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45 Years
Stars: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James, Dolly Wells
Director: Andrew Haigh
Writer-director Andrew Haigh never puts a frame wrong in this moving, truthful and perfectly played gem.
45 Years is essentially a two-hander set in Norfolk. Childless Kate and Geoff Mercer are preparing a party to celebrate 45 years of marriage. But their idyllic lives hit an unexpected buffer when Geoff learns that the body of his first love, Kate, has been found, preserved in ice after falling into a crevasse on a mountain in Switzerland in 1962. And, since they were engaged, Geoff is named as the next of kin.
This unexpected revelation seems set to derail the couples relationship, throwing their lives into emotional turmoil, as each of them attempts to deal with this utterly unexpected and potentially destructive catalyst.
Haigh could not have asked for better casting or more truthful, emotionally perceptive and moving performances than those given by Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling as the protagonists. They create utterly credible, flawed and moving characters whose progress from happiness to trauma and back combine to make a not-to-be-missed drama.
Alan Frank
UK 2015. UK Distributor: Curzon Artificial Eye. Colour.
91 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.
Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.
Review date: 14 Jun 2016