Movie Review: Living

 Movie Number 13 of 2023

The Movie: Living

The Cinema: Village Cinemas Rivoli, Camberwell

Stars: 4

I was going to like this film. Of course, I was. It's English. The screenplay was written by Kazuo Ishiguro, one of my most favourite writers. And it's set in the years after World War II. And it stars Bill Nighy, who is up for an Oscar for this film. 

Of course, I was going to like it. 

And it's a film in which nothing blows up, there's no profanities, no nudity or violence. Who knew?

It's just beautiful. 

 Rodney Williams (Bill Nighy) is a senior clerk for the London City Council in the public works department. He rules the roost in a manner so sedate, you wonder if he isn't half dead already. His team are afraid of him as much as they find him and enigma. In some ways, he gives off the vibes of Bartleby the Scrivener. (Those in the know, know - needless to say, you half expect him to say, "I would prefer not to...').

Mr. Williams, a widow, lives at home with his adult son and his narky wife who I wanted to clobber. 

Also, early in the film, Mr. Williams is told he doesn't have long to live. So, he decides to get on with the gentle art of living. 

This is a very subtle film, beautifully so. We watch as Mr. Williams tries to find some joy in his life. He takes under his wing one of his colleagues, Miss Harris (Aimee Lou Harris, and yes, you can really drive a bus between the gap in her teeth). She starts to prod him out of his shell. It is only after his death you get to see the good he did, in a very small way, for the community and those around him. 

The film is also a stinging indictment on petty bureaucrats, and what people can do if they get out of people's way. 

This is up for two Oscars. Bill Nighy rightly deserves the nomination for Best Actor. He won't get the gong, but this is a beautiful, subtle, yet powerful performance which is very warranted. The other nomination is one for Best Adapted Screenplay, with Kazuo Ishiguro penning the work from Kurasawa's Film. 

The photography and cinematography are also wonderful, showing a depressed London in the early 1950s. There's a great mix of old graphics seamlessly mixing with the new. It captures the times perfectly. 

Oliver Hermanus's direction is also spot on. 

But this is Bill Nighy's movie. He's wonderful in this. Hunt it out if you are looking for something gentle - it's playing at the local art house cinemas. 

Oh, and if you do go see it, take tissues. 

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