2007 SUNDANCE DRAMATIC COMPETITION FEATURE! How far would you go to make the ones you love happy? And if you have passed the point of no return, was it really worth going the distance? “Never Forever” asks just these questions as one woman desperately tries to make her husband and his extended family happy by having a child. Beautifully shot and acted, with a heartbreaking story, “Never Forever” is worth the effort it would take to catch a screening.
Sophie (Vera Farmiga) is a Caucasian woman who has married into a large, very religious Korean family. She herself is not at all religious but she loves her husband Andrew (David McInnis) and she soon feels the pressure from his family to conceive a child. When Andrew tries to kill himself after he and his wife fail at getting pregnant, Sophie makes a desperate attempt to find a way. She meets Jihah Kim (Jun-Woo Ha), an illegal immigrant from Korea (who cannot donate sperm due to his illegal status) and hires him to sleep with her. Very quickly, however, the arrangement starts to ruin the relationship between Andrew and Sophie.
It is to be commended that this film is crafted in such an amazing way and it is hard to believe that it is considered an independent film, since it is so competently polished. Subject-wise, filmmaker Gina Kim doesn’t pull any punches when telling this raw heartbreaking story of one woman’s last ditch effort to make the people in her life happy.
Vera Farmiga wowed audiences in her role of Martin Scorseses’s film “The Departed” and it is safe to say that she equates her self well in this role. To be honest, all I really had to see was her piercing blue eyes and I was sold, but she is such an amazing actress and she delivers such a wonderful performance that I was even more satisfied with it all.
The film is engaging, and though it was quite depressing to see one woman bend to others’ values, it is a worthwhile indie endeavor. Both the acting and the excellent story make this an unforgettable film.
