Living (2022)
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Living Movie Review
Living is a 2022 British drama film directed by Oliver Hermanus and starring Bill Nighy. It’s one of the better remakes out there.
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“I don’t have time to get angry“
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In 1950s London, a humorless civil servant decides to take time off work to experience life after receiving a grim diagnosis. This movie is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s iconic masterpiece ‘Ikiru’. First things first, I am not opposed to doing a remake of this movie, but I find it frustrating that the filmmakers did not opt to take the story from the fifties to the modern era. Imagine the time when not only people are working just as much or maybe even more than they were back in the fifties, but we are all now living zombies with distraction devices in our pockets. It was a giant missed opportunity to not depict all of that.
With that being said, this is still a very good remake that does become a bit preachy and on-the-nose in its third act, but up until that point it was subtler and definitely not emotionally manipulative, which this type of story can easily turn into in less capable hands. But Oliver Hermanus is an excellent director and here he delivered with another well directed, sumptuous and sweet movie that really tugs at your heartstrings.
Bill Nighy is a treasure when it comes to British actors, but this is a man who never really got a big central role in a great drama that fully made use of his acting abilities. But finally in the last stretch of his life Nighy got that opportunity to shine, which is exactly what he did in Living. His Mr. Williams is such an endearing man and Nighy excelled at depicting all of his emotions and personality changes without ever going overboard with it. The characterization and acting were both quite low-key and subdued, which was crucial to make him click.
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Aimee Lou Wood also needs more praise for her wonderful turn as Miss Harris, an immensely likable and charming colleague of his. She is from ‘Sex Education’ and she’s so talented that hopefully she’ll get more great roles in the future. The friendship that develops between the two characters is genuinely impactful and just the heart of the film.
Living also is technically outstanding with the production design, costumes and cinematography all deftly evoking the fifties in their full glory. The flashback structure toward the end actually worked despite all odds, but the problem with that ending was that it succumbed to preachiness with too many characters professing their feelings and learned messages to each other in an unrealistic manner.
The swing scene was recreated well, though, and the movie’s leisurely pace and calm demeanor worked well in this instance as it fitted the protagonist and the overall story at hand. The movie’s heart remains firmly in the right place and the message rings true even more today than before, so ultimately it did its job reminding us of the utmost importance to live and appreciate life in all its facets.
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Living is one of the better remakes out there as Oliver Hermanus directed the movie so well and the original Kurosawa story was well adapted with some interesting new additions and a terrific cast. Bill Nighy has never been better than he was in this career-best performance of his. The production design, costumes and cinematography evoked the fifties deftly while the movie’s heart was always in the right place. Its subtlety in characterization and dialogue is also highly appreciated. The only problem here is that it was a huge missed opportunity to not move the story to the modern era as its message is even more relevant in this age of stressful jobs and countless distractions at every turn. Most filmmakers constantly refusing to deal with the problems of the modern era is one of my pet peeves right now.
My Rating – 4
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