The plot isn't what's important in this wonderful and deeply moving movie, it concerns Mr. Williams (Bill Nighy), a late-middle-aged civil servant and widow who discovers he only has six to nine months to live and sets out to live a little before he dies. This he does not in a wacky sex, alcohol or drug filled orgy of excess or through a series of Hollywood-style bucket-list type comedic japes but rather with humility and dignity, as he sets out to get planning permission approved on a small playground in a run down area of town.
Set in a 1953 London, that's not been ethnically homogenised like the similarly set but utterly woeful Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, Instead, Living just presents London as it was, not ethnically diverse, not a glorious melting pot of culture, nor a bingo card of diversity, and leaves it at that, rather it explores the nature of class system in the post war era of the UK, and focuses on a world repressed by unspoken rules and standards, where a young man, new to the world of work, waits his turn to speak to their elders and betters, and the gossip of prim housewives can have a devastating impact on those not conforming to social norms. As a result you're gifted with a simply wonderfully moving and emotional film that doesn't attempt to push your buttons or exploit you with mawkish sentimentality. Nighy plays a prim and proper man, who realises his childhood dreams of being a gentleman has robbed him of a chance to live.
Bill Nighy is brilliant in the lead role and carries the film with grace and consummate skill. The dignity and humanity he brings to his role is exceptional. And the rest of the cast are likewise a delight, Aimee Lou Wood plays Miss Harris whom sparks in Williams an urge to live, and provides him an opportunity for a deeply moving speech where he explains his motives in befriending her. Similarly the other buttoned up men in his life, his son and office staff are also changed by Williams's final days. But this isn't a film where the hero stands on a desk and delivers a moving speech to rally those around him, rather it's the study of a truly gentle man who strives to leave his mark just one time before it's too late.
Bill Nighy is brilliant in the lead role and carries the film with grace and consummate skill. The dignity and humanity he brings to his role is exceptional. And the rest of the cast are likewise a delight, Aimee Lou Wood plays Miss Harris whom sparks in Williams an urge to live, and provides him an opportunity for a deeply moving speech where he explains his motives in befriending her. Similarly the other buttoned up men in his life, his son and office staff are also changed by Williams's final days. But this isn't a film where the hero stands on a desk and delivers a moving speech to rally those around him, rather it's the study of a truly gentle man who strives to leave his mark just one time before it's too late.
The film shows us the impact his buttoned up life has on those he works with, as well as his son and daughter-in-law who all know nothing about the real Mr. Williams.
Set in and around County Hall and some brilliantly sourced locations, the film also uses some amazing vintage footage of London to great effect to bring 1950's London to vivid life.
A total delight and joy. 9/10
Set in and around County Hall and some brilliantly sourced locations, the film also uses some amazing vintage footage of London to great effect to bring 1950's London to vivid life.
A total delight and joy. 9/10
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