45 Years-2015

Director Andre Haigh

Starring Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay

Scott’s Review #488

Reviewed October 1, 2016

Grade: B+

In 45 Years (2015), acting is the film’s clear highlight and the main reason to watch it.

Seasoned veterans take center stage and give tremendous performances and lessons in acting.

Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling carry the film.

45 Years follows an enduring marriage tested by an outside revelation that escalates into conflict and mixed emotions.

The film moves at a slow pace and can challenge even the most patient viewers, but that pace is warranted, as the longevity of the characters’ marriage is key to the film.

Geoff and Kate Mercer, a happy couple living in rural England, excitedly plan their 45th wedding anniversary (the 40th was canceled because of Geoff’s heart condition).

They are a popular couple in their town, both kind and decent, and many will attend the event.

One day Geoff receives a letter from authorities in Switzerland- a young woman (Katya) he was once involved with, and presumed dead in 1962, has been found.

After falling into an icy glacier, her body is preserved and looks the same as it did then.

Unsure of the extent of their relationship, Kate is riddled with jealousy, curiosity, and guilt.

Geoff and Kate’s marriage is tested.

45 Years is a mature film involving mature characters. Geoff and Kate are still in love decades into their relationship, but the introduction of Katya becomes an unwelcome conflict.

The film plays out gradually, but realistically, as marriage moves along slowly.

The film shows many scenes of Geoff and Kate’s day-to-day activities: they walk their dog together, travel into town to shop, relax, and read the newspaper.

Like real people do.

This is an asset to the film. Real life is sometimes mundane and dull, but these little tasks are pleasurable and soothing.

Geoff and Kate’s marriage contrasts with the relationship Geoff and Katya briefly had years ago (excitement, risk, youth), and Kate’s point of view is understandable.

As details reveal themselves, Kate feels inferior.

She is no longer young and thinks of Geoff and Katya, and the life they might have had together if the accident had not occurred. Despite being dead, Katya becomes an obstacle in Kate’s mind.

The film wisely doesn’t write Kate as a jealous shrew or a one-dimensional character. She fights her jealousy at every turn and tries to stay strong and realistic.

Charlotte Rampling gives such a good, subtle, understated performance that it is easy to overlook how good she is.

She does not have hysterical moments or a scene where she loses control. Instead, Rampling conveys a range of complex emotions through her facial expressions.

Let’s not forget to mention Tom Courtenay. Imagine being in the golden years of your life and a long-lost lover (in spirit anyway) returns to the fold. Geoff cannot help but imagine a life with Katya if she remained alive.

Kate asks Geoff if he would have married Katya, and he cannot deny it.

Several scenes show the couple dealing with “old people” issues, awkward lovemaking, for example, which highlights how different things are from when Geoff and Katya were in their prime.

Geoff cannot help but be whisked back in time with thoughts and what-ifs.

A standout scene is when Kate and Geoff dance at their anniversary party. Having professed his love during a speech, they casually dance. Kate is both touched and pained, and as the scene goes along, it unravels. She explodes internally.

Sometimes, perhaps a tad too slow-paced, I get the point of pacing 45 Years this way. After all, nearly 50 years of marriage is a long time, and similar days will pass with few important moments.

Thanks to great acting, I overlooked this and was astounded at the complexities both Rampling and Courtenay bring to the table.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress-Charlotte Rampling