322. Swan Song; movie review

 

 

SWAN SONG

Cert 15

112 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language

Gosh, what a conundrum. If we were dying and had the opportunity to replace ourselves with a perfect clone, would we take it?

Lots of questions are left unanswered during Benjamin Cleary's Swan Song but its initial premise is fascinating.

Mahershala Ali gives a compelling performance as Cameron Turner who has not told his wife (Naomie Harris) that he has a terminal illness.

They have a young son and she is pregnant with a second child, so he wants to protect her from the grim news.

Therefore, he signs up to a programme at a pioneering clinic which specialises in clones.

Cameron sees his replacement and then faces the tortuous dilemma of whether to have him switched on and then to watch as he takes over his life.

Of course, nobody would want to be replaced but as his doctor (Glenn Close) points out, the clone thinks like him, acts like him, has his memories, and is, for all intents and purposes, is him.

Ali excels as Cameron's emotions flip over and over.

Meanwhile, Swan Song looks fabulous with lots of near-future details such as driverless cars, cameras through contact lenses and heightened visual communications.

But it is a much greater leap to see a human clone which can step into a dying man's shoes.

The technology already exists for the other elements and, after Dolly The Sheep all those years ago, we wonder whether the latter could come true.

If it does, the questions remains whether human emotions will be able to accept it. Swan Song's answers make it worth watching.

Reasons to watch: Original sci-fi

Reasons to avoid: Stretched unnecessarily

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? The swan song is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort or performance given just before death or retirement. ... But their sounds are more distinguishing during courting rituals and not correlated with death.

The final word. Mahershala Ali: "Cameron was really speaking to me. He was really resonating with me. And just the dilemma felt very fresh. It felt unique and I just hadn’t seen this story before." Complex

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