Past Lives: Film Review
Everyone has been raving about Past Lives since its debut at Sundance in January and I feared that my expectations might be too high as a result of the hype and I would end up let down. Thankfully, that was not the case and this film met my expectations and did not disappoint.
Celine Song‘s debut feature begins with Nora (Greta Lee) sitting in a bar with her husband Arthur (John Magaro) and her childhood sweetheart Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). The film then jumps back 24 years, with a young Nora and Hae Sung growing up in South Korea. They are very close best friends who fancy each other but they are torn apart when Nora’s family relocates to Canada. The majority of the film is set in the present when Hae Sung comes to New York City to visit Nora – who is now married to Arthur.
Past Lives tells a beautiful story about the what-ifs in life. It makes you think about how different your life would be if you didn’t make a particular decision and if you would’ve been happier in a ‘past life’ than the one you have now. There are so many routes this narrative could have taken and it wasn’t exactly the story I thought it would be – but it is all the better for it. The story is more understated and quietly powerful than I expected. But it still manages to pack an emotional punch and deliver a really satisfying payoff in the end.
The three characters are complex, authentic and vulnerable. I personally liked both Hae Sung and Arthur and wanted her to be with them both so Nora was in a hard position. It would have been easy if one of them was awful or if she was in a loveless marriage but that’s not the case at all. Arthur is a loving, supportive husband but she has so much history and nostalgia with Hae Sung.
The film also presents an interesting examination of identity. Nora, born Na Young, feels too Korean in New York but not Korean enough with Hae Sung, probably because she barely speaks her mother tongue and is married to a white American man.
I would really love for Lee to get an Oscar nomination for her work here. Her performance is subtle and Nora often doesn’t vocalise how she truly feels – but the way she looks at Hae Sung speaks volumes. It is all in the eye contact and body language.
Her co-stars are staggeringly good too. Yoo and Magaro are both heartbreaking in different ways. There is one bedtime conversation between Nora and Arthur that really struck a chord with me and he is unbelievably hospitable and understanding during Hae Sung’s visit.
Past Lives is as stunning as everyone has already said. Do not miss it.
In cinemas from Thursday 7th September