Writer & Director
Paul Morrison

Starring
Dave Johns and Alison Steadman

We’ve had Love in the Time of Cholera. Now, it is time for Love in the Time of Corona!

I am so terribly sorry to keep referencing this awful pandemic in my film reviews. However, we are experiencing a one in one hundred year event, and given the various restrictions and alterations to our regular lives, 23 Walks presents a love story that is indeed completely COVID-safe!

This feel-good romantic drama is told by being broken into chapters that corresponds with the chronologically-numbered walk its two central characters take. During early strolls together, retired nurse David (I, Daniel Blake’s Dave Johns) and receptionist Fern (Alison Steadman) gradually engage in friendly and harmless conversation as they walk their dogs throughout local parks and grasslands. After a while, they feel comfortable enough to share more intimate details with one another, which triggers mutual feelings between the two but also lets their vulnerabilities become visible. Dave is a true gentleman who really enjoys Fern’s companionship, but is lonely ever since his wife passed on and the threat of eviction hangs over his head as he struggles paying the rent. Fern is content with having a new friend, but is afraid to open up beyond that and trust a man again after her husband recently left her for a younger woman. Can Dave and Fern overcome their personal struggles and find love again in their sixties?

Just as it is in real-life, the answer to this question is anything but straight-forward. That’s the beauty in this little gem of a film that’s destined to have a big impact on those it will resonate with most. David and Fern are two characters who are rich in depth and drawn with honesty whose evolving friendship is so realistically depicted. Their reactions and responses to all that transpires is thoughtfully conceived and precisely executed, and the screenplay’s characterisation work boasts accuracy and empathy. Like the many people around the world within this age bracket I’m sure there must be, David and Fern are both in less than ideal situations and experience a whirlwind of emotions during a positively opportunistic, yet uncertain stage in their lives. 23 Walks is special also for this reason; devoting its entire focus to a prominent part of our society that rarely receives the limelight in cinema. I would definitely recommend this sweet, touching and delightful film to anyone who appreciated the recent American remake of Gloria Bell starring the magnificent Julianne Moore or the equally very good Chilean original titled Gloria. That’s as accurate an indication I can give for guaranteeing 23 Walks walking its way right into your hearts well before the 23rd and final walk.

4 stars

Viewer Discretion
M (coarse language and a sex scene)

Trailer
23 Walks

Moviedoc thanks Rialto Distribution and Annette Smith: Ned & Co Marketing and Publicity for providing the screener link to watch and review this film.

23 Walks is in cinemas nationally from July 30, with Victoria to follow in late August.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc
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