Making breakfast. Going to the flower shop. Decorating the house for a holiday. On their own, these things may seem mundane — not at all movie-worthy. However, Ray Yeung’s All Shall Be Well captures these actions in a way that makes them feel not just compelling but necessary, giving depth, humanity, and a spotlight to characters who rarely ever get one.

What Is ‘All Shall Be Well’ About?

All Shall Be Well focuses on a lesbian couple in their mid-60s living in Hong Kong. There’s Pat (Maggie Li Lin Lin), an ambitious businesswoman who’s as warm and charismatic as she is intelligent, and her partner Angie (Patra Au), the more reserved of the two. However, Angie balances Pat well and comes out of her shell when it’s just the two of them together. With enough money from their textile factory managing days to loan some to their friends, including flower shop owners Kathy (Suen Wai Fong) and Betty (Priscilla Leung Siu Wai), and give some to their struggling nephew Victor (Chung-Hang Leung) and girlfriend, Kitty (Yung Ting Rachel Leung), they seem to be the lucky ones of the large family.

Unfortunately, that luck drastically changes one night when Pat unexpectedly passes away in her sleep, throwing Angie’s life into chaos. Not only does she have to manage her grief, but she also has to deal with the fact that Pat never signed a will, nor were they ever married due to gay marriage not being legal in Hong Kong or China. Because of this, all of Pat’s assets technically go to her brother, Shing (Tai Bo), his wife, Mei (Hui So Ying), and their two kids, Victor and Fanny (Fish Liew), each of whom is dealing with financial hardship of their own. Angie thought they believed she was family — that she could trust them — but they slowly, subtly begin to betray her one by one for their own selfish reasons, forcing her to find her fight and voice.

‘All Shall Be Well’s Central Couple Is Quietly Groundbreaking
Image via Strand Releasing

It’s sadly uncommon to see characters like Pat and Angie at the forefront of films. Female protagonists are already rarer than they should be — add in their queerness and the fact that they’re over 60, and the deck is firmly stacked against them in terms of representation. It’s refreshing to see them not only featured but featured well, given complex layers and authenticity that make them accessible and relatable to all kinds of viewers.

Maggie Li Lin Lin has the necessary presence for a character like Pat. She’s the kind of person who people are immediately drawn to — someone with an almost magnetic pull and larger-than-life energy that can light up every room. But she’s also someone who can make you feel like the most important person in it, acting as a generous host and caretaker. Yeung smartly doesn’t put her on too much of a pedestal or make her too perfect, showcasing her tendency to keep secrets about her sometimes recklessly giving nature and reluctance to make a will due to the emotions surrounding it, with her flaws making her feel more real.

Au is equally impressive as Angie. This is really her movie, after all, and she imbues Angie with a quiet strength. It’s heartbreaking to see her lose her other half, and we get the sense that she truly doesn’t know how to go through life without her longtime partner by her side. It’s established early that Pat is the fearless negotiator when Shing tells Angie about a new, predatory job he got, so the fact that Angie has to step into that role and advocate for herself is a genius character choice and work of foreshadowing by Yeung. The fact it’s not just about Angie learning to overcome her pushover tendencies or even trying to do so while navigating immense grief about Pat makes it hit harder, too. She truly cares about Pat’s family — they are a stark contrast to her own, stuffier parents who refuse to stop pretending Pat is simply her best friend — and there’s a level of heartbreak at her slowly losing all of them in the aftermath of Pat’s death, too. Au does an excellent job in the moments when Angie snaps or puts her foot down in opposition, never going too big but still giving us catharsis.

While the film is ultimately about loss and seeing Angie learn to heal from Pat’s death, Yeung smartly invests a decent portion of time establishing their relationship and making us care about the couple — an especially impressive achievement considering the film runs only slightly over 90 minutes. There’s a lived-in ease to their dynamic and a surprising amount of humor as well. The banter throughout has a delicious edge, like when Pat tells Angie about her difficult upbringing, and she quips that she’s still going through childhood trauma at her old age or, after Fanny confides to Angie that she’s repulsed by her husband, she replies that, if a man touched her, she’d “be sick, too.” That kind of repartee is reserved for relationships characterized by familiarity and trust, making the film feel even more genuine.

‘All Shall Be Well’ Is Simple But Stirring
Image via Strand Releasing

The same nuance that characterizes Pat and Angie applies to the supporting characters — they never veer anywhere close to one-dimensional antagonist or villain territory. It’s not difficult to empathize with their pain and hardships or believe that most of the time, they genuinely believe they’re doing what’s best when it comes to Pat’s burial arrangements, even if they’re against the woman’s wishes or telling Angie they’re jealous that she never had kids, even if it’s a highly insensitive thing to say considering Angie has always yearned to be a mother. If anything, the movie shows how easy it is for all of us to make selfish choices and find ways to justify greed. Victor and Fanny obviously believe what their parents are doing is wrong, sharing silent judgmental looks, but they never grow a backbone to stand up for their beliefs or Angie herself. Instead, their complicitness turns into more active culpability as time goes on. It’s devastating how they slowly begin taking advantage of Angie and seeing how far they can push their limits without even realizing they’re doing it.

The plot is ultimately straightforward, and because of that, it occasionally feels a little too thin. The occasional complication or unexpected twist could infuse the story with a bit more surprise or feeling of urgency than it currently has. The lack of music and sparse score is a missed opportunity to elevate some moments as well. But even so, the details are compelling enough that it’s still a captivating watch without that — especially for those who may be less familiar with certain elements of Chinese culture. The debate about whether to bury Pat at sea or in a columbarium, for instance, fascinated me. The fact that Yeung showcased Pat and Angie’s large group of queer friends was extremely moving and felt accurate as someone who belongs to the LGBTQ+ community and often gravitates towards others who belong to it.

All Shall Be Well is a simple story overflowing with carefully crafted details that raises interesting and little-explored questions about gay rights, how we honor the dead, and how easily selfishness can seep in and poison us out of doing what we know is right. Yeung’s film is an affecting and beautiful one, capturing the inherent joy and sorrow of the human experience from a perspective we rarely get to see. It’s a shame that queer stories like this in cinema are few and far between in Hong Kong — Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together comes to mind as one of the few prominent stories. Perhaps this film will help to open up dialogue about not just the queer experience but seeing queer performances and perspectives in the medium in the future.

All Shall Be Well ‘All Shall Be Well’ is a poignant film about the unique complications LGBTQ+ people can face in the midst of grief.ProsMaggie Li Lin Lin and Patra Au give phenomenal performances as Pat and Angie, with their relationship feeling authentic and lived-in.Even the more antagonistic supporting characters always feel multi-dimensional and sympathetic.Ray Yeung explores complex themes from a refreshingly new angle. ConsThe straightforwardness of the plot can occasionally make the story feel a bit thin.The sparse score feels like a missed opportunity for music to enhance certain moments.

All Shall Be Well Angie and Pat have been together for over four decades but after Pat’s unexpected death, Angie finds herself at the mercy of Pat’s family as she struggles to retain her dignity and the home that both had shared for over thirty years.Language Cantonese Run Time 1 hr 33 min Director Ray Yeung Release Date February 16, 2024 Actors Patra Au, Maggie Li Lin Lin

All Shall Be Well will be in select theaters on September 20 in the U.S.

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