Swan Song

Released Aug 6, 2021

1 hr. 45 min.

Drama

LGBTQ+

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List

92%

104 Reviews

Tomatometer

77%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Legendary actor Udo Kier stars as retired hairdresser Pat Pitsenbarger, who escapes the confines of his small-town Sandusky, Ohio nursing home after learning of his former client's dying wish for him to style her final hairdo. Soon, Pat embarks on an odyssey to confront the ghosts of his past -- and collect the beauty supplies necessary for the job. SWAN SONG is a comical and bittersweet journey about rediscovering one's sparkle, and looking gorgeous while doing so.

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Premiered Mar 02

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Critics Consensus

Udo Kier's layered performance lends Swan Song a nuance and poignancy that offset its potentially outlandish story.

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Danny G

Brilliant and highly underrated!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/22/24

Full Review

Norma T

This film is a MUST SEE item that is both hilarious as well as inspirational. A much loved hair dresser goes out with a "bang" after making a glorious final statement....

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/07/24

Full Review

Alec B

The movie vacillates between overly sentimental and genuinely moving. Udo Kier is delightful here and most of the really moving stuff is the result of his performance.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/24

Full Review

Deborah S

Off-beat, quirky, incredible acting by Uno Kier. A great lesson in staying true to yourself regardless of your age. With the smallest gesture or expression, Kier conveys what he was like in his younger years. I absolutely loved this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/10/24

Full Review

Daniel O

Good movie to watch once.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/22/23

Full Review

Shock Therapy R

This is a beautiful (true) story. Mr. Pat's craft was a joy to observe, and his observations (forward and in reverse) a joy to behold. The highs and the lows of a person, a place, and a phenomenon were brilliantly depicted and easily engaged. The homecoming journey was compelling and in perfect time and rhythm, as if his reflections and discoveries belonged to the viewer. By its crescendo, my heart was bursting with love for the real-life purveyor of same. And at the last call, the profound sadness and awareness of a visceral loss of genuine light.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

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Todd Stephens

Director

Udo Kier

Pat Pitsenbarger

Jennifer Coolidge

Dee Dee Dale

Linda Evans

Rita Parker Sloan

Michael Urie

Dustin

Ira Hawkins

Eunice

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Swan Song: Trailer 1

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Mark Kermode

Kermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)

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

Full Review

Tara Brady

Irish Times

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.

Rated: 5/5

Jul 16, 2022

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

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.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 12, 2022

Full Review

Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

Just a beautiful film.

Feb 12, 2024

Full Review

Zoë Rose Bryant

Loud and Clear Reviews

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.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 1, 2022

Full Review

Jennie Kermode

Eye for Film

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.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 31, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

Legendary actor Udo Kier stars as retired hairdresser Pat Pitsenbarger, who escapes the confines of his small-town Sandusky, Ohio nursing home after learning of his former client's dying wish for him to style her final hairdo. Soon, Pat embarks on an odyssey to confront the ghosts of his past -- and collect the beauty supplies necessary for the job. SWAN SONG is a comical and bittersweet journey about rediscovering one's sparkle, and looking gorgeous while doing so.

Director: Todd Stephens
Executive Producer: Jay Michael Fraley, Drew Sklar, Rhet Topham
Screenwriter: Todd Stephens
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: House of Gemini, Doco Digital, Luna Pictures
Genre: Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 6, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 13, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA): $125.0K
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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