Living, a film based on a previous 1952 film by legendary cinema giant Kurosawa was written by Nobel Prize winning author Ishiguro. A creation of such origin was bound to be special and Living, while not a perfect 10, certainly contains many gorgeous moments.
Realize that gorgeous doesn’t necessarily mean positive evocative emotions, as some (even most) were quite heartbreaking. Let me count the ways (moving intimate junctions) as best I can without spoiling (I use the actors real names rather than the character names):
1. Bill Nighy’s character sitting in the dark as his son and wife discuss him and their longing to move out a.s.a.p.
2. Tom Burke’s sobering facial expression on his night out with Bill after witnessing him in pain.
3. Bill Nighy rehearsing his terminal illness speech to a foyer wall of coats.
4. Bill Nighy’s confession to Aimee Lou Wood.
5. The dinner scene with Bill, Barney Fishwick and Patsy Ferran and the two ‘elephants in the room’.
6. The funeral conversation between Barney Fishwick and Aimee Lou Wood.
7. The policeman and Alex Sharp’s park side conversation.
8. Bill Nighy on the swing.
Eight great scenes is a lot for one film. Bravo to all.
The only item keeping this back from being a total knockout is the clunky beginning where the dialogue is just not loud or punctuated enough. I understand the film maker wanting us to understand this is a buttoned up society, but still, you need a strong beginning presence instead of making us strain to hear what’s happening. A minor detraction given how good the movie is and Tar is officially bumped out of my top 10 because of it.
Living: Many Intimate Moments
