The Last Conception (2020), directed by Gabriela Ledesma and based off of the novel of the same title by Gabriel Constans, follows the journey of Savarna, a lesbian Indian-American woman, as she tries to navigate her romantic relationship with graduate student Charley while her family pressures her for the sake of continuing the family bloodline.
Nazanin Mandi and Callie Schuttera have fantastic chemistry as Savarna and Charley which is perhaps trumped only by the hilarious, realistic, and heartfelt friendship between Savarna and her co-worker Jackson, played by Matt Richards. Savarna’s family, played by Marshall Manesh (Davidia, father), Veena Bidasha (Mira, mother), Lovlee Carroll (Chitra, sister), Kanti Chowdhury (Jitana-Ji, grandmother), and Josh George (Mike, brother-in-law), are comedy gold when brought together on screen. Each actor brings a fantastic performance to the film that will have you convinced of their characters’ sincerity all while laughing at almost every turn.
It bears saying that Mandi absolutely shines in this film. Her dedication to the more serious parts of the role balances out the strong comedic scenes perfectly.
From a technical standpoint, this film is nearly flawless. The cinematography is not distracting in the quieter moments of the film but also does offer stunning wide shots and reverent closeups when scenes transition to more dramatic or emotional moments such as the wedding and when Savarna first enters the Korean Buddhist Temple. I personally feel that, unless the vision of the film demands it, the best cinematography, editing, and directoral choices are those that go unnoticed by the average viewer. Achieving that shows that the crew has a deep understanding and skill for capturing the story on screen in the most seamless way. Ledesma and her crew achieve that level of skill here.
My only reservation is that there are a couple of moments where the audio is difficult to understand or is not exactly in sync, as it is assumedly dubbed over. These moments, however, come when the actors are beside crowded city streets. As any filmmaker will tell you, planes, cars, and wind will kill audio quality and, when you’re on a budget and schedule, it’s completely understandable that sometimes things may slip by. Even some of the most popular films in recent years have had issues with audio quality (I’m thinking, specifically, of the hot tub scene in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before which has some lines that are almost entirely unintelligible). In The Last Conception, none of these moments detract from the story or the film and I’m probably just nitpicking.
I will admit that I have not read the novel upon which this film is based. However, a glance at the Amazon listing for the novel reveals that there were at least a few creative liberties taken. The blurb for the novel reads:
“Passionate embryologist, Savarna, is in a complicated relationship, with two different women, when she is told that she Must have a baby. Her conservative East Indian American parents are desperate for her to conceive, in spite of her ‘not being married’. They insist that she is the last in line of a great spiritual lineage. In the process of choosing her lover and having doubts about her ability, or desire to conceive, Savarna begins to question the necessity of biology and lineage within her parents’ beliefs and becomes forever fascinated with the process of conception and the definition of family.”
The screenplay for the 2020 adaptation was written by the novel’s author, Gabriel Constans, who has to his name several other screenwriting credits; as such, I can only hope that any divergence from the novel was done in a way that stays true to the story’s core. As I enjoyed the film greatly, I fully intend on purchasing the novel and finding out.
The Last Conception can be viewed for free with advertisements on Amazon Prime.
For Page & Screen 