Review: Living

When I heard this was a remake of 1952's 'Ikiru' by the incredible Akira Kurosawa, I was surprised that they chose to remake this story and interested to see how they would approach this.

Some of the buzz I was hearing was very strong and even had talks of possible awards contendership.

While the marketing does show the lighter side of this tale. The film itself is a lot more sombre and bittersweet. But the profound and uplifting aspects that are still there and just get higher and higher till the very end.

Bill Nighy is great in this. It's so far away from an outlandish performance. Instead, this is a shy and timid one that still packs energy when required. Even the physical part of his performance needs commending. It was as if he was whimpering away into some sort of hunchback. This is a performance that will work well with audiences and it's the little bits of spark that Nighy gives to his character and the dialogue he is given that makes for some of films strength.

A part of the film that I was not expecting was how the film gave time to the supporting cast. In fact, the scenes with just them in it could very well best portray the message of the film. One surprise notable supporting performance was Amy Lou Wood. Her chemistry with Night was charming, heart-warming and also very sad.

Alex Sharp had a friendly screen presence to his character and his British charm was very comforting.

To be honest, the whole film has a strong British quality to it. It has that image that everyone around the world sees the UK and I think that will work really well with a mass audience.

Also, the cinematography was a real winner for me. The seamless blend of archive and film footage, the intimate close-ups and soft focus did feel like we had been transported back to the time period the filmmakers have chosen.

I had fears that this could get overboard melancholic tone. But I think it built up nicely and saved a lot of it till the final act.

This was a very good watch that brings out all the emotions and that is mainly thanks to Bill Nighy. This could get a lot of buzz come awards season and if it does, it is well deserved.

There are plenty of universal themes at work here. Our subconscious fear of our own mortality, that urge for connection with someone else and that fight to understand how to actually live and truly feel alive. I hope it gets the box office it deserves.

Rating: 8/10