Confirmed: A24's 'Past Lives' Is Indeed A Classic "You Can Tell Just By The Trailer That's Going To Be Amazing" Movie
Writer-director Celine Song's stunning feature-length debut Past Lives is going to get a wider release in a couple weeks. Nevertheless, as one of those card-carrying app-toting AMC A-Listers, I couldn't wait that long and decided to hoof it to AMC Lincoln Square 13 to check out the latest gem from A24. And let me tell you, Past Lives did not disappoint in the slightest.
I'll do my best not to spoil much of anything here, but ever since this film premiered at Sundance, there's been a ton of buzz around it. Like, Oscar buzz. Since January. Deservedly so.
Now to the topic posed in the headline. Sometimes, movie teasers can be deceiving. Right? You'll see some cutup of something and think it looks absolutely incredible. Because yeah...even if the thing is really bad, it's possible to piece together a great-looking trailer. Myriad reshoots notwithstanding, just look at the reception of the first Suicide Squad movie versus how it actually turned out. Warner Bros. wrested creative control away from David Ayer, but that's one of many examples of the cruel tricks these marketing materials can play.
...But when it's a big IP like that, I'm a little more inclined to check my expectations. When an indie flick comes along with a preview that bangs THIS fucking hard, there's like a 98% chance it'll to deliver the goods.
The reviews for Past Lives have been very kind. And I know, Rotten Tomatoes can tend to reward this type of fare over some bigger-budget tentpoles at times...trust me. These critic and audience scores aren't without merit:
Not gonna lie, it does move a little slow at the beginning. There's a lot of setup. You can deduce the premise from the tease above. It's tempting to be skeptical and blow Past Lives off as a cliché love triangle that brings nothing new to the table. Just trust that a little bit of patience will go a long way. Before you know it, you're wrapped up in this complicated web of feelings toward all three characters.
Greta Lee plays the main character Nora, who winds up immigrating away from South Korea as a kid and leaves her mutual crush Hae Sung behind. You eventually see how the two of them keep in touch in the ensuing years, but it turns out that she meets some American dude named Arthur (John Magaro). Only calling him "American dude" for now so as to avoid spoilers. Nora and Arthur end up getting married (as you can see in the vid). You can probably tell where this is heading. The final version of Hae Sung stars Teo Yoo in the role. He CRUSHES IT. Greta Lee will get plenty of awards season buzz. Hopefully Teo Yoo does, too.
You can see the first moment that Nora and Hae Sung meet in person after "X" amount of years in the trailer, too. The two actors hadn't met face-to-face before shooting that scene, so their initial reactions to each other are very much, in fact, informed by real life and the strange experience of first getting acquainted in front of a rolling camera.
With all the multiverse movies going around lately, this is almost like a romantic fantasy version of that where Nora doesn't have to deviate from her life path to see her long-lost childhood love from many years ago. He comes to her in New York after a long, long wait. Let's just say there's a taaaaaad bit of chemistry still there.
In that bar scene featured in the trailer, Hae Sung delivers one of the most casually heartbreaking lines I've ever seen/heard in my life. It gives Ke Huy Quan's "laundry and taxes" bomb from Everything Everywhere All At Once a run for its money.
For the vast majority of the runtime, if you're more of an action-adventure fan or value clear, fast-paced plot points, you might be wondering where the hell this is all leading to. What's the climax? Am I gonna just sit here, be disappointed at the end and say, "Oh. That's IT!?"
I can guarantee you that, unless you don't have a soul, the final five minutes or so of Past Lives will floor you. Potentially wreck you emotionally. Can't say you weren't warned if you're reading this in advance!!
OK I think I did a decent job not giving a lot away but hopefully making a strong case to see Past Lives. It be in more theaters by June 23. If you want to dig into a potential dark-horse Oscar contender — not even sure "dark horse" is an appropriate term, to be honest! — before it's considered cool, GO SEE IT. Along with Polite Society, another awesome feature debut from Nida Manzoor, and the just-released Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, I'd have to say Past Lives is in the running for my favorite movie of 2023 so far.
Take Paul Mescal's word for it if you won't take mine. He's a big deal.