This movie has the beauty and compression of expression of poetry. I admire Bill Nighy's work and wanted to see Living because he was in it, but this movie exceeded my expectations. Nighy's performance is deeply affecting. His singing of The Rowan Tree is devastating.
Initially I thought the movie was a Dickensian skewering of do-nothing bureaucracy, British emotional paralysis, and 1950s conformism, but several characters prove to have more dimensions and nuance than they first appear to have. Living goes far beyond stereotypical social criticism. It ultimately is an affirmation of living itself.
I recommend this movie wholeheartedly.
Initially I thought the movie was a Dickensian skewering of do-nothing bureaucracy, British emotional paralysis, and 1950s conformism, but several characters prove to have more dimensions and nuance than they first appear to have. Living goes far beyond stereotypical social criticism. It ultimately is an affirmation of living itself.
I recommend this movie wholeheartedly.