An elderly man comes out of retirement for one last job in Todd Stephens’ Swan Song, a moving, melancholic rumination on memories and past ghosts.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 3, 2024

Just a beautiful film.

| Feb 12, 2024

I was rather charmed by it. No, it doesn't change the world, no it doesn't do anything that's groundbreaking other than give Udo Kier the chance to show just how broad and sympathetic his range can be.

| Jan 18, 2024

Swan Song’s story may be simple, but Udo Kier’s colorful and charismatic character work makes this eccentric escapade worth a watch, along with its touching, life-affirming themes.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 1, 2022

Swan Song is, like many such airs, a little too slow and indulgent for its own good, sometimes meandering and losing its way, but Kier’s magnetic performance, which won him Best Actor Awards in Dublin and Monte Carlo, holds it all together.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 31, 2022

…you don’t have to be gay to like it, you just have to be in touch with your fabulous side….

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 31, 2022

It is a fleeting experience, one that is primarily bolstered by a committed central performance from Kier and not much else to remember.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Aug 17, 2022

Revelations are explored with heart and honesty, and Todd Stephens' tonal balance of whimsy and wistfulness finds magic in the everyday

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 21, 2022

Inspired by a real-life Sandusky, Ohio legend, writer-director Todd Stephens crafts an impeccable odyssey that ponders love, loss, and attitudinal changes. “I wouldn’t even know how to be gay any more,” Pat tells Eunice, almost despairingly.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 16, 2022

A simple, at times kitsch, finish to the whole thing belies a tale that effortlessly traverses humour, charm, sadness, and triumph.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 23, 2022

Swan Song may be slight compared to the many complex roles in Keir’s filmography, but such a powerful performance deserves to be seen by as big an audience as possible this Pride Month.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 17, 2022

An affectionate tribute to gay hairdresser Pat Pitsenbarger... a life-affirming trip down memory lane.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 16, 2022

It may seem strange when discussing such a flamboyant character, but Kier brings genuine authority to Pat, making us believe in the courage of this man living his life the way he did, when he did, and where he did. Pat owned it, and so does Udo Kier.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 16, 2022

Even as it meanders, the film is emotionally involving, ultimately finding lovely things to say about a subculture that plays an important role in society.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 15, 2022

Air-punching, feel-good schmaltz, but isn’t that what we all need sometimes? And with a tight narrative, it hits all the right buttons.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 15, 2022

Swan Song shows you how to out with a bang and stay true to yourself.

| Jun 15, 2022

In Swan Song, [Udo Kier] carries off his first starring role magnificently as wry ex-drag queen and Ohio hairdresser Pat Pitsenbarger, though the film itself is rather meandering and has mawkish, saccharine moments.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 13, 2022

Swan Song is worth a watch for the charming and outstanding Kier performance as well as the tender approach to a loving man.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 13, 2022

Stephens’s film is an amiable little story, and Kier is clearly enjoying himself immensely, but this is as wafting and insubstantial as Patrick’s chiffon scarf.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 12, 2022

Kier’s immaculately polished performance tightens the reigns as his expression expertly flits between haunted melancholy and stoic bravado to capture Pat’s regret and potential forgiveness.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 10, 2022