Film Review - Past Lives
Images courtesy of StudioCanal.
Past Lives is a true drama that’s relatable to those who’ve experienced childhood love, long-term relationships, or perhaps even both as it allows you to contemplate the trajectory of your own life.
Written and directed by Celine Song, Past Lives centres on Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), former childhood sweethearts who reunite after 24 years. Nora left South Korea as a child, now living in New York with her husband, Arthur (John Magaro). Meanwhile, Hae Sung stayed home in Seoul but never forgot his bond with Nora. As they finally meet again in New York, they contemplate what they were to each other and where they are in their lives.
It’s truly remarkable that this is Song’s directorial debut. Her composition of the frame is confident as she lets her scenes play out so naturally. Song and her DP, Shabier Kirchner, use the stillness of the camera to their advantage so the audience can just take in all of the visual information of the setting and its colours. The cinematography and lighting feel like such a breath of fresh air. It strangely gives this small and intimate story an epic scale at times as New York and Seoul are used as locations to greatest advantage.
At times, it feels like these characters are real. The scenes of Nora and Arthur’s relationship are remarkably realistic when compared to the experience of being in a long-term relationship. In regards to the script, Song knows there’s no need for her characters to express how they’re feeling with words for every second of the film. There’s no unnecessary dialogue as she trusts her actors to bring the performance though, but still provides the moments to shine with a well written scene.
While more well known from Russian Doll or Morning Wars, Past Lives is the true breakout performance for Greta Lee. She portrays Nora as someone who’s in constant deep thought about her past, but unhinderedfrom living her current life. It’s what most of us do everyday, and Lee is so natural about it that you relate to her immediately, and fall for her hard. The character of Hae Sung is challenging - Teo Yoo plays him as someone who clings to his love of Nora from his past but he and the audience know that Hae Sung and Nora shouldn’t probably get together by the end of the film. So instead, Yoo plays him as a man looking for closure, requiring a performance founded on a lot of subtle emotion, which Teo Yoo delivers with heartbreaking authenticity. Meanwhile, John Magaro is only in the latter half of the film, without as much screen time as Yoo or Lee. But whenever he appears, you immediately love him as Arthur - a character aware of his own role in this story, which Magaro performs with scores of pathos and awkward humour.
At its core, Past Lives is a beautiful and thoughtful film that deals with the idea of love and choice. But it’s probably not the best date movie if you’re still trying to get over your ex.
Past Lives is screening from Thursday 31st August. For tickets and more info, click here.