Although nominated for the Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay (Kazuo Ishiguro) and Actor (Bill Nighy), this quiet masterpiece got lost in the sea of Oscar season’s front runners of original storytelling (Banshees of Inisherin, Triangle of Sadness) and dynamic visuals (Everything Everywhere All at Once, Elvis, All Quiet on the Western Front).
However, hats off to this film— it is absolutely worth streaming at home. I may be overstating it just a bit, but Living has the power to be a life changer.
It’s a timeless story, as evidenced by its origins. The film was adapted by Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro from the 1952 Japanese film Ikiru (To Live). Ikiru itself was inspired by Tolstoy's 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich.
In this version, the brilliant Bill Nighy (Love Actually) is a buttoned-up bureaucrat at a Public Works Department in 1950s London. You know, the kind that kicks petitions around different departments in the building and files anything that looks like a hassle in towering stacks of paperwork. His nickname at work is “Zombie.”
Faced with some interesting news, he alters his approach to life and work — looking towards the wildly different ways of a local bohemian and a wide-eyed new hire. No surprise, it’s a movie about transformation and about the power of one man doing one small thing. I won't share details here, but I found the final act profound.
Whether or not this story shakes you to the core (like me) or simply reminds you of an agreeable life lesson, it’s a powerful hour and 42 minutes.
In a nutshell: It’s a classic tale of confronting one’s life and finding new clarity with a second chapter, led by the underrated Bill Nighy. Keep the Kleenex nearby.
Award potential: This film was nominated for Oscar’s Best Adapted Screenplay and Actor. Deservingly so. Nighy’s less-is-more performance will shock those who know him as Billy Mack from Love Actually. Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sir Kazuo Ishiguro’s script should have been a contender.
It’s a timeless story, as evidenced by its origins. The film was adapted by Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro from the 1952 Japanese film Ikiru (To Live). Ikiru itself was inspired by Tolstoy's 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich.
In this version, the brilliant Bill Nighy (Love Actually) is a buttoned-up bureaucrat at a Public Works Department in 1950s London. You know, the kind that kicks petitions around different departments in the building and files anything that looks like a hassle in towering stacks of paperwork. His nickname at work is “Zombie.”
Faced with some interesting news, he alters his approach to life and work — looking towards the wildly different ways of a local bohemian and a wide-eyed new hire. No surprise, it’s a movie about transformation and about the power of one man doing one small thing. I won't share details here, but I found the final act profound.
Whether or not this story shakes you to the core (like me) or simply reminds you of an agreeable life lesson, it’s a powerful hour and 42 minutes.
In a nutshell: It’s a classic tale of confronting one’s life and finding new clarity with a second chapter, led by the underrated Bill Nighy. Keep the Kleenex nearby.
Award potential: This film was nominated for Oscar’s Best Adapted Screenplay and Actor. Deservingly so. Nighy’s less-is-more performance will shock those who know him as Billy Mack from Love Actually. Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sir Kazuo Ishiguro’s script should have been a contender.
Not nominated, which is almost a crime, were cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay, Sandy Powell and her costumes plus Helen Scott’s production design — each gorgeously recreating 1950s London.
Where to find: Available to stream on VOD.
The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.
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