That Good Night

Greetings again from the darkness. Art imitating life is something we've not only grown accustomed to, but also something we expect. In this case it's the bittersweet final performance of the great John Hurt. A terminally ill man taking on the role of a terminally ill man. Director Eric Styles is working from a script by Charles Savage that was adapted from N.J. Crisp's stage production. It's easy to see how this could be a powerful live show, but the stunning home in Portugal where most of the film is set, makes for a pleasant transition to the screen.

John Hurt stars as Ralph Maitland, a self-centered, highly successful screenwriter, who may be an even more proficient curmudgeon. He lives in a beautiful home with his younger wife Anna (Sofia Helin, "The Bridge"), who was once his nurse. Ralph receives the dreaded prognosis at his doctor appointment. Rather than tell his wife, he proceeds with 'getting his affairs in order' and summoning home his estranged son Michael (Max Brown, "The Royals"). Michael was born to Ralph's first wife, and he is also a writer.

Ralph's true colors shine when Michael shows up with his girlfriend Cassie (Erin Richards, "Gotham"). Although Cassie is pretty tough, Ralph devolves from curmudgeon to downright churlish. His rudeness exceeds the bounds of palatable during dinner at a local restaurant, sending Michael and Cassie scampering off before appetizers. Anna is embarrassed by her husband's actions, but he just continues on with his process - a process that includes contacting "The Society", which facilitates Euthanasia.

A man in an impeccable white linen suit appears in the doorway of Ralph's office. He's only referred to as "The Visitor", and his played by Charles Dance, Mr. Hurt's co-star in the underrated 1987 film WHITE MISCHIEF. The conversations between Ralph and The Visitor deliver the best dialogue in the film, and likely the deepest since it forces Ralph to face his mortality and the impact and finality of his decision. It's here where Ralph's "low boredom threshold" is mentioned, and quickly minimized by The Visitor.

The film is a relatively simple look at a complex topic, and it also highlights the importance of reconciling with family members, and discovering a reason to keep living. The weakness here is that we only scratch the surface of Anna and Michael, and even what turned Ralph into the man he is. We get a quick glimpse of Ralph interacting with Ronaldo (Noah Jupe, HONEY BOY, A QUIET PLACE), the housekeeper's son, in a manner that makes us believe he has regrets on his poor parenting during Michael's childhood. Cinematographer Richard Stoddard takes full advantage of the beautiful scenery, as well as the uncomfortable interactions amongst the family.

John Hurt died in 2017, just 3 weeks after filming was complete. He had a remarkable 55 year acting career, including Oscar nominations for his work in MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (1978) and THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980). Of course he will always be remembered for his iconic chestburster moment in ALIEN (1979). He compiled more than 200 acting credits, and some of my other favorite John Hurt characters are found in: 1984 (1984), OWNING MAHONEY (2003), TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (2011), and the voice of rabbit Hazel in WATERSHIP DOWN (1978). Dylan Thomas' 1947 poem plays a key role in this film (and title), and the sentiment also captures the spirit of John Hurt: "Do not go gentle into that good night. Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

Take away the mystique of this being John Hurt's last film and you're not left with anything substantial.

I'm not familiar with the age of the original play but the premise and themes explored such as mortality, parenthood, redemption excetera have become well used in recent years. Even decades.

Despite these heavy subject matters, it all feels rather thin on the ground. John Hurt and Charles Dance are both giants but they've been far better in many other films. Ironically they both appeared in the Alien series but not together. The short scenes they do share together however, are enjoyable.

For a more solid film on these subjects see Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, which is much better written, more subtle, better dialogue and more moving with powerhouse performances by Richard Harris and Robert Duvall. That was made 25 years before this, which is part of the issue. That Good Night feels thematically dated. At least in execution.

I really wanted to like this film far more than I did and despite it's lush photography, setting and music, it all felt a little cliche sadly. The last minute is quite moving but it's not enough to rescue the whole.

The dialogue between Ralph Maitland and The Visitor is the axis of this beautiful , for melancholical air, film. In same measure, the soul of film remains the poem of Dylan Thomas. A film who you feel , as last mark of art of magnificent Sir John Hurt , as exploration, sure, supperficial, of misantropy and regrets , as good perspective about death and reconciliation with the past. An inspired eulogy to life.

That Good Night

John Hurts final performance is one that is so rivetingly powerful and honest that it can only be combined with a film and story that truly match his own personal character. The story follows an aged and self-deprecating screenwriter as he finds out he has a terminal illness. Morbid stuff right? However, this is not a morbid and depressing story instead running off of the idea of A Christmas Carol, presenting a man who discovers life is worth living.

Shot in the exquisite south of Portugal, the director knows to give the story centre stage. No intrusive visual effects or stylistic trifle, instead opting for a wonderful calmly paced tempo and exploring each and every shot in the beautiful sunshine of the location. Each and every shot has meaning and clever editing adds an extra needed layer of filmmaking prowess that accompanies the story wonderfully.

The always fantastic Charles Dance performs a character called The Visitor. He is the metaphorical vision of death in this film. Always presented in white, he questions, not in a argumentative or salesman way, Hurts character on whether or not he should consider euthanasia. Hurt shooting down the idea of counselling and wanting to immediately end his life. Dance instead helps him to understand the consequences of such a decision which is the films important message.

John Hurt is obviously fantastic in his final role suiting the character perfectly as if it had been written just for him at this stage in his life. What he provides for the story the story provides back (something other critics seem to disagree with) and with clever agility the story carefully avoids issues that could potentially tank the plot. This, of course, never happens and i personally think this film is perfect.

The music, the cinematography, the carefully concise editing, the powerful acting and a brilliant plot help to facilitate this beautiful, feel good, tale of the importance of life and death. The most powerful bit being the character's change throughout the feature.

The run time is perfect feeling slow paced but never dragging and the story moving along very well. The ending itself could easily have been badly written and filmed but the screenwriters and director do a perfect job of avoiding obvious cliche and melodramatist.

What strikes me about this film is how, apart from critics, no one has seen it. Likely being a mixture of misunderstanding of the content, bad marketing if not any marketing and a very limited release. At this time only 87 people have rated it on IMDb which is unheard of for a film of this caliber in my opinion.

This is a beautiful, perfect film that must not be missed. To rank it would be unjust but I'd definitely go as high as saying it's at least as good as the 2018 Oscar best picture nominees if not better than some. I think this is a must watch film and would be highly successful with a good release date, proper marketing and word of mouth. This could easily become a classic and I hope it does.

(Reviewed three weeks after viewing, something I think is important for reviewers to put in their reviews)

A really enjoyable watch. John Hurt was brilliant in one of his last if not he's last film