IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched in the cinema (71st visit in 2023)
Apparently, only the best was good enough - after all, no less than a multiple Oscar winner and a Nobel Prize winner in literature have contributed directly and indirectly to "Living". Master director Akira Kurosawa wrote the now 71-year-old original "Ikiru"; Japanese-born British writer Kazuo Ishiguro adapted it from Tokyo to London in the 1950s. The screenplay adheres quite closely to that of the original film - admittedly somewhat tightened up. While Kurosawa's film was an impressive two and a half hours long, director Oliver Hermanus tells the story here in a crisp 100 minutes. Nowadays, it's usually the other way around.
Both films are set in the fifties of the last century - although in the original this was admittedly "Realtime", whereas today it goes under "Period Piece". In any case, post-war London is beautifully staged visually, from the austere costumes to the camera work to the accompanying music; the carefully chosen image compositions may seem almost a little artificial in places, but they are a treat for the eye in any case. Similar to Steven Spielberg's remake of "West Side Story", however, this film has to face the question: Does it really need the remake?
Because it doesn't really take up new aspects of the story. Yes, with this nostalgically transfigured production, "Living" even seems a bit stale, which is also evident in some story elements. An old white man who rediscovers life shortly before death thanks to a woman some 40 years younger, played by the adorable Aimee Lou Ward- well, such a story would probably not be told like that today; even if the relationship between the two characters remains in all innocence and moves far away from #MeeToo suspicion.
Precisely because it is so anachronistic, however, the film exudes a bittersweet charm. This is due in no small part to Bill Nighy. The British actor usually subscribes to comic material and can hardly ever keep his ironic look out of his face, even in somewhat more serious roles. Here, however, he plays the gray mouse with admirable restraint, with a quiet, monotone voice and only very subtly discernible movements in his petrified face. But with this he creates a stronger effect than with overacting and emotional outbursts.
Thus Bill Nighy succeeds in making the leap from the comic to the serious - as some before him have done. Being funny all the time apparently gets boring at some point. In this case, it is almost ironic that it is precisely the role of a (supposed) bore with which the actor adds exciting new aspects to his previous role image.
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