Directed by Oliver Hermanus
Starring Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, Tom Burke, Barney Fishwick, Patsy Ferran, and Adrian Rawlins

A movie as respectable and inoffensive as its main character, Living is an English-language adaptation of the critically and publicly acclaimed 1952 Japanese film Ikiru by legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Sitting at 99th place in IMDB’s top-rated movies, Ikiru’s screenplay was partly inspired by an 1886 Russian novella by Leo Tolstoy. It’s quite incredible just how far back the source material of this new movie goes. Source material that started with one of the greatest authors to have ever lived, which had its first screen adaptation managed by one of the best directors to have worked in the business and has now been re-written for the screen by critically acclaimed Nobel Prize-winning novelist and screenplay writer, Kazuo Ishiguro. 

When you take all of that into consideration, Living is a brave project to be a part of, poses a daunting challenge to its key personnel, and though I have not yet seen Ikiru, Living is also that inevitably long-time coming English-language adaptation. Speaking of which, Bill Nighy’s first-ever Academy Award ® nomination at the age of 73 is both a long-time coming and the feel-good story of this year’s Oscars.

In what’s surprisingly a straightforward storyline, Bill Nighy is Mr Williams, a highly respected senior bureaucrat at the London County Council who is surrounded by collegial company at the office but is lonely and barely lives a life outside of it. That is all about to change after Mr Williams leaves work early one day, much to the surprise and curiosity of those he works alongside and receives a life-threatening diagnosis from his doctor. 

Throughout the remaining duration of the film, the very gentlemanly Mr Williams will need to come to terms with the devastating news, finds and practices new meaning in his life by way of extending kindness and generosity and hopes his newfound purpose in life will ultimately leave a legacy of sorts for when the day arrives he may no longer be around.

Living is the ultimate Sunday afternoon movie to watch with your parents and/or grandparents. Quite simply, that is when what it has to offer will be most cherished. Courtesy of certain production aspects such the chosen 1.48:1 aspect ratio of the film, the softened colour palette, font used for the credits, avoidance of quick edits and its beautiful and gentle score, Living truly makes its audience feel as though they’re watching a film made during the 1950s era it is set. I’m actually decently surprised that Living hasn’t been given a third and even fourth Oscar ® nomination in some of these categories. 

If I’m somewhat underwhelmed, or at least not as rewarded by a component of this feature film as I had hoped and expected to be, it is the screenplay by Oscar-nominee Kazuo Ishiguro and by a couple of decisions. I can’t get too specific with this one but do question both how and who with this story begins and ends. The beginning especially feels like an awkward and ultimately inconsequential way to introduce us to the main character of this piece. Before I get to the other question, I’m also unsure that audiences can derive meaning from the film with the same clarity Mr Williams finds in his life. Put it this way, Living certainly had me trying to figure this out exactly for quite some time afterwards. Nevertheless, the real beauty in this film is in the characters Mr Williams crosses paths with, who I have deliberately not mentioned in this review, and the imprint in their lives, great or small, he has. Finally, my other question – I could not help but wonder and at times feel that what Living is (also) missing is that iconic understated brand of humour we all know and love Bill Nighy for. Would the inclusion of this to his character benefitted the film? To be truthful, the more I think about it, the more I think not because this performance from Bill Nighy is so well-measured, restrained and simply has to be one of his best ever. 

Living is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from March 16.

Moviedoc thanks Transmission Films and Miranda Brown Publicity for the invite to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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