Dear Ex (2018) Movie Review

 

Dear Ex (Original title: Shei xian ai shang ta de) | 2018 | 1h 40m
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance | Country: Taiwan
Director: Chih-Yen Hsu, Mag Hsu | Writers: Mag Hsu, Shih-yuan Lu
Cast: Roy Chiu, Ying-Hsuan Hsieh, Spark Chen
IMDB: 7.3
My Rate: 10/10

Song Cheng-xi must be caught between his stubborn mother and his father’s lover due to the issue of his father’s death insurance money being given to the lover. The problem worsens after Cheng-xi chooses to leave his mother and live with the lover.

Warning:

Contains scenes of harsh language, violence, and LGBT themes.

 

Synopsis:

Liu San-Lian (Hsieh Ying-Hsuan) brings her son Song Cheng-xi (Joseph Huang) to reclaim the insurance money left by her husband, Song Zhen-yuan (Spark Chen). The insurance money has been transferred to Jay (Roy Chiu), who is her husband’s lover. They go to Jay’s apartment to ask for the money to be returned, but the meeting does not go smoothly.

Cheng-xi, who often argues with his mother, chooses to leave home after his mother throws away items given by his father. Cheng-xi chooses to go to Jay’s apartment and stay there. Jay reluctantly accepts him to stay temporarily in his apartment.

While Cheng-xi is there, he constantly observes Jay with many questions about why his father chose to leave his family and be with Jay. Initially, Cheng-xi thinks Jay is a bad person. However, the longer they interact, Cheng-xi begins to doubt his first impression.

Jay, who seems fine, actually harbors sadness he has not revealed. While Jay tries to come to terms with his loss of Zhen Yuan, he also struggles to keep the theater he manages alive. Because the theater and the story they will present have a deep connection with Zhen Yuan. However, the presence of San Lian and Cheng-xi adds problems to his life.

The betrayal and departure of Zhen Yuan make San Lian very disappointed. Her disappointment grows even more after learning that the name of the insurance money heir has been changed to the name of her husband’s lover. The disappointment increases further when Cheng-xi chooses to live with Jay without caring about her. Although she still tries to be a good mother by secretly giving attention to Cheng-xi, the hurt she feels cannot simply be erased.

An intense relationship eventually develops between them. However, the feelings each of them hides and the misunderstandings that occur make the relationship still difficult to define.

Will their story be resolved well?

 

Review:

Dear Ex is a film written and inspired by the story of Hsu’s friend whose husband had a relationship with another man. The story idea is quite interesting, highlighting an issue that has actually been happening a lot in society lately but has not received much attention. This may still be considered quite taboo to discuss, especially in Asia.

The story does not focus on the relationship between the two men or show sensual or sexual effects often seen in some LGBT-themed films. Instead, it focuses on the emotional play of the characters, with each character having a significant role. This film is filled not only with entertaining scenes but also touching moments.

The story is presented systematically, although not entirely linear. There are parts where the audience is taken back to the past to see the relationships among the characters. However, this does not confuse the audience but rather makes them understand the story better.

The background development of the story and characters is done very well. It begins by showing the three main characters together and their connections. Then it presents the stories and points of view of each main character, creating a harmonious story.

The conflict is presented very well based on problems that are consistently portrayed. The audience can see that the insurance money is only a trigger for the real underlying issue, which is the feeling of betrayal. Intense debates and arguments appear in the conflict. The turmoil of each character also adds tension to the conflict.

The conflict resolution is done very well, seen from the character development of each character. All problems are gradually resolved. The resolution also gives the audience a feeling of being moved and relieved.

The acting dedication of the cast cannot be doubted. All actors, both main and supporting, give very good and natural performances. The chemistry among the actors is also visible. It is no surprise that Roy Chiu and Ying-Hsuan Hsieh won many awards for their acting in this film.

The choice of music and sound effects is also well done and suits each scene. The Original Soundtrack titled "Bali Song" also won the Best Original Film Song award. The song is not only pleasant to listen to but also gives a deep impression when sung.

Technically, the cinematography and camera movements are well executed, showing every detail clearly. The dominant brown color composition creates a calm and deep atmosphere. The dialogues used do not feel meaningless.

Overall, this film is highly recommended to watch, especially for film lovers who enjoy emotional films with deep narratives.

 
Memorable scene:

Liu San-lian, feeling desperate, cries in front of the deity’s altar. She questions what sins she has committed to deserve such events. Even though she feels she has tried hard to be a good wife and mother, her disappointment leads San-Lian to choose to become a villain.

In this scene, we see a moment that may often happen in human life. When bad things happen, we question what mistakes we made to deserve the misfortune. Many continue to remain good people, but quite a few change to become bad. Hence the saying, "evil people are born from good people who have been hurt."

 

Memorable dialogue:

"He had decided to just be himself in the remaining days of his life"

 
Ending:

Happy Ending

 
Recommendation:

Must Watch!

 

(Aluna)