Past Lives (2023) — Riley Cross Reviews

The Kind of "Night In" Where You Actually Keep the Movie On After the Credits

Listen, you probably ordered a pizza and huddled up on the couch with your phone in hand until the impulse to watch an actual movie hit you hard. That moment of desperation is the only appropriate way to watch Past Lives. I spent six years working the counter at Blockbuster, and I’ve seen a lot of couples break up over a bad checkout selection, but this? This is about a love that nearly happened and a life you never lived.

This isn't high-octane drama. It’s Celine Song making her debut and tapping into a vein of quiet, electric longing that feels a lot more real than most explosions you'll see this decade. It follows Nora, Hae Sung, and Arthur through the years, navigating that vague, terrible, beautiful concept of "what if." If you want a truly "no drama" night in, this is the one. It’s the kind of movie where you don't need to turn the volume up to drown out noisy neighbors because every whisper feels important.

I watched this with my dog—don't judge—and I remember freezing during the scene where Nora and Hae Sung answer those awkward, specific questions on a game show in the park. The way they look at each other? That heavy, quiet gaze they share between card turns? It tells you everything you need to know about these three people in fifty seconds. It’s heartbreaking and lightweight at the exact same time.

This is best for when you want to curl up with someone you love (even if it's just your cat) and think about fate. It’s a movie that lingers.

Bottom line: A achingly beautiful, perfectly paced romance that is the definition of mastery.