Day 7
Cameron Turner (Mahershala Ali) has been diagnosed with a terminal illness but his doctors offer him a proposal. He can replace himself with a clone that would be filled with all of his memories that would take his place and his loved ones will be none the wiser. Cameron is considering this option to spare his wife and son the pain of grieving. The movie is about him feeling torn on what the better thing to do is – spare the pain or be honest with his wife.
I think I can say I like the movie enough. As we find more often these days, the performances were top notch. I really do appreciate Ali as an actor because he is so good and he got to showcase this, playing dual roles. He is reunited with his Moonlight co-star, Naomie Harris who plays his wife, Poppy. Despite being a sci-fi movie, we got a meet-cute moment when they flashback to how they met on a train.
Awkafina plays one of the few patients who has gone through the process and while I get her character’s purpose, it didn’t feel organic to me and felt a bit disconnected. The movie is set in the future so some of the technology made the movie feel very Black Mirror-ish.
For some, this movie might need a trigger warning. It’s a heavy movie but it’s also poignant.
Swan Song is streaming on Apple+ TV.