Leaving

This was a little gem which I found late at night. The story centres around a middle age wife and mother of two having an affair with a young college man. The acting was high class apart from the spurned husband, who I thought did not really get decent time to develop his back story. I thought there was a missed opportunity to go deeper into why the marriage was failing. The time was spent on the relationship between the woman and young man. His parents had issues which were not fully developed and would have made a good secondary story. So it could have been better but the main actors were first class and portrayed their roles very well. It moved quite quickly after the initial affair has started, it did start slow.

Brilliantly acted, often tense and heartbreaking, this is an outstanding drama. The late Helen McCrory gives an unforgettable performance as a married woman aged 44 falling in love with a man nearly 20 years younger. She conveys emotion subtly but unmistakably in several scenes which can only be described as electrifying. Callum Turner's acting is convincing as her lover who comes to understand what she has at stake in their relationship. Resolving what will become of their love for each other is worked through very realistically by the plot and leaves the viewer driven to watch until the end. Helen's early death is a great loss to the acting profession.