In 1950s' London, senior local government officer Mr Williams discovers he is terminally ill and, for the first time in his career, takes a day off sick - an absence that stretches into several weeks. He gets drunk at the seaside, gets addicted to 'claw' arcade games and spends platonic time with a young woman, before returning to work to ensure a children's playground is built.
Williams is played by Bill Nighy, whose previous performances I have found either very enjoyable, or very annoying. Sadly, the latter applies here: his cadaverous looks certainly fit the role, but he delivers his lines in a distracting, husky voice and makes Williams so self-effacing the viewer wonders if he has not already died - a drawback for a film which, for all the story it contains, still manages to give the impression there is not a lot actually in it. (A pointless early sequence in which one of Williams' subordinates tries to navigate the office heirarchy seems tacked on merely to provide some action.)
I do not mind a film in which nothing much happens, but I found most of this film quite dull (tear-jerking, saccharine-laden finish notwithstanding). Williams is given six months to live, and sadly the film seems to drag on for a similar amount of time.
Williams is played by Bill Nighy, whose previous performances I have found either very enjoyable, or very annoying. Sadly, the latter applies here: his cadaverous looks certainly fit the role, but he delivers his lines in a distracting, husky voice and makes Williams so self-effacing the viewer wonders if he has not already died - a drawback for a film which, for all the story it contains, still manages to give the impression there is not a lot actually in it. (A pointless early sequence in which one of Williams' subordinates tries to navigate the office heirarchy seems tacked on merely to provide some action.)
I do not mind a film in which nothing much happens, but I found most of this film quite dull (tear-jerking, saccharine-laden finish notwithstanding). Williams is given six months to live, and sadly the film seems to drag on for a similar amount of time.