Review of 45 Years (2015) by Scot C — 15 Apr 2016

Review:

Although I found the couple sweet, I must admit, the movie was quite boring. I kept on waiting for something to happened, or for the true story about the mysterious woman to be told but to no avail. Kate Mercer (Charlotte Ramping), is jealous through the whole movie because she finds out that her husband, Geoff (Tom Courtenay), was deeply in love with another woman before they were together, so when Geoff gets a letter saying that they found the woman's body, in the bottom of a lake, his attitude seems to change towards his wife. Whilst preparing for there 45 year anniversary, she starts to delve into his past, and she doesn't like what she uncovers. She starts to questioned her husband about there relationship, which puts a strain on there marriage buy they eventually decide to let the past go, which Kate finds very difficult. Its one of those movies that are mostly based on emotions than dialogue, and the ending was left open for the audience to make up there mind. The whole mood that was set from the beginning, was quite glum and slightly depressing, so my mind seemed to drift off halfway through the film. With that aside, the performances are top form from Tom and Courtenay, and there chemistry on screen was great. I was just hoping for more, from the storyline though. Average!

Round-Up:

Charlotte Rampling, 70, first hit the big screen in 1964, in an uncredited role in the Beatles classic, A Hard Days Night, and her career has gone from strength to strength ever since then. She has worked alongside some classic leading gentlemen, like Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Roger Moore, Woody Allen, Robert De Niro etc, and with 8 movies in the pipeline, she is still going strong. Her role in this movie, earned her an Oscar nomination for an Actress in a Leading Role, so her top performance was recognised by the top Hollywood moguls. This movie was directed by Andrew Haigh, who also brought you Weekend in 2011 but this movie has to be his biggest project to date, even though it was made with a low budget. He has definitely earned respect for this project but it personally was a bit too boring for me but you can't fault the great performances.

Budget: N/A.

Worldwide Gross: $14million.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their romance/dramas starring Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James, Dolly Wells, Richard Cunningham and Hannah Chalmers. 4/10.