Viver

I have a bit of a soft spot for movies set in the grey, emotionally repressed landscape of post-war Britain. I also happen to believe that Kazuo Ishiguro is one of our best living authors and Bill Nighy is always worth the price of admission. So I went into this preview of "Living" with high expectations and emerged happy that they had been met.

In a way this film reminds me of "Brief Encounter" in that the emotional tone is subdued with deep feelings left unsaid and unshared. Nighy's character is a man of the age and he's led a controlled, functional life of duty. It takes a brush with death to break this control and to let his Mr. Williams belatedly catch up on all that has passed him by.

It's a simple tale and yet I cannot deny that several poignant moments bought a tear to my eye. There's laughter too but this is a bittersweet film that leaves enough space for you to reflect on your own life and where you might have squeezed more juice from the journey.

Now I understand that the original film "Ikiru" is even better and I can well believe that with Akira Kurosawa at the helm. However I haven't seen it (yet) and I am more than satisfied by this modern retelling.

Pushed to the very brink of a bureaucratic apocalypse a restrained man, Mr Williams, reaches out to low hanging branches to save himself from obscurity after learning of a terminal illness.

What follows is the emergence of uncharacteristic behaviour of Mr Williams to perhaps enjoy the freshness of life. The film does not plunge into clichés and self pity. It is charming and warm. An elderly man coming to terms of the end of his life. People of a certain age will engage in the meaning as it perhaps communicates a timeless message that we as humans are extremely selfish and fail to understand the society we live in.

I encourage everyone to watch the film, get absorbed in the incredible performances by all the actors and actresses. There are notable cameos but it all comes together in a very emotional way. Bill Nighy is excellent and the supporting cast also.

The film will be remembered and will join the ranks of the classics.

Cinema is a great medium for urgent storytelling because people pay attention. "Living" executes beautifully in creating an environment that is easily understood with a character that isn't over-dramatized to definitively share a message that lies at the heart of this story; purpose. Purpose in relationships, work, passion, and of course, in living life. Bill Nighy is convincingly composed and patient in expressing his emotions in the midst of a life-altering realization that never sways the authenticity of his performance. The score is strong, but not overpowering and the cinematography is simple, yet pleasingly complementary to the set design of 1950s London. In a world where excitement drives entertainment, it's the grounded nature of this story that will drive lasting reflection.

Before watching this, I have often thought of Brief Encounter as the quintessential film on English repression.

I have to add this. And it (openly, honestly) echoes the Lean classic in other ways, including a piano classical piece alongside steam engine imagery in the first act.

And what a lead performance. I've never been blown away by Nighy before. This is incredible. Every crushing moment, every unspoken word, every flinch. I was right there with him.

The closing imagery is beyond beautiful. And stay for the credits, with a beautiful rendition of a song that features in the story (and breaks your heart).

If you ever feel untethered, purposeless, this may mean an awful lot to you. It does to me.

I had no preconceptions or expectations when I went to see this film. I left the cinema feeling deeply moved, alongside a range of emotions including sadness and joy, amidst a sense that I had just been immersed in one of the best cinematic works of art in a very long time. In the jaded world of today's cinema where nothing is really new anymore, and movies peddle the Incredible, with disappointing over the top drama, this film's simplicity was its outstanding and defining feature. Accompanied by a haunting soundtrack, it tells the very human story of a man (Nighy) who has six months left to live and how he chooses to make his mark and get satisfaction from celebrating the ordinary and achieving a modest but much loved and celebrated goal. The performances were outstanding in their subtlety (who knew Nighy had such a beautiful singing voice), and the direction by Hermanus was perfect - designed to tell a simple story and get the best from the actors without being obtrusive or distracting. The setting in 1950s London, portraying a world of grey bureaucracy mirrors today's corporate, health, and social care world's perfectly, with the final message to embrace and accept that which "doesn't quite fit" sending a humorous yet pointed message to us all.

Definitely bring the tissues - but celebrate it too as one of the best films in years.