Week 37: 45 Years

Director: Andrew Haigh

Writer: David Constantine (short story) Andrew Haigh (adaptation)

Seen: 25th September 2015

Venue: IMC Galway

Snacks: Kinder Bueno

Mood: Contemplative

45 Years follows a couple Kate (Charlotte Rampling) and her husband of 45 years Geoff (Tom Courtenay) on the run up to a party they are throwing to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. During the run up to the party Geoff receives a letter informing him that authorities in Switzerland have found the body of his girlfriend before he met Kate. This single letter throws their previously quiet life into emotional turmoil as we watch their relationship unravel.

Geoff’s previous life weighs heavy on his mind and he slumps into a maudlin reverie of times gone by which shakes Kate’s confidence to the core, has their whole relationship been based on a lie? Is she enough for Geoff or was she second best in his estimations?

This is a very moving film which explores the idea of the past and how it can continue to affect the present, how it always quietly rumbles in the back of our minds and what happens when the past is suddenly forced into the present leaving Geoff to question ‘what if?’.

It is a story about love, hidden emotion and the complexities and insecurities of relationships.

I really loved this slow moving (it is intentionally so) emotionally charged film. The performances by Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay are quite simply mesmerizing - particularly Rampling whose struggle feels so real. What a great film from Andrew Haigh, go and see this but maybe bring a hanky.