‘The Last Wife’ Netflix Movie Review - Victor Vu’s Bland And Awkwardly Sentimental Romance

Linh (Kaity Nguyen) has big eyes that make her look like a cartoon character. She is the third wife of a governor (NSƯT Quang Thắng), but this marriage is achieved through deception. The scene where she thinks the governor is asking her to marry her lover, Nhân (Thuan Nguyen), is almost tragicomic, though only the comic element manages to leave some mark because Linh's cartoonlike face helps the comedy to leave its footprints on this material. In fact, almost every character in The Last Wife is cartoonish and quite blank. They provide a collection of exaggerated reactions. The governor, his first wife (Kim Oanh), and the bookkeeper all make evil faces that are cartoonish in nature. The first wife even drags a child on the floor. Why is she so cruel? Because.

Such humorous exaggerations come in direct conflict with serious types of performances - the one that mainly comes from a detective and Linh's parents. These two different types of acting create a lot of dissonance. To make matters worse, even the scenes have conflicting tones, swinging between humor and other intense emotions like violence and melodrama. This tonal tension is evident in the scene where Nhân counts to 100 to suppress his anger while Linh is attacked by the bookkeeper. You are not sure if you should chuckle at the sight of Nhân using a flower to reach a decision or be apprehensive about Linh's situation. In the end, you merely end up giving no reaction.

This uneasy blend of various moods renders The Last Wife inelegant (it also tears the film apart by pulling it in different directions). If only it had stuck to a single note. Director Victor Vu has no idea whether he wants to hit us with a tragic romance or trashy circumstances. He has made a "tasteful" B-movie by giving us a lush, green environment. The story is rotten, so the viewer passes the time by looking at the trees, and the gardens. But at 2 hours and 12 minutes, even the greenery fails to hold your attention.

As soon as you see Linh's face in front of a noose, you understand that The Last Wife will end with her death. The story is very predictable, and on top of that, it just goes through the motions. Events unfold with the motivation that everything is written in the script. The movie, ultimately, wants to make you cry, and you do shed a few tears. However, your reasons are entirely different. You don't weep because the lovers don't end up together. You weep because you spend 2 hours and 12 minutes on this bland, awkwardly sentimental production.

Final Score- [3.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times