Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris shine in Apple TV+’s fantasy drama ‘Swan Music’ that offers with mortality in a poetic and nearly eulogic approach
Cloning oneself has been a done-to-death plot system Hollywood has availed until there’s not a scrap of DNA left to salvage. Discovering out you’re terminally in poor health and should plan to your demise is one other overwrought storyline that has lengthy been mummified. Merge these two and I may solely think about the uninteresting and predictable turns such a movie would take.
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Author-director Benjamin Cleary’s Swan Music dispels that notion in a short time. The movie follows a proficient artist Cameron Turner (Mahershala Ali) who finds out he’ll die quickly and decides to spare his household the ache and grief, turning to an organization to clone himself. The caveat? He isn’t allowed to disclose to any of his family members that the clone exists in any respect. Quite than a large number of science-fiction riddled with bullets and punches, the story is elevated by coronary heart and soul.
I actually didn’t suppose I wanted a movie like Swan Music in my life however Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris did one heck of a job to persuade me, as they play husband Cameron and spouse Poppy respectively.
They meet on a practice, sharing a tiny bar of chocolate, stealing glances at each other surreptitiously, as if having a secret dialog. Now layer that with the uncooked magnetism of those two lovely actors and you’ve got your self probably the most riveting meet-cutes I’ve seen in recent times. We later see them develop a relationship and develop their household, and expertise a loss.
We are able to see how trusting Harris and Ali are of each other as scene companions, wrapping themselves in a bubble so successfully that watching these moments feels nearly intrusive. I felt just like the happiest third wheel ever. That mentioned, it makes Cameron’s scenario much more terrible, that he would go in opposition to such intimacy and have his legacy be a lie.
As Cameron takes on the controversial cloning course of, he should actually battle with himself, that’s, his clone, Jack. We see an actor’s true prowess when they don’t seem to be only a scene-stealer however the scene-provider single-handedly, and Ali in his two varieties ship as promised. As Cameron argues with Jack over sovereignty of selections to be made, the scenes hit laborious.
Heading the cloning institute is the acerbic Dr Scott (Glenn Shut) draped in white strains as she glides serenely by her minimalist clinic, talking of DNA as if she is discussing the climate. Shut doesn’t disappoint; solely she may be the image of serenity whereas embodying one thing so questionable.
Cameron finds himself a confidant in Kate (Awkwafina), a clone. Whereas Awkwafina and Ali’s scenes are peppered in laughter, there’s an ignored foreboding fact that lies of their interactions. Kate’s bodily kind represents the life Cameron could be surrendering his household to, whereas her completely lovable character provides him some hope. It’s a tricky dichotomy and Awkwafina brings a fantastic efficiency in droves.
Composer Jay Wadley lives as much as the identify of the movie, with a soundtrack and rating that wraps the narrative up with a melody that haunts and comforts utilizing sounds that really feel each acquainted and strange.
To audiences, it could appear that Cleary has wished to make this film his complete life; cautious intention coupled with inventive liberation makes every body matter. Even throughout the two-hour-plus mission, Cleary makes the more often than not. He does the identical with the skills of Ali, Harris, Awkwafina and Shut.
Swan Music just isn’t in a world of flying automobiles or robotic assistants; the environment really feel all too actual in areas surrounded by nature and buildings which have an after-life really feel, maybe hinting that the selection of cloning just isn’t a far-off chance.
There’s a eulogic peacefulness about Swan Music that avoids all hazards of an existential disaster. No, its intention is to not scare us or warn us. As an alternative, the movie turns the bargaining stage of grief into one thing extra beguiling and poetic.
Swan Music is streaming on Apple TV+.
