Oliver Hermanus (Moffie) directs Bill Nighy in his Academy Award-nominated role as Mr. Rodney Williams, a humorless bureaucrat who in 1953 London receives a fatal diagnosis, leading him to take time off from work to finally experience life. Kazuo Ishiguro’s screenplay, also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, is adapted from the 1952 Japanese film Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa, which was loosely inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s 1886 Russian novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich. (102 min.)
Glen Life can grind us down—the routine, the repetition, the drudgery of meeting our endless responsibilities. Get up, work, eat, sleep, rinse, and repeat. Mr. Williams—widowed and trapped in a soul-crushing, paper-pushing, project-denying profession in the County Public Works department—oversees a cadre of young bureaucrats in a cramped office. Relentlessly polite but pointedly humorless, Williams runs a tight ship where nothing gets done. Then he learns he’ll soon die and thus begins an experiment on living a fuller life. Drinking and carousing are temporary distractions. The real focus of Williams’ end-of-life transformation is to do something worthwhile with the time left. Living ends up being an uplifting and poignant celebration of a man who found purpose.
Anna Bill Nighy absolutely deserves not just a nomination for this performance, but a win. Locked into the mundane drudgery of the day-to-day, Mr. Williams is so unconditionally sad and so desperate for some sort of connection. His son and daughter-in-law may live in the same house as him, but they are worlds apart. He’s respected at work, but it holds no joy, and at the end of the day, he’s simply a cog in the broken machine of government. In Piccadilly Square one day, he runs into Miss Harris (Aimee Lou Wood), a former underling who’s taken a new job, and the two end up spending the day together. Mr. Williams gets a glimpse of what life is like when you really live it. The film may feel slow to some; it’s really introspective. I personally loved every minute; the small moments build into a great story. What a wonderful reminder that life is meant to be lived.
Glen Nighy is spectacular in the role. His performance is deeply internalized. After all, he’s playing a stoic, somber, exceedingly formal gentleman. Without words, you know what he’s feeling. The film’s third act, after Mr. Williams’ death, does most of the story’s emotional heavy lifting as the various characters recall the moments when they discovered his transformation. In flashback, they recount the scenes when Mr. Williams, who was used to acquiescing to his superiors at County Hall, stood up and fought back with nobility and humility. Some moments absolutely devastate, for instance when Peter Wakeling (Alex Sharp) from Public Works encounters a police constable who was the last to see Mr. Williams alive recount Mr. Williams’ obvious happiness. Just thinking of it fills me with happy sadness. This is a beautiful film, and worthy of Kurosawa’s 1952 masterpiece.
Anna It is thought-provoking. If you only had months left of life, would you want to know? What would you change? In the case of Mr. Williams, his diagnosis brings up memories from his life: He and his father at a baseball game, coming home from war, meeting his wife. It all reminds him of not just what life was, but what it can be. He recognizes the importance of giving to people—be it with your time, your ideas, or whatever small amount of power you may hold. Not only are the performances solid gold, but the movie is simply beautiful. Keen eyes made these sets and costumed these performers. It is absolutely a must-see. ∆
Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey and freelancer Anna Starkey write Split Screen. Glen compiles listings. Comment at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Feb 2-12, 2023.