Still Life

For me this was a film of two halves. The first half is setting the mood and pace. The music is lilting and swirls around the slow, deliberate focus on the lead charactor. This film is about attention to detail and compassion. What we are reminded of is how what may seem pointless or insignificant can be the a life's work for others. We are reminded of loneliness and contemplation. Our own families, connections and purpose. We follow John May in his journey, and we feel his heart.

About halfway through the emotion starts to build. The whimsical desperation of uncovering truth and trying to reach broken hearts and broken families. The stories that lie behind every person. The layers of charactor and how they present, to some a scoundrel to others a saint.

Finally, as the end of the movie approached, I cried.

Actually, I sobbed.

What was initially just something in my eye turned into streams of tears.

Although it could've stomped on my heart less, I loved the attention to detail, the acting and the cinematography. This film is one to remember for many reasons.

A tour-de-force by Eddie Marsan, in the quietest possible way. This is a poignant, thoughtful look at a man out of step with the modern world, who still holds to the (outdated) values of treating others with dignity and respect, in their last journey. He plays a British civil servant whose job is to organise funerals for those who have died alone, and locate their friends/relatives to advise them of their bereavement. After 22 years, he still pursues each new case with understated vigour, diligently seeking out anyone who may have had a connection to the deceased, but often being the sole attendant at the funeral.

It is a beautifully filmed slice-of-life on the themes of loneliness, loss and the disconnection of human beings in modern urban life. Marsan's performance is very authentic and affecting, and one is drawn in by his compassion and humanity. But then his Council decides it is inefficient - as a cost-cutting measure, you understand - to maintain his job, as "once they're dead, they don't care"... Marsan, battling till his final day in the face of bureaucratic indifference, finds some genuine connections and a ray of hope appears on his horizon...

This movie had lots of small moments of humour - a scene with two homeless men, and another with a Corrections officer are subtly amusing. But mostly, it is a thought-provoking homage to our humanity, and a reminder that social contacts with those we care for, are often the most positive, important and joyous moments of our lives. The movie sneaks up on you, and reaches into your soul, and I will remember it for a long time.

Absolutely brilliant little film that holds on to the small things in life in every aspect with superb subdued acting, colours and sound. Almost as a mime John May shows his compassion with his fellow human begins, no matter who they are, or rather were. There are several superb surprises along the way, among them fascinating encounters with relations to the deceased. For me as a Dutch Anglofile it is wonderful to see and recognize so many aspects of British life, London, brickwork, the sea, fish & chip shops, trains and many more. Just for that it is a joy to watch. For me it has an impact that couldn't be greater thanks to so many little gems. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

This is a great film, absorbing from start to finish. The lead actor Eddie Marsan (playing John May) is outstanding.

Let me first say that this is not a comedy. It has a dark theme, loneliness and death. May works for the council and his delightful job is to track down relatives of people who have died alone. Sometimes though these people die alone for a good reason and so May is often the sole attendee at the funeral. May is so compassionate that he tries to replace the missing family and friends by writing obituaries based on what he finds at the deceased 's residence. It's really touching and sincere. May himself is also a bit of a loner. The scenes of how people live and the way they talk about each other is beautifully done and so English - fish and chip shops, the pub, the banter with old colleagues of victims. Marsan is just superb. The other characters are minor compared to him but still make excellent contributions (Jumbo makes a few serious comments about war, Mary in the chip shop helps us see a better side of a tough guy, the same guy's daughter gives us another view again). I really like the way the story develops and found the ending very satisfying and fitting. Go see it.

Inherent in the very title of the film Still Life lies its biggest challenge – how to convey a sense of stillness in a medium that by its very name is supposed to, yes, move. And yet, Uberto Pasolini, who wrote and directed Still Life, rivals the Flemish masters of old. What a triumph. What layers of plot intertwined with those images to tell the story of a man who will break your heart a thousand times in each still life moment he creates in his very, very, very deliberate life. I am grateful to have seen this movie.

I named some of the still life images that were seared in my mind. Man in Kitchen with Plate on Drainboard. Man at Bus Stop… Alone. Safe Office Prison. Happy Death. Train Ride with Meat Pie. They go on and on. Two Drunks on Steps. Each and every scene is a moving still life that speaks to a life of safe deliberation that turns to moving outside the net of safety, that is punishable by death. We all know the dangers of leaving safe plodding behind. Those moments outside the box of life's monotony will be worth it in the end – and they were.

The acting is perfection. I'm sure even Lucian Freud would want to paint the actors Pasolini gathered for this film. How can we thank Eddie Marsan for bringing Mr. May to life with such dignity, charm and humor? Does he utter more than fifty words in the entire film? I don't think so, and yet, I heard his voice through the entire showing. And, Joanne Froggatt, (yes, from Downton Abbey), gifts us with a portrayal of Kelly Stoke that is the perfect answer to Marsan's May.

I have to confess when I went to the film I didn't realize that Pasolini was the producer of The Full Monty, The Emperor's New Clothes, and The Closer You Get. Producer? No way. Stick with writing and directing, sir. You are surely one of the best in the business.

Death will come to us all. It is our hope that we never die alone, with no one to celebrate our lives afterward. In fact, few of us think about those that do die without anyone to put them to rest. Still Life will change a lot of things for you if you can take it in as if it were a museum tour of a great exhibit. I think it's a 'see it more than once' film for sure. And yes, forgive the pun, it is an incredibly moving experience.

This might be The Hampton Film Festival's best sleeper this year. Congratulations. Oh, and thank you.