I was very excited for this film as this year has been a rough year in cinema for me (a lot of the indies I wanted to watch never came to my state, AL) so it was extremely satisfying watching a film primarily in mandarin and shot mostly in China!

If you know me, you know I have a bias to anything non-American and the same applies here, I was constantly fascinated with the aspects of Chinese culture and the immigrant culture experience. There are some brilliant moments here where you really get to be with this family and see their dynamics.

Everyone already knows the plot of this film, so I won’t dig into it, and mostly because the film kinda plays that note the entire time, which in no way is bad, but I did feel wanting more out of this conflict and situation. Specifically, I wish there was more interaction between the main character ‘Billie’ (awkwafina) and her family, there are a few moments where this happens, but it’s always cut short, and by the end I felt confused as why it was so limited in interaction.

I wished and wished to learn more about this dynamic and more about Billie, I think the entire dilemma could’ve been pulled off with a tad more introspection vs it’s showy nature.

Lulu wang does a great job composing some shots with her cinematographer (Anna Franquesa Solano). There are some brilliant shots where there’s a ton of head room and I love the use of space in that way, there’s also some fantastic compositions of rooms and ensemble eating that are captured well and with good restraint, also some nice shots of the Chinese landscape, buildings and construction. 

But here’s where most of my complaints come with this movie.

Its structure feels, *sigh* I hate saying this but, it feels like a first-time filmmaker scrapping moments together, maybe she had to cut a lot of the film, and this led to its odd structure. There are many moments where the film cuts to shots that are pretty much worthless and empty, and they really separate you from the story.

For ex. There is a scene where there is an argument and then it just cuts to a slow motion shot of Awkwafina... and... it looks so fucking bad, I cringed, it’s perfectly framed and she’s perfectly lit with these neon lights and she looks ethereal yet sad but she’s walking in slow motion and the movies score is just pounding in the background and the scene probably lasted 10 seconds or less but it felt like an eternity.

To make matters worse, this slow-mo thing happens again with the entire family and it’s horrendous, I don’t understand how she thought it did anything positive for the film, it feels so pretentious and glamorous (though the actors all look solemn) it makes no sense in the visual language of the film and it’s like a gut punch reminding you that your watching a movie, which directly contradicts every other shot or scene in the film because they are restrained, composed and locked off.

It felt like something a filmmaker right of out film school would do...

And also, the ending shot involving a tree and birds made me gag it looked so terribly fake.

Also, the score is overbearing and not in a way that I think fits the story or mood of the film, she constantly snaps from the score which at times is at Christopher Nolan levels of loud to dead silence which is a nice technique when used correctly but I think she mangled it by doing it so many times and depending almost entirely on the score to provide emotion.

That being said, the score is wonderful and beautiful, I can’t wait to listen to it while writing, but its loud beauty doesn’t really fit with the film’s simplicity and restraint.

Awkwafina does an amazing job, and I wish she had more to chew on, again she kinda plays the film in the same note, and it’s the script that sets this problem up, there isn’t much variety on what her character is doing or interacting with. the entire cast is wonderful, and they feel beyond authentic especially the grandmother she is a treasure to be cherished.

So, in ending.

8/10 - Great

With all that said, this is still a great and worthwhile watch for the experience of Chinese culture. It has many flaws, like an odd structure and wonky execution. It feels like a first-time film in many ways (but it’s not). I wish it was stronger and more refined. Lulu Wang obviously has a strong career ahead of her and I can’t wait to see her next film, if she can learn the few wrongs from this film, she will be without a doubt a force in cinema.