Living
The script finds parallels in post-war Britain and Japan, where the two nation’s share inclinations for conservatism and bureaucracy, of the kind that stifles spirits and buttons up aspirations. Bill Nighy gives one of the most remarkable performances of his career, as he faces a terminal diagnosis and decides with what it means to live . . . before it’s too late.
Beautifully shot by director Oliver Hermanus, whose considered, gentle filmmaking recalls the films of David Lean or Carol Reed. The film craft on show here is excellent . . . Jamie D. Ramsay’s brilliant cinematography, Sandy Powell’s beautiful costumes, Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch’s fabulous classical score, and Helen Scott’s production design.
This is Nighy’s show . . . he conveys the weight of time and death bearing down on him in minute expressions and stately philosophising. Playing an older and weaker gentleman than his actual age, he’s totally convincing. He perfectly cast as an English gentleman, in his dapper Sandy Powell costume.
This is really something: a gorgeous remake that only enriches the original. This is the role of a lifetime for Bill Nighy.
