Never Forever

This article is about the Korean film. For the Kate Bush album, see Never for Ever.
Never Forever
Hangul 두번째 사랑
Directed by Gina Kim
Produced by Lee Chang-dong
Lee Joon-dong
Andrew Fierberg
Written by Gina Kim
Starring Vera Farmiga
Ha Jung-woo
David McInnis
Music by Michael Nyman
Cinematography Pete Beaudreau
Edited by Matthew Clark
Distributed by Prime Entertainment
Arts Alliance
Release dates
  • 18 January 2007 (Sundance)
  • 21 June 2007 (South Korea)
  • 11 April 2008 (USA)
Running time
 104 minutes
Country South Korea
United States
Language English
Korean
Budget $3.5 million[1]
Box office $687,229[2]

Never Forever is a 2007 South Korean-American romantic drama film written and directed by Gina Kim. The film was critically acclaimed when it was first screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival,[3][4] and won the Jury Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival.[5][6][7] The Korean title 두번째 사랑 translates to Second Love.

Plot

Sophie Lee (Vera Farmiga), an upper class Caucasian woman living in New York, is unable to conceive a child with her Korean-American husband Andrew (David McInnis), who is sterile. After her husband attempts suicide, she contacts a young illegal immigrant from Korea, Jihah (Ha Jung-woo), to pay him to have sex with her, so that she might get pregnant and save her marriage.

Cast

Reception

Box office

In the United States, the film made $14,485 domestically. It went on to make a further $672,744 in foreign markets, for a total worldwide gross of $687,229.[2]

Critical response

The film received mostly positive reviews from film critics. Never Forever currently holds an 80% "fresh" rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 20 reviews.[8] G. Allen Johnson of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote of Farmiga's performance in the film: "Vera Farmiga is the best American actress you've never heard of."[9] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Farmiga elevates the material of this melodramatic soaper into something nearly profound."[10]

Gary Goldstein of The Los Angeles Times wrote: "If Adrian Lyne directed a racy Lifetime movie, then asked Danielle Steel what to call it, you'd pretty much have Never Forever, a sudsy chamber piece that's engrossing despite its many plot holes and contrivances. The film's chief calling card is star Vera Farmiga. Her Sophie Lee is a buttoned-up suburban housewife whose inability to conceive with her sterile, Korean-American lawyer husband, Andrew (David McInnis), drives her to commit a daring act of self-sacrifice. It's a quietly effective portrayal that uniquely balances restraint and abandon – often at the same moment."[11] Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote: "A fearless performance by Vera Farmiga, and glowing cinematography that explores the subtly shifting body language of strangers who are having sex but avoiding intimacy, partly camouflage the awkward storytelling of Gina Kim's marital melodrama Never Forever... But while Never Forever lingers in the thick of sex, lies and anxiety, it is something to see."[12]

Accolades

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2007 Deauville Film Festival Jury Special Prize Gina Kim Won
Grand Special Prize Nominated
Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "Never Forever (2007) - Box Office / Business". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Never Forever (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Gina Kim, Never Forever". The Reeler. 18 January 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  4. ↑ Holden, Stephen (11 April 2008). "If You Embrace the Body, the Heart Might Follow". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  5. ↑ Nesselson, Lisa (9 September 2007). "Deauville prizes 'Dead Girl'". Variety. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  6. ↑ Tartaglione-Vialatte, Nancy (9 September 2007). "Moncrieff's The Dead Girl takes Deauville Grand Prize". Screen International. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  7. ↑ Paquet, Darcy (14 September 2007). "Never Forever wins Jury Prize at Deauville". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "Never Forever". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  9. ↑ Johnson, G. Allen (12 April 2008). "Review: 'Never Forever' a thoughtful drama". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Film Review: Never Forever". The Hollywood Reporter. 18 April 2008.
  11. ↑ "A woman's sacrifice". The Los Angeles Times. 20 June 2008.
  12. ↑ "Never Forever (2007)". The New York Times. 11 April 2008.

External links