Review of The Sense of an Ending (2017) by Wes I — 26 Jun 2017

Worth seeing for the always-excellent performances from Broadbent and Rampling. The young cast is more than capable and the familiar faces in secondary roles are memorable in their too-brief appearances.

The plot's available for all to see, so I won't recap it. Suffice to say this film isn't dark in any way, so don't expect a brooding kind of "mystery." But there is indeed a sense of portent that something difficult happened in the past to the main characters, and you won't be in a rush to reach the end to find out exactly what it is: all that happens before is just too richly entertaining to simply jump ahead through, like filler-tracks on an album you skip to "get to the good stuff.".

Layered and textured and not dry at all. Not what I expected at all, much like a typical Mike Leigh film which appears not-that-special in previews but is quite a revelation when watching all at once (the pacing is less deliberate compared to that notable director's work, but the feel's similar.).

8 of 10 for me. I'd rate it higher if just a bit more attention had been paid to certain minor characters; perhaps events told later would be more clearly understood with a fuller background. In any case, this was a surprisingly excellent drama for me, exceeded my expectations.