Movie Review: 'Swan Song' a Wonderful Showcase for Mahershala Ali

You’re dying, it’s an incurable disease and you can do nothing to stop it. Now, imagine you have the resources and technology has advanced to a degree that you can have yourself cloned down to the most miniscule memories and capabilities and that your clone won’t have the genetic predisposition for the same deathly illness that is killing you. This clone can take over your life and make sure that your family has no idea that you have died. Would you do it?

That’s the premise of the new movie, Swan Song starring Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali. In Swan Song, Mahershala Ali plays Cameron Turner, a graphic designer who has a pretty terrific life. Several years before the start of this story, Cameron met and fell in love with Poppy Turner, played by Naomie Harris. Together, Cameron and Poppy made a beautiful life which included a son and, as we join the story, a new baby on the way.

Things haven’t always been easy however as we will learn as the story progresses. Just before Cameron learned that he was dying, Poppy lost her twin brother Andre in a motorcycle accident. Poppy’s grief caused her to withdraw from Cameron and placed an incredible strain on their marriage. Thus, Cameron is reluctant to add to Poppy’s grief and stress by telling her that he is dying and that she’s about to lose even more of the life they’ve built together.

That’s how Cameron ends up on an island somewhere in the Northwest where a doctor has offered him the chance to live on via a clone. Glenn Close portrays Dr Scott who, along with her partner, Dalton (Adam Beach) has developed this groundbreaking cloning technique. Her pitch is simply that Cameron can prevent the further suffering of his wife by replacing himself with a clone. Also on the island and having been among the first clones created by Doctor Scott is Kate, played by Awkwafina. A terrific scene has Cameron meet Kate and see that her clone has fit perfectly into Kate’s life.

Swan Song works well because star Mahershala Ali is so very compelling. Ali’s easy charisma and pathos is the key factor in making Swan Song watchable beyond its premise. Yes, Swan Song is one of those “what would you do(?)” movies where the premise is the real star of the movie. What sets Swan Song apart, and makes me recommend the movie, is that Mahershala Ali happens to be a strong enough actor, with aid from Harris and Glenn Close, to transcend the gimmick of the premise.

Ali brings a genuine sadness, fear and regret to Cameron that cause you stop thinking about what you would do and instead causes you to invest in what Cameron is doing. A lesser actor would be a pawn of the plot, a functionary of the mechanics of the plot who is there to disappear just enough to allow you to think about how you might execute the premise. Mahershala Ali however, doesn’t settle for being functional. Ali is a strong enough and interesting enough actor to transcend the gimmick into a place where your only interest is in how Cameron and his clone take on this premise.

It’s quite something for an actor to play the same character in just slightly different ways. The clone, who is fully aware of Cameron and is called Jack on the island, feels ever so slightly different from Cameron and Ali’s work in the margins of a character who is haunted by the specter of his own mortality and a character with a brand new lease on life is fascinating and deeply moving. That’s especially true of the ending of Swan Song which is just lovely.

Swan Song is also a great looking movie with beatiful exteriors captured wonderfully by cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi. Overseeing the execution of this plot and the gorgeous choices in visual design is director Benjamin Cleary. Cleary, making his feature film debut after several short films in his young career, makes a tremendous feature debut. Swan Song shows a director making confident choices and fully in control of the visual and storytelling elements at play. Swan Song may not work without Mahershala Ali's innate talent for compelling performance but Swan Song would still demonstrate strong direction regardless of the star.

Swan Song debuts on Apple TV on December 17th, 2021.