Ghost of the Past
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| Beneath that forced smile, lies a profound grief. |
Andrew Haigh's filmography has been quite extra-ordinary - from an editor in his early days (he worked as an assistant editor for the films like Gladiator and Black Hawk Down) to a director, he has gained much respect in a short time with works like Weekend and Looking. With 45 Years, Haigh has finally got a feature film with a decent budget, a renowned cast and wide distribution. And he didn't disappoint.
With their 45th wedding anniversary just a week ahead, an ageing English couple Kate (Charlotte Rampling) and Geoff Mercer (Tom Courtenay) receive an unexpected letter during the early hours of a Monday morning.. Addressed to Geoff, the letter written in German reveals a grim news - a body of a young woman named Katya, who died in 1960s during an accident while trekking, has been discovered within the glacial ice of Swiss Alps, perfectly preserved in freezing conditions. And Mr. Mercer, being the next of kin, is advised to travel Switzerland for further proceedings.
The fact that Geoff had a girlfriend before their marriage wasn't a surprise for Kate - but him being married to Katya was indeed a revelation - even though Geoff simply shrugged off the tidings by saying he and Katya just had to pretend for accommodation as they were tourists. Kate reluctantly accepts his version of the story, but over the time, Geoff develops an odd fixation on Katya. He remembers her brunette hair, her way of talking softly and even the ring she wore on her finger the day she was swept off to the crevasse. And then during one pivotal day within a week of this news, Kate discovers heaps of lies and distrust that Geoff harbored for all those 45 Years.
45 Years is fundamentally English - the characters are subtle and so are their emotions. You need to examine their body language, their facial expressions or their surroundings to explore their deep sentiments. Nobody speaks out directly what they feel in this film - its all elusive. Audience with lesser patience and proclivity of being bored will indeed find this film as utterly boring and plot-less; as there isn't much in this film plot wise, or any dramatic stands off and climatic rows. But thematically, there is much more to explore in this film than the depths of Mariana Trench. Patience and attention does pay off.
Rampling's performance is remarkable. Playing an upper middle-class English woman, she is always well-mannered and composed. I don't remember even a single scene of her shouting or crying out loud. And yet, she moves you. Her face expresses so much, that you don't even need words coming out of her mouth to underscore her predicament. The fine lines of wrinkles on her face stagger with such a force as if years of grief has finally found an outlet of release. Her piercing look towards her husband speak of many reproaches and yet she maintains near impossible controlled demeanor with him. It is a work of great art and her Oscar nomination is a testament of that.
Just like Weekend, 45 Years studies the dynamics of relationship and love changing within a crucial time span. For Weekend, it was how two young men discover so much about each other in just mere three days that they fall in love. For 45 Years, it is how an elderly couple's marriage hits a rock bottom within a week of a news from their past. Sometimes mere three days are enough to know a person for a lifetime and sometimes even after spending 45 years together, you hardly know a person.
3.5/5
With their 45th wedding anniversary just a week ahead, an ageing English couple Kate (Charlotte Rampling) and Geoff Mercer (Tom Courtenay) receive an unexpected letter during the early hours of a Monday morning.. Addressed to Geoff, the letter written in German reveals a grim news - a body of a young woman named Katya, who died in 1960s during an accident while trekking, has been discovered within the glacial ice of Swiss Alps, perfectly preserved in freezing conditions. And Mr. Mercer, being the next of kin, is advised to travel Switzerland for further proceedings.
The fact that Geoff had a girlfriend before their marriage wasn't a surprise for Kate - but him being married to Katya was indeed a revelation - even though Geoff simply shrugged off the tidings by saying he and Katya just had to pretend for accommodation as they were tourists. Kate reluctantly accepts his version of the story, but over the time, Geoff develops an odd fixation on Katya. He remembers her brunette hair, her way of talking softly and even the ring she wore on her finger the day she was swept off to the crevasse. And then during one pivotal day within a week of this news, Kate discovers heaps of lies and distrust that Geoff harbored for all those 45 Years.
45 Years is fundamentally English - the characters are subtle and so are their emotions. You need to examine their body language, their facial expressions or their surroundings to explore their deep sentiments. Nobody speaks out directly what they feel in this film - its all elusive. Audience with lesser patience and proclivity of being bored will indeed find this film as utterly boring and plot-less; as there isn't much in this film plot wise, or any dramatic stands off and climatic rows. But thematically, there is much more to explore in this film than the depths of Mariana Trench. Patience and attention does pay off.
Rampling's performance is remarkable. Playing an upper middle-class English woman, she is always well-mannered and composed. I don't remember even a single scene of her shouting or crying out loud. And yet, she moves you. Her face expresses so much, that you don't even need words coming out of her mouth to underscore her predicament. The fine lines of wrinkles on her face stagger with such a force as if years of grief has finally found an outlet of release. Her piercing look towards her husband speak of many reproaches and yet she maintains near impossible controlled demeanor with him. It is a work of great art and her Oscar nomination is a testament of that.
Just like Weekend, 45 Years studies the dynamics of relationship and love changing within a crucial time span. For Weekend, it was how two young men discover so much about each other in just mere three days that they fall in love. For 45 Years, it is how an elderly couple's marriage hits a rock bottom within a week of a news from their past. Sometimes mere three days are enough to know a person for a lifetime and sometimes even after spending 45 years together, you hardly know a person.
3.5/5
