mizuhara). What follows is an exploration of the limits of grief and joy, as well as a conversation about how culture shapes our relationships to others.
Wang never makes it exactly clear whether Hao Hao and Aiko’s wedding is fake or not. There are mentions of the two lovebirds being together for merely three months, and they can be seen giggling at the back of the wedding banquet while their family members make toasts about eternal love. Still, at the same time, Aiko’s parents fly from Japan to attend the ceremony, making everything look quite real. In the end, however, it doesn’t matter if Hao Hao and Aiko are actually tying the knot. What matters is that the family is brought together for a joyous occasion, and, thus, they mustperformjoy.
Pretending to be happy isn’t easy, especially while going through the ordeal that is waiting for a loved one to die. Billi and her family frequently fail at this task. Billi and her father, Haiyan (Tzi Ma), having grown used to how these things are dealt with in the States, are frequently shown sulking. Nai Nai makes more than one comment about their ill-looking appearance and their lack of appetite. But they aren’t the only ones that eventually break. Unable to deal with the pressure of keeping appearances no matter what, Hao Hao bursts into tears in the middle of his wedding. They are tears of joy, the family assures Nai Nai, but everyone knows it isn’t true.
However, even if the pain is inevitable, Billi and her family are still capable of finding moments of actual happiness in the midst of the chaos. They are small, unassuming occasions such as sharing a meal over grandpa’s grave or doing tai chi with Nai Nai in the courtyard. They come to know each other better and enjoy each other’s presence. There’s no knowing whether Hao Hao’s actual wedding would bring the family together like this, but Nai Nai’s impending death is good enough a reason for a reunion.
And then there’s the joy of seeing Nai Nai happy in the presence of her sons and her grandchildren. Both Haiyan and Haibin left China as young adults and raised their children in foreign countries. Haiyan went to the States, while Haibin went to Japan. Over the course of the movie, we learn that this is the first time in 20 years that the brothers are together in China. Before that, they had only visited their mother on separate occasions.
Awkwafina’s Performance Makes ‘The Farewell’ a Powerful Movie
The most telling scene when it comes to the effects of this family reunion is when Billi leaves the wedding banquet to comfort her crying cousin. Hao Hao and her never actually had a relationship. It isn’t even clear whether they met one another when they were children, before their parents decided to emigrate. Despite that, they know each other. They see themselves in each other’s eyes, and, thus, it is not hard for Billi to come to her cousin’s assistance.
It is also telling that Billi is the only member of the family to notice Hao Hao’s tears and go to him. It shows us that she is still suffering with the prospect of losing her grandmother. However, the sequence in which she comforts Hao Hao comes right before another very important moment: at the end of the movie, Billi leaves the wedding in a rush to stop Nai Nai’s maid from bringing her test results. Instead, she and her great-aunt have a man alter the exam to say Nai Nai has nothing but “benign shadows” in her lungs. It’s a scene that makes it clear that Billi now understands the importance of keeping her grandmother ignorant of her death. After all, the joy that they got to experience during this time together was only possible because of it.
As the protagonist of the movie, Billi is at the forefront of the story. As an outsider to her own family’s culture, she serves as a proxy to non-Chinese audiences. Thus, it is through her that we experience the emotions of the film. AndAwkwafinadelivers an amazing performance that transcends all barriers and has viewers from all kinds of cultural backgrounds enthralled by the story ofThe Farewell. You probably won’t leave this movie wanting to keep your loved ones in the dark about their deaths, if that’s not your culture’s thing, but you’ll certainly understand why people do it. More than that, you will understand the value of doing so.
The Farewellisn’t withoutits funny moments. You do get to laugh at or with Awkwafina when she cracks a joke about quitting a job because she was about to get fired or when she’s watching a dog sing. However,The Farewellalso isn’t a comedy. It isn’t a melodrama, either. It’s a very muted dramatic film, filled with quiet scenes and complex emotions. It’s one of those movies that challenges you not to cry, but not because of how over-the-top it is, but because of how real everything in it feels.
And Awkwafina’s performance is a huge part of why you won’t be able to reach the end credits ofThe Farewellwith your eyes dry. Unlike in her comedy, her dramatic performance is never exaggerated. Instead, she downplays her emotions just enough to make us feel Billi’s pain in hiding her feelings from Nai Nai. We see in her face and in her every motion that Billi is utterly heartbroken. And in the end, when Billi joins her family’s side, we see the tiny glimpses of bravery in her face, just enough to show us that she knows she’s doing the right thing, but that she’s still sad.Director Lulu Wang based herself on an actual story of her life to makeThe Farewell, and she was able to craft a beautiful, poignant movie about family and grief. We should all be thanking her for making such a touching work of art. Her and, of course, Awkwafina, who, in the end, was the one charged with getting all of the film’s emotions through to us.
