Transplant
Directed by Jason Park
Written by Joohun Lee and Jason Park
Starring: Bill Camp, Eric Nam, Michelle Lee, April Grace
Unrated
Runtime: 1 hour 33 minutes
Reviewed from Philadelphia Film Festival

by Jonathan Jansen, Staff Writer

Greatness comes at a cost. Not just a financial one. Greatness can cost a person to lose themselves, sacrifice time with friends and family, and of course a monetary cost as well. The constantly evolving part of the pursuit of greatness is coming to terms with whether or not the reward is worth the transaction. The more put into achieving things the more there is to question. When does the pursuit go too far?

Transplant examines these costs through Jonah Yoon (Eric Nam), a surgical resident that is aiming to be a heart transplant surgeon. To do so, Yoon forces his way into being paired with a legendary surgeon, Dr. Edward Harmon (Bill Camp). Dr. Harmon is the heartbeat of the film's challenges. The longtime surgeon is cruel and demeaning of the residents that work with him. He is demanding and quick to kick out anyone from the operating room if they do not follow his every order and does so in a black comedy tone. Yoon is simultaneously appalled by Dr. Harmon’s methods and drawn in by how great this respected surgeon is. There is no doubt that Dr. Harmon is the one with all the power, power that Yoon wants for himself. Yoon faces a moral dilemma as he examines Dr. Harmon. Is that the kind of person he is willing to become?

Yoon is open about his goals. He wants to be the best heart transplant surgeon and is aggressively trying to do so. Along the way, Yoon constantly faces internal and external questions that challenge him to push through extreme lengths. He is at the mercy of a pager that alerts him to when Dr. Harmon needs him. No matter what it is Yoon is doing he has to drop everything once that pager goes off. At first it is small things he is taken away from, but steadily grows to him losing more and more time for himself and his aging mother.

Minah Yoon (Michelle Lee), Jonah’s mother, has a condition that is slowly deteriorating her body and quality of life. The more she deteriorates, the more her son is needed to help. During this she is also working to continue to pay her bills, while Jonah hopes to eventually financially support his mother, he can’t because of the costs of being a resident. His work constantly removes him from his mother’s life and is challenged to find balance in making both work.

The intensity of Dr. Harmon’s mentorship, surgery itself, and dealing with life is thrilling to see on screen. It plays out like a hospital thriller and drama where it’s hard to figure just how Jonah is going to make it all work. What extremes is he willing to go to? What kind of person is he going to become? While Yoon eventually finds his answers the film leaves it open to interpretation, letting the audience decide for themselves what they would have done.

Transplant’s surgical portrayal of what it means to achieve great things is brilliantly taken to the operating room. Jonah Yoon’s internal interrogations about what he is willing to do to become a top heart transplant surgeon and moral dilemmas that come with it make for a heart pounding thriller. While Yoon eventually finds his resolution, the audience is left to determine their interpretation of it by how they judge Yoon’s actions. Was the cost of becoming great worth the price of admission?