Film Review: Swan Song (2021)
Spoilers ahead!
Summary: What would you do if you knew you were going to die within six months?
This sci-fi drama, directed by Benjamin Cleary, forces this question unto our protagonist, Cameron, who is played by Mahershala Ali (Hidden Figures, Predators, and Moonlight). Most people would live each moment doing everything they wanted if their health permitted it. However, Cameron is diagnosed with an undisclosed terminal illness. As the days go by, we see him wilt and have seizures as he tries to hide the illness from his pregnant wife, Poppy (Naomie Harris), and his eight-year-old son, Cory (Dax Rey). All Cameron wants is to tell his wife. That may not be the best idea.
As Cameron comes to face his mortality, he enrolls in a top-secret cloning program. Now, this isn’t as far-fetched as one would think. This society has driver-less Ubers, talking robot vending machines, and technology so advanced that the average man is part computer. Cloning was bound to be the next step.
The process starts with the doctors, Jo Scott (Glenn Close) and Dalton (Adam Beach) taking a client’s DNA. This creates another person that is identical from head to toe, except with one defining mark. The clone can breathe, bleed, and emote like the original. The second step is the transference of both conscious and subconscious thoughts between the clone and the client. The third step removes the clone’s memories of the process and places them to assimilate into society as the client dies off in hospice. By the time Cameron joins the project, he is the fourth client. He meets the clone of Kate, played by Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians and Raya and the Last Dragon). As it turns out, there has been a 100% success rate. This makes Cameron more confident in his decision to have a version of him live on in the real world.
The process sounds morbid, however, clients die under peaceful circumstances. The hospital feels like a futuristic mansion with glass overlooking mountains, trees, and a tranquil lake. When writer and director, Benjamin Cleary, spoke about the location, he claimed that it was pitched to him as “a good place to die” by his scout. The second and third steps of the process make Cameron realize that he is underprepared for his demise. The clone is new, healthful, and improved. It has all his mannerisms from his distaste of pumpkin seeds and his swagger.
This new idea of a second life that he once was onboard for, he now treats with disdain. The project makes Cameron feel like he is teetering on the edge of an uncanny valley. He is about to throw the entire project away until he remembers why he took part in the first place — so his family could live a “normal” life. He continues selflessly with the experiment and the clone and him form a bond. The night before its memories are wiped, the clone allows Cameron to “live” his life once more. Cameron takes his last night and drinks his first “beer” with his son, cuddles his wife, hugs his dog, and sits in his art room. The film ends on a bittersweet note as it is revealed that the clone left him a recorded video of Cameron’s wife saying, “I love you”.
My First Impression
As I said in my last blog about this film, “Viewers will be faced with time, mortality, nostalgia, pain, and the meaning of love. They will laugh, cry and reminisce.” There was not a dry eye in the theatre after it was shown. The film forced me to confront my ego and the concept of the greater good. It felt like the moral dilemma of the runaway train and people tied on the tracks.
The big question I had to face was, “When does life stop being about you?” Cameron had to confront himself literally. He came face to face with his second life and death. I fell in love with the protagonist, not for his selflessness, but his sacrifice. In the end, he did a noble thing, but not without having to overcome himself. Everyone dies one day and it is hard to confront.
I realized it stops being about me when my life has intertwined with others. If your absence is enough to cause the people around you to suffer beyond the grieving stage — why not do it for them? If technology like that was available today, I would do the same for my family.
So tell me — what would you do?
The movie, Swan Song, streams on Apple TV+ and is in theaters near you.
