45 Years

"45 Years" is a great demonstration on how to evoke so many layers of emotion and inner turmoil with a fairly simple filmmaking approach. These types of stories have been told lots of times and probably a bit better (Mike Leigh promptly comes to mind). But what director Andrew Haigh does here which provides the film it's gut wrenching sensation is that he writes these characters with so much depth and naturalism that the events that slowly unravel begin to make the film more and more despondent as it goes on.

Here we have a happily married couple getting ready to celebrate a milestone 45 year anniversary, only for an untimely piece of news regarding Geoff's (Tom Courtenay) past flame whom has passed away, which puts a spanner in the works. Being such a long time ago it would be feasible to think that this won't affect their current relationship, but suddenly all these memories come storming back and he suddenly gets caught in a sort of time warp. He brings her up at every opportunity, he can't stop talking about her. And this is where the film skillfully shifts it's focus onto Kate's (Charlotte Rampling) character. What she once thought was a perfect marriage filled with unbridled endearment immediately turns into a self-doubting thought process. Does he really love me? Am I his one and only?

Rampling is just extraordinary. Subtle in her expressions and exterior but inside the hurt is palpable. No showy antics, no histrionics - simply a masterclass in masking her grief. Haigh uses the bleak Norfolk countryside to great effect, placing her in the center of surroundings that perfectly illustrate what she's feeling -- forlornness and heartache. Courtenay is excellent as well, though not quite as affecting. But what he does brilliantly is convey the actions of an individual that can't quite come to terms with this news and it sets off a chain reaction of resorting to bad old habits and outlandish behavior.

The final scene however couldn't have been crafted any better if they tried. Whilst directed with so much grace and acted wonderfully by Courtenay with his anniversary speech, it was Rampling who elevated it to devastating effect . The words may have been music to the ears for many, but for her it was just so bittersweet because she didn't feel that same affection. She displays a multitude of emotions throughout; smiling, laughing, sorrow, melancholy. Her mind is constantly in a state of befuddlement. What should be one of the greatest nights of her life is far from it. And then the dance, which honestly made me tear up. Not only for Ramplings acting and heartbreaking final shot, but the lyrics to the song pretty much summed up everything that was destroying her;

"When that lovely flame dies Smoke gets in your eyes"

Their marriage may live on, but it will now always be shrouded with her belief that her husband doesn't hold the same love for her that he once had, and this woman from days gone by will always be present for the rest of their lives.

"45 Years" is a slow burning, intricately designed exploration of the underlying grief us humans undergo when in tough times. It's both beautiful and harrowing, aided by incredible performances.

The movie flows very slowly, but the two actors playing the leads did not bore me. They were really good at expressing the situation. The film in general played out very mundane but give lots of drama without overdoing it.

A few days before their 45th wedding anniversary Geoff and Kate are sitting in their house when Geoff receives a letter from Switzerland stating they found his first love. Basically the letter reminds him that, through no fault of his own Geoff lost his first love, and as he dwells on this fact Kate realizes this too.

The whole situation was done well and interestingly, as the two actors inside a small cottage for most of the movie react to the letter. Kate has to watch Geoff get lost in, not really regret but something that would have never been and it makes her think about what she met to him for the past 45 years.

It was a really good movie, very impress how they could keep the story so real and down to Earth and still hole the viewer.

Andrew Haigh's latest film "45 Years" (2015) is one of the big film events of this year and not least because of the memorable performances of its two leading actors, Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. It's a very simple film, granted, but exceptionally good as such. Both performers do an excellent job. Haigh's narrative is character-driven and never self-aware. All seems to be subjected to what is going on inside these characters. The film has been shot in the beautiful English countryside whose unreliable and unpredictable weather plays an integral role in the drama of untold memories, hidden emotions, and their appearance. It is a moving film about time and the complex relations between the past and the present.

The story centers around a retired, childless couple, Kate (Rampling) and Geoff (Courtenay) who have been married for 45 years. One day Geoff receives a letter telling him that the body of his ex-lover before his marriage, Katya, has been found fully preserved in the Swiss glaciers. This event as well as the approaching arrival of their 45th anniversary coerces the couple into re-evaluating their relationship, the choices they have made in life, and their deepest desires.

This story, based on a short story by David Constantine, is itself great in its simplicity, but Haigh also deals with it in an exquisite fashion. He has chosen not just the perfect performers for the roles but also the perfect milieu of the English countryside which works as a barometer for the characters' emotions. Haigh utilizes a moving camera and lingering, though not strikingly long, shots. He uses a wide range of different shots ranging from long full shots of the landscapes to medium close-ups of Kate's seemingly calm face which encapsulates her powerful eyes where a lot of emotion is going on that she is unable to express in words or gestures. Repeatedly, Haigh places Rampling wandering in the milieu, defining the character's relationship with the space that surrounds her. These scenes may strike as excessive to some, but one ought to relate them to the 45 years, to the time that is embodied in these five days before the anniversary celebration.

The title of the film refers to a time gone by, but the film takes place strictly (that is, flashbacks are excluded) in the present. The past finds form in the memory of Katya, the ghost in the couple's life who Kate never really knew. Katya, as the embodiment of the past, is a threat to the presence. It is as if she mocked the living in her death that has saved her from aging unlike Kate and Geoff. Geoff also takes a sudden interest in climate change, a powerful symbol not only for the slow eruption of drama for the couple but also the emergence of Katya, the past, beneath the surface. In a key scene, where Kate goes to their attic to study Geoff's old travel photos from the trip to Switzerland where Katya died, the slide projector -- offering the truths from the past -- is the only source of light and sound in an otherwise dark and silent present. In the long take, which covers the whole scene, we can sense the danger of the past swallowing the present, the danger of Kate falling into the glacier that once engulfed Katya.

Overall, "45 Years" is an extremely simple film. It bears no social nor metaphysical connotations. Formal elements serve the development of drama and character psychology. One can't really, however, talk about the subordination of style for the service of story because the external story is veritably marginal. It is, above all, an inner drama, taking place inside the characters. In all its simplicity, "45 Years" is a subtle, yet emotionally bursting film about the fragility, incompleteness, and vulnerability of life and love which have already lasted through a lot and grown in the process.

The life of an old married couple doesn't exactly sound like riveting cinematic fodder, especially for moviegoers below the age of 65, but "45 Years" captures the mechanics of relationships, mechanics that are universal and span multiple generations.

The greatest indicator that "45 Years" isn't some niche geriatric film is director Andrew Haigh, a much younger director who is best known for making LGBTQ films, namely 2011's "Weekend." So, as someone who isn't a heterosexual senior, Haigh brings a different perspective to this story, along with a lot of grace and brilliant directorial instincts.

"45 Years" introduces us to Kate (Charlotte Rampling) and Geoff (Tom Courtenay) Mercer one week before their big 45th anniversary party. Although the week begins routine as usual, they receive quite a shock when Geoff gets a letter informing him that the body of a woman whom he loved as a younger man (before he met Kate) who died in an accident had been found (somewhat preserved in ice). The news absolutely rattles Geoff into a rather nostalgic daze, while Kate tries to come to terms with the weight of something she had shrugged off for nearly half a century.

We watch the story unfold from Kate's perspective, which keeps Geoff's thoughts and emotions an enigma and allows us to firmly plant ourselves in Kate's shoes. We also get glimpses of their relationship dynamic, which is powerfully authentic and relatable, adding another layer to what seems like it should be a rather simple conflict to resolve, but grows in chilling complexity.

Haigh's camera is quiet, careful and poised. There are wide shots and close-ups alike, along with methodical zooms, giving the actors — especially Rampling — incredible space to work. The result is a slow and yes, perhaps boring film at times, but if you really focus on the performances, the pacing becomes strangely irrelevant. We are given so much time to dive into Kate's headspace and Rampling provides these incredible cues once we're there.

The best way to describe the flow of "45 Years" is to liken it to a thawing. From the outdoor scenery around their quaint home in the British countryside to the details of Geoff's love "Katya" (notice the name similarity to his current wife) being found in ice, there's a notion that what was frozen in the past has now finally melted, that spring is coming and with it so much more. Kate and Geoff's relationship is at this melting point, and how they handle it will mean everything.

For such a simple film, there's something deeply unsettling about "45 Years" and that achievement alone suggests Haigh has struck some deep chords in this exploration of a relationship. We look to couples who have been married this long for inspiration and comfort, yet Haigh doesn't give it to us, and it raises a lot of really valuable questions. So it might not be easy to enjoy, but "45 Years" is truly a superb film and important character study.

~Steven C

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Kate (Charlotte Rampling) is preparing her 45th anniversary party married to Geoff Mercer (Tom Courtenay). They live comfortably childless in rural England. Geoff reveals something about a previous relationship with Katya who died long ago hiking a glacier but the body was only recently discovered. Kate is a little perplexed and struggles to understand the true nature of their relationship.

Charlotte Rampling is one of the greatest actresses around. I get the idea of an old couple with a secret. There isn't enough danger or drama for the tension to be truly raised. The major drama should occur after the big discovery. This is a quiet drama with buried emotions. I'm not complaining that nothing happens. It's just that the drama is interior and doesn't amount to that big. If you like quiet character study, this one is for you.