Hope Gap

I think it was the accent (or something) but Annette Bening's vocal scenes were terrible and very off-putting. She reminded me of Maggie Gyllenhaal in that TV series a few years back (The Honourable Woman). The accent was very affected; like an American taught them the way they think an English person speaks. But in Honourable Woman, the accent seems to be more suited to the role. Not in this movie. Overall it was okay, but Annette Bening's accent was hard to overlook.

Bill Nighy is why I watched this. His strong performance was what propelled the film along and kept my interest. His character was the most likeable and somewhat reminisce of his character from 'About Time' - if he had endured an unhappy marriage for 30 years.

'Hope Gap' is not a happy film. I chuckled once or twice at some dark humour, but it was mostly depressive, such as marriage break-ups and domestic disputes are. The depressive tone was rather suffocating at times.

Annette Benning's character of Grace infuriated me. I felt quite sorry for Bill Nighy's Edward and Josh O'Connor's Jamie. I think its testament to Benning's strong performance that she could make me dislike her so much. The characters were all very believable, including hers. I'm sure many will relate to aspects of the film, or know characters like them.

It succeeded in accurately portraying three sides to the marriage break-up. I thought the poem at the end (by the son) was fitting and tied things together well. A well-placed cup of tea unexpectedly made me a little emotional too. The English coastal town was a nice setting to what was often unpleasant watching.

Good performances, well-written, but ultimately loses points for just being too damn bleak.

This is an English movie, set and filmed in the small city of Seaford, on the coast almost directly south of London. Just east of town are some white limestone cliffs and a spot there is called "Hope Gap", thus the title of the movie. It is a place the couple and their young son, now an adult, would often go, being a short walk up a hill from town.

Annette Bening, using the best British accent she can muster, is Grace and always reliable Bill Nighy is her husband of 29 years, Edward. He is quiet and non-confrontational, she is just the opposite and can easily be overbearing. Now an issue that has been building for some time, over a year, is coming to a head.

This is a good movie, perhaps my wife and I appreciate it more because we are of ages similar to theirs, and we have been married 28 1/2 years. You get into a routine, you know what each other likes and what each other's habits are. You don't really discuss "how is the relationship going?"

It isn't really amplified in the story but they mention that the two met 30 years earlier when he got onto the wrong train, often two single people will take that as an omen, "Fate brought us together." But that kind of thinking is dangerous and no substitute for getting to know someone really well before you decide that will be your partner for life. It looks like Grace and Edward would have each been happier if they had never met. Then pity the poor son who would never have existed!

We watched this at home on DVD from our public library.

Two great actors in Annette Bening and Bill Nighy take us through the breakdown of a marriage. Not wonderful subject matter and some may argue that there may be better ways to wile away an hour and a half, but it is portrayed very well. I love Bill Nighy in everything, and even though I don't necessarily like his character here, he does it with aplomb.

Having been married for about the same time as the couple portrayed here it was interesting to see what both had done wrong, or could have done better to preserve their marriage. Some reviewers have blamed the wife but I think that's unfair. Perhaps my one reservation is that there was a subtle message running through it that if the husband, his lover and the son could move on and be happy, then so should the wife. That's a bit harsh as I'm sure many jilted wives would attest.

Feel sorry for the writer and director who evidently based this on his own parent's breakup. Interestingly, writing this now as the pandemic wreaks havoc around the world it is interesting to see that marriages are another victim of the virus. Too many couples having grown apart, and then forced to be together, have found the situation unbearable. How sad.

Hope Gap

The title put me off viewing this but when I finally did this was very good.

A tight script with even tighter acting, the great revelation being the total lack of insight Grace, played by Annette Benning, showed in her understanding of her behaviour to others. I am even unclear even at the end of the movie that she had made any progress on this point and this was where her personal redemption lay. I am glad she got what she deserved when the worm turned!

With that said it had great insight into the human condition and I really enjoyed the whole thing.

I'm giving this a hard 7 for the nuance of delivery by Benning it was an acting masterclass.