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Critics Consensus: Skillfully weaving multiple delicate tonal strands into a quietly affecting whole, Lilting serves as a thoroughly compelling calling card for writer-director Hong Khaou.
Critic Consensus: Skillfully weaving multiple delicate tonal strands into a quietly affecting whole, Lilting serves as a thoroughly compelling calling card for writer-director Hong Khaou.
All Critics (53) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (9)
A more fitting title for the film would be "Limping."
It is, as the title suggests, sweet - but also slight.
Guilt hangs over "Lilting," a suffocating haze so thick that it permeates every unspoken, non-understood word between characters trying to traverse a frustrating gulf of language and grief.
Hong, who makes his feature debut here, has a masterful command of rhythm, beautifully weaving each strand of the narrative around that momentous opening scene.
Despite a strong start, the filmmaker doesn't exactly know where to go with it. Still, there are moments before things get away from him that are captivating to watch and lovely to listen to, lilting.
Whishaw is the most gifted and poetic actor in his age range, by a very wide margin, and everything he does here is fresh and unexpected.
Probably the quietest and least histrionic film I've seen for a long time (no mean feat when the subtext to the story is raw grief).
Lilting is not only a beautiful depiction of grief, love and hardship, but also a fantastic piece of representation for the LGBTQ+ community, as Richard and his partner's relationship is presented to us with nothing other than normalcy and tenderness.
Be patient with it and you will be rewarded as it is a little gem that offers consolation to anyone who has lost someone special.
It's occasionally a bit on the nose, but [Lilting] an often moving exploration of how we connect - or fail to -with other people through language.
Khaou carefully constructs each scene for maximum impact-intentional repetition expressing the experience's ever-changing evolution.
[Lilting] wears its heart on its sleeve, but without bleeding too much, and is overly square and precise, but also a welcome reprieve from the irony-prone fair that most often fills our cinemas.
Whishaw and Cheng are great in this touching story of grief, language barriers and even the differences that are brought to light when people finally understand each other - which gives rise to some very humorous moments -, although it also avoids going deeper in its emotions.
Super Reviewer
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