'Swan Song' Review: Mahershala Ali stars in smart, but reflective Apple TV+ drama
Writer-director Benjamin Cleary's debut film Swan Song is thought-provoking. It's soul-stirring really as artist Cameron (Mahershala Ali) is explained about an experimental procedure he and his team of AI and a handful of humans do as a solution to terminal cancer. It's simple — clone the person sans the cancerous tissue and transfer each and every fragment of memory to the person. It's a second chance, one that leaves no scars behind. It's tantalizing and futuristic, but it leaves that one question: Can there be a difference?
Cleary's work isn't complex. The Apple TV movie wastes no time in setting the context as a dying Cameron is shown his clone, Jack (played by Ali) who is his identical and perfect copy. The idea is to replace him in Cameron's place where no one will know about the switch, leaving him to spend his final days in peace with the fact that his family does not know the loss or the difference. And despite the fact that the story tells that humanity can now beat death, something doesn't feel right, it's like immortality is now a curse of sorts.
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Cameron's cancer is something his wife Poppy (Naomie Harris) and his son, Cory (Dax Rey) are oblivious to and with another baby on the way, his sole objective is to be there for the unborn child and his wife who actually went through a major depression bout after the death of her twin brother Andre (Nyasha Hatendi). The sting is when Jack actually has all of Cameron's memories and post the latter's final approval, his clone's memories of his time at the facility will be erased. If the director's intention was to bring about the emotions of grief and confusion, he does so scrupulously.
'Swan Song' is reflective. Starting from the sleek and smooth tech to how easy cloning has become, it shows a world where this could actually be possible. However, the themes of separation, sacrifice and love garners the larger part of our attention. The Apple TV film also focuses on Cameron's thoughts throughout the movie after he agrees to send his clone across. He brings out the unexplained, painful emotions impressively and with every interaction with Jack, he makes sure there is a strong difference between him and Cameron.
Harris gets due screentime with her mature performance mostly in the form of flashbacks. Adding more depth to the film in Awkwafina's Kate who is another patient of Dr Scott and has already undergone the cloning procedure. Her chemistry with Ali sparks freshness and also some comic relief. Her dry humor comes as a defense mechanism when the somber news of her imminent death comes up.
What the audience might get a tad bummed about is the slow pace. The move takes its own time to reach the climax and although it's nothing along the lines of being a mind-bending affair, the grief that it evokes might be too much to bear at times. But this is a movie that needs to be watched.
'Swan Song' releases Friday, December 17 on Apple TV+.
