{"id":25894,"date":"2023-01-12T23:55:10","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T07:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=25894"},"modified":"2023-01-12T23:55:10","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T07:55:10","slug":"living-leaves-a-powerful-impression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=25894","title":{"rendered":"LIVING Makes a Powerful Impression"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/24_0010_A-merged.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9610\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Running Time: 102 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As reviewers, we are often disappointed by the frequency of\nremakes and tend to approach them with caution. Often, they don\u2019t live up to\ntheir predecessors. <em>Living<\/em> is a new adaptation of a 1952 Akira Kurosawa\ndrama called <em>Ikiru<\/em>. The original is superb, making the challenge of a\nredo all the more difficult. Yet somehow, this film ends up being a success in\nits own right. I\u2019m not sure that the movie bests its inspiration, but it is a\nstriking and emotionally resonant tale with a stirring and award-worthy lead\nperformance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Living-002-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25896\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Set in the 1950s, the story is transplanted to London and\nintroduces viewers to aging, frosty County Council employee, Mr. Williams (Bill\nNighy). He is the living and breathing definition of government red tape,\nfrustrating applicants at his public works department. One day, the man learns\nthat he has a terminal illness. Widowed and hoping to discuss his troubles with\nhis son and daughter-in-law, he finds them less-than-receptive to even a casual\nconversation. Mr. Williams takes some time off work, shocking his employees,\nincluding Peter Wakeling (Alex Sharp) and Margaret Harris (Aimee Lou Wood). He\nwanders to the seaside and shares an intimate conversation with stranger\nSutherland (Tom Burke), who promises to show him how to enjoy himself. Yet Mr.\nWilliams struggles with changing his behavior and is forced to consider\nalternate ways to leave some final mark on the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Obviously, the success of the film almost wholly depends on everything working perfectly. Writer Kazuo Ishiguro clears the writing challenge easily with a beautiful and nuanced screenplay. Nothing is overstated or overdramatized. In fact, Mr. Williams comes across as incredibly authentic, not wanting to burden others with his own troubles. Viewers simply witness and listen to a pained man quietly process a grim prognosis and, when he chooses to open up, modestly discuss his situation and options with some unexpected individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Living-005-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25899\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are no false notes in the script and lead Nighy is\nalso more than up to the task. Seeing Mr. Williams sitting silently in the dark\non his living room couch, overhearing his daughter-in-law and son discuss their\ndispleasure with him, is heart-rending. Overall, it\u2019s an interesting journey\nfor the protagonist. In most Hollywood films, we\u2019d witness an introverted man\nsqueezing in an outrageous bucket list of activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Living-004-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25898\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But that doesn\u2019t happen in this story. It quickly becomes\nclear that the man simply isn\u2019t comfortable with going wild and quickly has to\nreevaluate his plan. As he discovers a possible solution, we see a\ntransformation that is believable and moving.&nbsp; It\u2019s a nuanced and powerful\nperformance that is perfectly delivered by Nighy. The movie also provides an\nengaging third act as Mr. Williams\u2019 employees discuss changes in the\ncharacter\u2019s attitude and behavior and try to figure out exactly what happened,\nwhy and the effect it has had on all of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The film also looks gorgeous. The seaside locations and 1950s backdrop is appealing to the eye. And yet the closed off framing, particularly in the office scenes filled with stacked applications, also help to lend cramped feeling to the lead\u2019s normal existence. Naturally, areas in post-war London weren\u2019t all pretty, so the film also uses confined housing communities to strong effect. It shows the contrast as the formerly icy lead eventually tries to do something special in a gloomy space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Living-003-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25897\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While there aren&#8217;t many big surprises and it is difficult to say whether this remake outshines the original (which is now 70 years old), it\u2019s hard to imagine the story being told any better in the present day. Enough so that this critic will admit that sometimes reimagining a classic isn\u2019t always a terrible idea. Bolstered by a stupendous, saddening and yet inspirational performance, <em>Living <\/em>is a moving and memorable experience worthy of accolades and consideration this awards season.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Running Time: 102 minutes As reviewers, we are often disappointed by the frequency of remakes and tend to approach them with caution. Often, they don\u2019t live up to their predecessors. Living is a new adaptation of a 1952 Akira Kurosawa drama called Ikiru. The original is superb, making the challenge of a redo all the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":25895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[81,209,894,2742,6251,12541,12578,16846],"class_list":["post-25894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-1950s","tag-209","tag-akira-kurosawa","tag-bill-nighy","tag-drama","tag-living","tag-london","tag-remake"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25894\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}