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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Phuong Le

The Way We Talk review – sensitive drama explores deafness via three friends’ infectious warmth

Neo Yau (left), Marco Ng and Chung Suet Ying sitting on rocks beside the sea in The Way We Talk.
Neo Yau (left), Marco Ng and Chung Suet Ying in The Way We Talk. Photograph: Publicity image

An incisive film-maker with a keen eye for contemporary youth culture, Hong Kong director Adam Wong has returned with another sensitive ensemble drama. The film follows three twentysomething friends as they navigate various degrees of deafness. Alan, played by first-time deaf actor Marco Ng, is a cochlear implant (CI) user. He is also an ambassador for the surgery, which can help restore sound perception for those with hearing loss. Wolf (Neo Yau), his childhood friend, is a staunch user and supporter of sign language, which at one point was prohibited in local deaf schools; such institutions prioritised speech training, then believed to work better for hearing-impaired students. Sophie (Chung Suet Ying) is at a crossroads: she is a CI user who cannot sign, but yearns to learn.

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