VENICE 2020: The Best is Yet to Come
VENICE 2002Jing Wang's The Best is Yet to Come, while a commendable Spotlight-esque feature, is a slow-burning and diluted venture that fails to be both enticing and engaging for its viewer.
The films central theme, of many, is an eye-opening account of the merits of reporting. Set before the digital age of Facebook, The Best is Yet to Come showcases a tale of accountability and honesty in its exploration of what it deems both ethical and morally correct.
These are themes that are presented in a gratifying and commendable manner. However, the film is sadly not in any way engaging or layered enough to remotely justify the two-hour-long running time. Narratively speaking, The Best is Yet to Come falls flat in its conviction. Not only is the plot uninteresting but, with no antagonist involved, it becomes a brewing pot of self-absorbance. Granted, the film does touch upon quite a poignant theme of social and political negligence regarding healthcare. It is, perhaps, the film's saving grace but, again, is written in such a flat and uninspiring manner, before long it becomes tedious and a drag.
By far and beyond any other attribute the film boasts are the performances. Bai Ke and Zhang Songwen, in particular, craft intricately formulated and profound performances, and both are two sides of the same coin. Ke takes the central reins as a character motivated through a conscience of honesty and dedication of the truth. To combat Ke's Han Dong, Songwen's character forges a combative and overarching nature of a need to publish at all costs, against moral values and emotional connection to the material.
A fascinating and morally engrossing element in which the feature details is the combative nature and balance between doing what is right but at what cost regarding a financial element vs having a career, offering a whole host of depth.Yet again, the feature does little to unravel this element to a degree that is remotely inspiring or at all interesting, a factor that, before long, becomes deja-vu when watching The Best is Yet to Come.
