A One Mann’s Movies review of “Living” (2022).
I had the joy of meeting Bill Nighy briefly in a London theatre and he is the epitomy of the English gentleman: calm, utterly polite and without displaying the slightest irritation for the many fans glad-handing him during his night out. In his manner, he seems like an actor from an earlier, more civilised age. And in “Living” he gets to play just that kind of gentleman – and absolutely hits it out of the park.
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
It’s the mid 1950s and Mr Williams (Bill Nighy) is a man of tradition and conformity. He goes to his job as head of Public Works at London’s County Hall every day, bowler-hatted at the same time and in the same manner. He gets the nickname “Mr Zombie” from the young underling in his office, Margaret Harris (Aimee Lou Wood) since he appears “dead but not dead”. But when Williams gets some devastating personal news, he is forced to urgently reassess his life.
Certification:
UK: 12; US: PG-13. (For “moderate sex references”, although these completely passed me by!! From the BBFC website they seem to refer to a very innocuous striptease scene (with no significant nudity) and the use of the word “smutty”. I think this should count as “minor sex references” and have been considered for a PG. Man, I’d love to work at the BBFC!).
Talent:
Starring: Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Tom Burke, Alex Sharp, Adrian Rawlins, Hubert Burton, Oliver Chris, Michael Cochrane.
Directed by: Oliver Hermanus.
Written by: Kazuo Ishiguro (based on the screenplay of “Ikiru” by Akira Kurosawa).
Twitter Handle: #LivingMovie.
“Living” Review:
Positives:
- Let’s start with Bill Nighy’s performance, which is MAGNIFICENT! Let’s face it, his acting range in many films is in playing “Bill Nighy” really well! And he does the same here. But as Mr Williams he is just PERFECTLY cast as the fastidious English gentleman, and (unusually) he has the latitude in the script to really express a wide range of different emotions. It moved me. It delighted me. Bravo sir!
- Also impressive is the “Sex Education” alumnus Aimee Lou Wood, who is just delightful as the fun-loving young person that Williams latches onto like a life jacket. Wood is young lady, I believe, with a great acting future and she gets an official One Mann’s Movies “one to watch” badge.
- The film has a great sense of place. You are pitched straight into the 50’s timeframe through the 4:3 screen format and the old-school opening titles. But then when you arrive in the County Hall office, the production design hits you as being just superb. And the mood of the era feels just perfect: the UK was caught in a sort of twilight zone between the old-time, “stiff upper lip” values of the pre-war era and the louche times of the “Swinging Sixties” that were just around the corner. And this is reflected beautifully in the good manners reflected by the “gentlemen”; the respect for the law (“Good evening officer”); the stilted ‘not wanting to offend’ dialogue and the uncomfortable silences. The latter is especially felt in a squirm-inducing dinner table scene in the Williams home.
- The script is not as “linear” as you would expect for a film of this type. The ‘bohemian’ segment, at an unnamed seaside town and featuring the wonderful Tom Burke (TV’s “Strike”), is wonderfully loose and free-wheeling in its delivery. And there’s a gut-punch of a cut in the second reel that you don’t expect. There are also some wonderfully crafted bits of dialogue. As per the title of this review, I loved the analogy Williams made to being the kid who – unlike the lively football-playing kids – sits quietly in a corner of the street – “not happy, but not unhappy” waiting for his mother to call him in. And what is the clever final shot? A mother calling her excitable kids in from the playground.
- The music by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, who also scored the wonderful “Censor“, is marvellously fitting to the mood of the film.
Negatives
- This was NOT a negative for me, but I suspect some younger audiences will consider the pace of the film too slow for their liking and find the movie – in the words of the man himself – “a bit of a bore”.
Summary Thoughts on “Living:
This has been a year of some outstanding British films: “The Duke“, “Phantom of the Open“, “The Lost King“, “Emily“, “Mrs Harris Goes to Paris” – the list goes on and on. And I don’t think I’ve gone below 4 stars for any of them. And “Living” is the next in that sequence and didn’t in the least disappoint. I think this might be the year where my Top 10 movies are more stuffed with UK-themed films than ever before.
From our afternoon showing, in a smaller, but almost fully packed, screen, this seems to be getting a lot of attention from the “silver haired” brigade. And it deserves that success. Life is for living.
Trailer for “Living”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2L8CP31-14 .
