Living
Composite Score: 83.97
Starring: Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, Adrian Rawlins, Hubert Burton, Oliver Chris, Michael Cochrane, Patsy Ferran, and Barney Fishwick
Director: Oliver Hermanus
Writer: Kazuo Ishiguro
Genres: Drama, Period
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some suggestive material and smoking
Box Office: $12.00 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Living is the 2022 English-language adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film Ikiru, adapted by Kazuo Ishiguro and directed by Oliver Hermanus. The film follows an elderly London bureaucrat who learns that he has less than a year to live and chooses to spend the remains of his life finding out what it means to truly live. The film stars Bill Nighy in the leading role of Mr. Williams, supported by Aimee Lou Wood as his chipper co-worker and inspiration, Miss Margaret Harris, and Alex Sharp as the new man in his office and the one in whom Williams has the most hope, Mr. Wakeling. Nighy received an Oscar nomination for his performance as Williams, and Ishiguro was nominated by the Academy for his adaptation of Kurosawa’s acclaimed film. It is a film that champions life and action in the face of the everyday and is certainly worth checking out if you missed it last year.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
There really isn’t a whole lot of deviation from the original story of Ikiru in Living aside from setting the film in England, the characterization of Wakefield as a potentially proactive follow-up to Williams after his death, and the less-than-desirable job taken by Miss Harris after she leaves the bureaucracy. At the most, the alterations add some increased optimism to the film’s message by providing examples of those able to somewhat successfully operate happily in the face of the system without a terminal diagnosis. Really though, this is just a shorter, English version of Ikiru, so you’re not missing a whole lot if you’ve already seen Kurosawa’s original, aside from Nighy’s excellent performance.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
If nothing else, watch Living to see Bill Nighy give one of his best performances ever (I do wish his supporting roles in Love Actually and About Time got more love, but such is life). Williams is such a tragically optimistic character, and Nighy was the perfect choice to play the doomed bureaucrat. He brings a wealth of emotion to the understated character, taking the audience through a range of mourning, despair, nostalgia, regret, determination, hope, and – finally – satisfaction over the course of the film, and it is a joy to behold. Nighy’s nomination more than deserved his nomination, and in a less stacked year, I really believe this could have been an Oscar winner.
Similar as it is to its inspiration, Living does offer a necessary message in the world we live in. Things are hard, and it’s easy to live in the rut of the day-to-day grind, but proactivity and a positive outlook go a long way in improving not only our own lives but those around us as well. It is a film about hope in the face of tragedy, which might come across as unrealistic or saccharine to a jaded 2020s audience, but it remains true. Everything might not work out exactly as we would like, but it’s better to focus on the things we can change and work to change them rather than allowing the things we can’t change keep us from living the life we have.
Nighy’s deeply emotional leading performance and the message of hope that the film provides have made Living not just one of the best films of the decade so far but also one of the Greatest Films of All Time. Even though it doesn’t do a lot of innovation with the film upon which it is based, the performances at the center and some fresh touches allow it to feel unique enough to warrant watching. It is currently available to rent on most streaming services if you’re looking for it in the coming weeks.
