Ordinary Love

A slow-paced, thoughtful, minutely-observed drama following the progress of a long-married couple after a cancer diagnosis.

Superbly acted, the couple are as familiar to each other as a pair of warm slippers, but their relationship is strained as chemotherapy and the unspoken fear of the final separation take their toll. Hovering behind them throughout everything is the ghost of their daughter, whose death is never explained but who is never far away.

The movie does not rub our noses in medical horrors, but at the same time it faithfully chronicles the process of cancer treatment without ever resorting to sentimentality.

Liam Neeson is a terrific actor. Presumably, a relentlessly low-key movie such as this signifies that he's no longer interested in super-stardom (if indeed he ever was) and is simply doing stuff that he really wants to do. Long may it continue.

It's a lovely, quiet movie. It's how a mature couple would respond to something as dreadful as cancer. In the end, it's their unwavering love for each other with a dash of humor, and sometimes pigheadedness, that wins the day. But, more important, in this time of challenge, they are able to reach out to others in the same situation.

Tom and Joan are a lovely couple. Their acting is so natural, and it's what extraordinary love looks like.

Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn's 'Ordinary Love' tells exactly the story promised by its title - gently and precisely chronicles a year of crisis in the life of a most ordinary married couple. This might not sound like the most enticing formula but it is a very moving film that cuts straight to the bone and onto the heart without even trying. Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville are superb together. The terrific chemistry between the actors help elevate the story above cancer clichés or cheap sentimentality.

'Ordinary Love (2019)' is exactly what it says on the tin: a portrait of mundane, turbulent, beautiful love. It charts the journey of a couple moving through tough times and is as thoughtful and nuanced as you'd hope. Its story is rather straightforward (it's pretty much exactly what you'd expect), but it delivers what it needs to and feels all the more 'real' because of it. The focus of the film is something that isn't actually explored all that often and it's great to see it portrayed so sensitively here. The picture's grounded, non-'romanticised' romance is brilliant, too. It feels as close to 'real' as possible, an honest and moving exploration of love that never seems heightened or false. The two stars deliver the goods in their subtle, harder-than-you-may-expect roles, coming together as a compelling pair of, essentially, 'real people'. They have flaws and they argue but they also have an undeniable connection. When this is exploited, it's really heart-warming. When it comes down to it, though, the flick just isn't all that exciting or, perhaps, impactful. It's engaging enough and never even close to boring, but it doesn't quite hit home as hard as it ought to. It's good, don't get me wrong. I can't quite put into words what it is that is, for me, missing. I guess I'll say it like this: it's good, but it's not great. 6/10

As I watched this I found myself wondering how younger folks react to this movie. My wife and I are in a similar situation, older, retired, and long-time married. Our daily life and conversations are not that different from what is depicted here.

Lesley Manville (early 60s) is Joan and Liam Neeson (late 60s) is her husband Tom. As the movie begins they are on one of their walks, her short legs must move almost twice as fast as his. After they cross the bridge and get to a certain tree they turn around and head back. About 12 months later the movie ends the very same way.

In between Joan discovers a lump in one of her breasts and this starts a series of doctor visits, hospital visits, treatments, and making unexpected new friends. The movie examines the relationship between the long-time married couple, their devotion to each other, their working together to get past this big speed bump in life.

This is a good movie, we enjoyed it at home on DVD from our public library. Romantic attraction is usually what gets a couple together but ordinary love is what keeps them together.