Une belle fin

This is a movie that centers on loneliness and living a passive, uneventful life. The setting of the story is a bit unusual but simple, so what makes the movie interesting is the exaggerated sensibility of the main character. The main character is so compassionate and pitiful at the same time that viewers can't help caring about him and wanting to know what happens to him. The acting from all cast is convincing, the main actor especially did a superb job. The movie is slow paced but the mood is so nicely built that I didn't feel bored, on the contrary, I was amazed by the small details and the directors' sensitivity. There are many beautiful still shots of very ordinary things throughout the movie, like the title of the movie suggests. Some scenes are so pathetically real that they become funny. It is overall a good movie and it makes you want to do something about all the loneliness there is in the world.

If I had to pick the most underrated actor in the whole of the movie business I would go for Eddie Marsan . A prolific actor who everyone has seen in one film or another and who never gives a bad performance and Still Life is the perfect example.

In this , Eddie plays a employee who dedicates his life to tracking down the next-of-kin and arranging funerals for his community's unclaimed dead.

It's a performance that is understated yet brilliant . You totally believe this man , who seems a little bit OCD and loves his job , that he will do what he can for these dead people and their families even though his own life outside of work is pretty non existent.

It's a very British film but I have no doubt it will appeal to any audience. It's obviously sad at times but it's also uplifting and thought provoking.

It's the best film I've seen in quite a while and I highly recommended it.

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!

A great movie about discipline, responsibility and the importance of performing at your best whatever task you have to carry out. An important message in times of complain, protest and nihilism. The director powerfully uses images more and better than the dialogue. In this respect, he stands aside the great masters of the past (one name: Alfred Hitchcock, quite explicitly quoted in the movie) and won't fail to please all the true movie lovers. All actors are great, but it is the compassionate eye of the director that wins the scene. The soundtrack is also adding to the atmosphere and does its job remarkably well. Should I add that I truly enjoyed this little masterpiece?

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.