[45 YEARS opens
in Akron on Friday March 11th at The Nightlight Cinema.]
Review by Bob Ignizio
Even after almost half a century spent married to someone,
do we really know them? In his 45 YEARS,
writer/director Andrew Haigh seems to be saying, “no”. The title of the film
reflects how long retired teacher Kate (Charlotte Rampling) and retired factory
worker Geoff (Tom Courtenay) have been married. In fact, they are getting ready
to celebrate that fact with a party. But in the final week leading up to their
anniversary, Geoff gets some shocking and surprising news.
Before he knew Kate, Geoff was in love with a woman named Katya
who died in a mountain climbing accident in Switzerland. Her body was trapped
and frozen in a crevasse where it remained, seemingly irretrievable. Now, thanks
to global warming, her perfectly preserved corpse has been found, and since
Geoff was listed as her next of kin, the authorities have notified him.
It shouldn’t be a big deal, except it is. Geoff clearly has
unresolved issues relating to his deceased ex, and even as he should be
focusing on his anniversary party, he’s devoting considerable time and effort
to making plans to go to Switzerland. He comments on how old he’ll feel seeing
her preserved as young as the day she died, and at night sneaks up to the attic
to look at old photos and souvenirs.
Kate tries not to let it bother her, but it does. Geoff has
never really talked to her about his ex, and some of the details he’s kept to
himself may have ramifications for how their own relationship has played out. It’s
as if the ghost of a past infidelity has suddenly come into their lives to
haunt them.
45 YEARS is a
complex, adult work that doesn’t neatly wrap itself up. There are no easy
answers for how these characters ought to react, and the movie doesn’t try to
offer any. Instead, it asks us to simply think about the issues it raises, and
to try to understand and feel compassion for both of its leads, but especially
for Ms. Rampling’s Kate.
When your leads are Rampling and Courtenay, it’s almost
redundant to say that the performances are superb; that’s a given. Rampling in
particular has always made of habit of picking rich and challenging roles to
play, and has had a particularly strong run of films in recent years. For what
it’s worth, the Oscar folks seem to finally have taken notice and given her long
overdue and much deserved nomination for “Best Actress”. 4 out of 4 stars.
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