“When was the last time you saw him?” a woman asks offscreen as the short film “The Resemblance” opens. We then see an old couple (François Chau and Sumalee Montano) who, by the looks of it, just lost their son and are still grappling with the loss.
The mother, Lan, answers the question. Two years, she says. I’ve been dreaming about him lately. The film reveals both Lan and David talking to a representative of a niche agency; and they are intent on availing of the ‘rental family’ agency’s services to hire an actor to role-play their dead son.
However, what initially promises to be an evening of remembrance becomes deeply personal—and is more than what they both bargained for.
‘The Resemblance’: A [Short] Glimpse into Grief and Healing
Written and directed by Derek Nguyen (‘The Housemaid’), “The Resemblance” follows Lan (Montano) and David (Chau) as they contact the agency mentioned above to hire someone role-play as their late son Daniel. But while Lan expresses excitement and optimism, David plays the role of the skeptic. Is there a money-back guarantee, he asks. “What if it doesn’t work?”
The agency responds that, for the past 15 years, they have garnered a reputation among their clientele for achieving their purpose; which revolves around two premise:
- They aim to help grieving families to begin the stage of healing; and
- Their program can serve as rehearsal for real interaction.
“The Resemblance” zeroes in on the second one as much as the first, especially when the film shows the arrival of the actor who role-plays the real Daniel.
And when Lan asked the agency representative earlier in the film if the actor would “look like our Daniel,” she got her answer then and there.
‘Daniel’ (Tom Dang) greets the couple as if he were their real son. And since he looked exactly like the latter, it understandably shakes Lan and David; so much so that David had to excuse himself and take a look at the photo of their actual son.
Of course, both the grieving parents and actor are aware of the ridiculousness of the whole situation, which makes for the initial awkwardness. But then, as dinner came, the couple see the actor nailing Daniel’s nuances, quirks, and mannerisms down to a tee. This, along with the physical resemblance, pushes the couple to the edge.
[Related Article: Review: ‘Drive My Car’ is a Contemplative and Delicate Examination of Grief as Unexpressed Love with Nowhere to Go]
Getting More Than What They Bargained For
What began as an evening of remembrance gets real—and quick. After all, memories aren’t all beds of roses; it’s just that people choose to forget the painful ones and relive those feel-good moments to lift them up. Daniel’s parents aren’t so much different. And that’s the beauty of this film. From the tender direction to the top-notch performances, “The Resemblance” deserves every minute of its runtime, if not more.
By trusting the audiences to fill in, Nguyen gives the film the power to show the immeasurable pain brought by grief; and how far some would willingly go to rid themselves of said pain. When Lan admits that “this is a lot harder than I thought it would be,” it’s a heart-wrenching resignation from a parent who just buried her child. Even David, who as the film shows has always been stoic even toward his own son, realizes that he needs to come to terms with what happened to Daniel—regardless of whether he had a hand in it.
As a film that reinforces the point that there are no short cuts in the healing process; “The Resemblance” examines the novel measures people undergo to overcome their grief. What’s more important, however, is that it shows the dichotomy of grief: the father who never believed he needed closure for their son’s death, and the mother who always knew.
“The Resemblance” is currently doing rounds in this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
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