Spoilers ahead...
Plot Summary of Living: Adaptation of Kurosawa’s Ikuru
Set in
the early 1950s and an adaptation of Kurosawa's 'Ikuru', the story is about the
people working in the London County Council. Mr. Williams (Bill Nighy) heads up
the Public Works department where Middleton (Adrian Rawlins), Margaret Harris
(Aimee Lou Wood), Rusbridger (Hubert Burton), Hart (Oliver Chris), and the new
recruit Peter Wakeling (Alex Sharp) work under him. One day, Mr. Williams
learns that he has been diagnosed with cancer and has a maximum of 9 months
left to live. He suddenly realizes what kind of life he has lived all the while
and decides to finally enjoy a little.
Through
the opening few scenes, we learn, much like Peter Wakeling, what it's like
working at LCC where work takes a long time to get done, and the files keep
stacking up. It actually reminded me of government places in India, where they
do the same: make you go to various departments until you feel tired after
finally fulfilling the purpose you came for.
But this
is just a small part of the plot. The real story begins when Mr. Williams, who
is always punctual to work, starts to suddenly skip coming altogether. He meets
a guy, Sutherland (Tom Burke), at a restaurant and decides to tell him about
his illness for the first time. From here, we see how Mr. Williams tries to
enjoy life doing things the people at his workplace can't imagine he would do,
ranging from getting drunk, going to a strip club, singing a beautiful song
'Rowan Tree', buying a new hat, etc. Out of all these adventures, that song
scene was the only one that I found moving.
There's
this beautiful shot where Mr. Williams is sitting on a couch all alone while
his son and daughter-in-law are coming home, having some not-so-good
conversation regarding him. The whole family plot of the daughter-in-law not
being happy with the in-laws felt a little irritating to watch, almost like I
was watching some 'Baghban' or 'Avatar' (Hindi one) suddenly.
Good Performances by Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood
The main
problem I felt with the movie was that the proceedings stay too subtle or
restrained, especially the lead character of Mr. Williams. Bill Nighy is good
in his performance, but it never felt memorable or Oscar nomination-worthy to
me. I do totally love the scene when he's recalling his younger days, probably
thinking about what he was and what he became at his robotic kind of job life.
Aimee Lou
Wood is wonderful, and I love the scene where she gets emotional upon learning
that she's the first person from the workplace to know about Mr. Williams'
illness and why he decided not to tell his own son too. She brings energy into
the movie, no wonder we see Mr. Williams having the desire to live a life
feeling alive like she does.
I did
enjoy the letter Mr. Williams sends to Peter Wakeling, whom he clearly sees as
his own younger self—so enthusiastic and eager. Mr. Williams gives a friendly
warning to not end up losing himself in this work field. And the final ending
scene with him singing the 'Rowan Tree' song again was a very good choice to
finish the story on.
Verdict on Living
Overall,
Living is a good film, but the idea of 'living your life to the fullest until
it's too late' isn't properly explored. I may give the Kurosawa version a go to
see if that works for me or not.
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