I love being surprised. When I first heard about Andrew Haigh's (he of
Weekend (2011) fame) film
45 Years (2015) I thought, "Oh. A British romantic drama starring Oscar-nommed Charlotte Rampling. I'll have to watch that... someday." Well, someday came around yesterday- and boy am I glad I didn't wait 45 years to see it.
Rampling is Kate Mercer, a woman looking forward to her 45th anniversary party with her husband Geoff (Tom Courtenay). But before the joyous occasion, Geoff receives a letter informing him that the body of Katya, the woman he loved before he met Kate, has been discovered frozen in a glacier in Switzerland. This news sends seismic waves through what appeared to be a stable marriage as Kate suspects that Geoff has never gotten over the girl who disappeared before his very eyes oh so many years ago.
The Haigh Approach to drama is beautifully subtle to behold. There are no screaming matches or thrown vases. These two proper English-folk would never do anything so boorish. But the emotions are there- boiling under the surface- bursting forth in a short comment or a rejected touch.
Rampling in particular is spellbinding in her restraint. The tension from the movie emanates from her performance- like a string vibrating until the point we must hear it. It's like a horror movie- only instead of being nervous waiting for a knife-wielding maniac to jump out from behind a bush, we are holding our breaths waiting for Kate to let forth with a searing emotional display.
What elevates this film is its blending of genres. The storyline is the stuff that romantic dramas are made of, but Haigh adds inspired touches of a female gothic film. Katya is not just an inciting incident. She haunts this film- much like Rebecca haunts Hitchcock's 1940 titular film. Her presence is felt, not just referenced. At one point her image is seen as a ghostly slide projection on a hanging sheet- like an ethereal portrait gazing from a wall.
The female gothic trope of a separate space in the home (in this case an attic) where secrets lie and truths are discovered is put to use- as is the linking of man and nature. Storms rend the night as emotions fracture and vast, lonely shots of the Norfolk countryside spread out before us as Kate walks her dog and tours the broad channels. Nature both mirrors Kate's anger and loneliness, and frames this one moment within the vastness of a 45 year marriage.
As with
Weekend,
45 Years ends without a clean-cut resolution, but that seems to be the point of Haigh's realistic style. Romance in real-life has few clean-cut endings- so why should romantic movies? This slice of older life is touching and beautiful and well worth the watch. Also of note, the delightful Geraldine James who you may remember as the "Bitty Mama" from TV's
Little Britain shines as the requisite best friend.
No comments:
Post a Comment