Swan Song

 

Swan Song

Starring Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Awkwafina, Glenn Close

Directed by Benjamin Cleary

The concept of a "swan song" has different meanings. In nature, there's a myth that swans will sing one beautiful song just before death. In the art and sports world, it denotes a star's final appearance before retirement, and is often something extremely meaningful and special. It's no surprise writer/director Benjamin Cleary named his debut directorial work "Swan Song," because it's essentially that very thing: a person's last performance, inasmuch as it's his final wish for his family to go on without him, and it raises a multitude of ethical questions that the film brilliantly traverses with real human emotions and compelling performances.

In the near future, Cameron Turner (Mahershala Ali) is dying of a terminal illness, but he can't bring himself to tell his wife Poppy (Naomie Harris) or their young son, because she's still getting over the sudden death of her brother, and is currently pregnant with their second child. Cameron communicates with Dr. Scott (Glenn Close), who makes an enticing offer: she can essentially clone Cameron into another Cameron body, implant all his memories, thoughts, emotions, and everything that makes Cameron Cameron, and after a short while the new Cameron will forget that he's a clone and truly believe he's the real Cameron, and so will his family.

Cameron struggles with the thought of doing it, but eventually agrees to the procedure after talking to fellow patient Kate (Awkwafina), who's also dying from an incurable disease. He visits her doppelganger and then travels to the Doctor's office set in the middle of nowhere surrounded by forests. After the procedure is complete, however, Cameron has second thoughts - he doesn't want someone else living his life, even though his life would soon be ending, and struggles with the fact that he won't be in his family's lives anymore, even though they won't know the difference. Is it right to lie to your loved ones by copying yourself so they never know the difference, or would it be better to come clean and spend the rest of your short life with them, knowing that they'll possibly be more traumatized after the fact?

"Swan Song" is the living embodiment of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's five stages of death, witnessed through the eyes of the one who would soon be departing. Cameron at first is in denial that he's dying and maintains that he can still spend time with his family, then when he moves on to anger he vents it at Cameron 2.0 and the doctor, he tries to bargain with them to spend one more day with his family, mourns the fact that he'll never see them again, and then accepts his fate. It's not a spoiler because he's obviously dying, and in allowing Cameron 2.0 to continue his life, he feels that it will relieve his family from grieving like he is, even if the process itself is highly debatable.

You sense the continual conflict that Cameron faces in his decision through Mahershala Ali's expressive eyes, as he bounces back and forth between doing it and not doing it, and contemplating the ramifications of both. Here, there's not one perfect answer: either he goes with the process and his family is none the wiser yet he had to lie to them in the last moments of his life, or he doesn't and gets to spend his last days with his family with the knowledge that they'll go through unspeakable grief and turmoil after his passing.

Through this, the film tackles thought-provoking questions that go practically hand-in-hand with the sci-fi genre: what does it mean to be human? Can a clone really pass as the real thing despite not having a soul (or does it even have a soul)? How could a clone bear the same bodily essence as its original, not having the original's life experiences even though he has all the memories? Are they even human, and is this really what's the best thing for everyone involved? The great thing about this film is that there are no easy answers, and none are readily given: it's an existential movie that warrants introspection and dialogue.

Mahershala Ali plays both Cameron and his clone (named Jack at the compound) with reckless abandon, allowing himself to fully immerse himself in the unique experience. Cameron is pained in the fact that he's dying and there's nothing he can do about it, and wants to do right with his family, while also suffering himself knowing that he'll pass away with them being none the wiser. His clone, Jack, is also as humanly emotional as Cameron, and Ali doesn't play him like a generic clone in other sci-fi movies with no emotions, but rather as another literal Cameron where you can't tell the two apart. It makes sense, then, for Cameron to go through with the procedure because Jack is pretty much every part Cameron's equal, and Ali dominates both roles.

Naomie Harris (who co-starred with Ali in the Oscar-winning film "Moonlight") isn't given as much room to work with here, but she absolutely nails it during her short time on screen, especially when she's dealing with her brother's death and showcasing the raw emotions she's best known for. Awkwafina shines as Kate, another patient of Dr. Scott who's also dying, but accepts the fact that her double will carry on with her family and keep them from emotional pain. Glenn Close uniquely plays Dr. Scott with equal parts sensitivity and a seemingly duplicitous nature that makes you feel like you can never fully trust her, or it's because we've all seen so many sci-fi films like this that end in tragedy.

The setting for the film itself is also marvelous to behold, as in this future there's self-driving cars, cameras attached to your contacts, and other fancy devices that makes "Swan Song" a perfect choice to be an Apple+ exclusive. Dr. Scott's office is a dazzling physical wonder, with elegantly colored walls and hidden rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the calming beauty of nature all around it. Throw in an emotional score by Jay Wadley, and you've got a deeply emotional, personal film that teeters between the sci-fi and the dramatic that's balanced by the awards-worthy work of Mahershala Ali.

Pondering the existential questions of existence, death, and deception, "Swan Song" powers through with commanding performances, excellent set pieces, and grounded by the delicate, impeccable work of Mahershala Ali.

The Score: A+