The Story:
Lilting is a quiet and thoughtful film about loss. It opens with Junn (Cheng Pei-pei) talking to her son Kai (Andrew Leung) in Chinese. Kai asks if she would like to visit him and she asks if he will be there. The he she’s referring to is Kai’s boyfriend, Richard (Ben Whishaw). Junn also asks why she has to be locked up in the nursing home, and why can’t Richard live with his parents.
The conversation goes from serious to light, with Junn talking about a man she’s become romantically involved with. The man doesn’t speak Chinese, so they spend their time holding hands and kissing. The conversation is cut short when a woman walks in to change a light bulb. The camera pans to where Kai was sitting, and we find that he isn’t there.
Later, Richard shows up at the nursing home to visit with Junn. The woman who greets him asks how he knows Junn and he says that he’s a good friend of her son, Kai. The woman gives him her condolences, then says Junn is outside with Alan. Richard and Junn meet for the first time, with Richard awkwardly trying to introduce himself and Junn not being able to understand him.
Richard leaves and hires a translator, Vann (Naomi Christie), and explains that his best friend, Kai, has died and he needs someone to translate for Kai’s mother, Junn, and a man she’s been involved with, Alan. Vann seems to understand the truth about Richard’s relationship with Kai and gives him her sympathy, but Richard can’t seem to acknowledge it.
Wishaw plays Richard as an awkward man trying to do right by his dead lover while coming to grips with his passing. Richard’s grief is quiet, which makes it feel deeply personal. This is something that can’t be easy for many actors to pull off successfully, and Wishaw does it with ease.
Through flashbacks, we learn that Junn never liked Richard, and that Kai never came out to her. This gives us a better sense of the true nature of Richard’s gesture to Junn, who seems perplexed by him and unsure of his motives. When Junn says that she wants Kai’s ashes, Richerd refuses to part with them, but later does.
Although Richard and Junn are very different people, they have some similarities. Richard is unable to discuss his grief, and Junn is unable to communicate with the people around her. Richard has lost his lover, while Junn has she lost her son and the only chance she had for getting out of the nursing home. They move slowly through the film as if lost.
The soft musical score and gray imagery evokes the melancholy and sadness that permeates Lilting. The story culminates with an ending that washes over you, leaving you with a subtle sadness that lingers.
Final Thoughts:
Although the acting throughout Lilting is fine, I feel Wishaw and Pei-pei are the crown jewels in this film. I wish we knew more about Richard and Kai’s life together, such as what they do for work or how they met. However, director Hong Khaou crafts a story with so much depth and feeling that it’s hard to fault it for that one omission. Lilting truly is a work of art.