I really wanted to catch Living at the cinema but just missed it but, thankfully, it’s now been confirmed for the Digital (3rd March), Blu-ray and DVD (Pre-order here for 13th March) release from Lionsgate!
Starring Bill Nighy, this reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru is directed by Oliver Hermanus from a script by Kazuo Ishiguro (author of the novels The Remains of The Day and Never Let Me Go). The film was received to resounding critical acclaim at Sundance Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.
Living is the story of an ordinary man, reduced by years of oppressive office routine to a shadow existence, who at the eleventh hour makes a supreme effort to turn his dull life into something wonderful – into one he can say has been lived to the full.
1953. A London shattered by WWII is still recovering. Williams (Bill Nighy), a veteran civil servant, is an important cog within the city’s bureaucracy as it struggles to rebuild. Buried under paperwork at the office, lonely at home, his life has long felt empty and meaningless. Then a shattering medical diagnosis forces him to take stock – and to try and grasp fulfilment before it goes beyond reach.
At a seaside resort, chaperoned by a local decadent (Tom Burke), he flirts with hedonism before rejecting it as his solution. Back in London he finds himself drawn to the natural vitality of Margaret (Aimee Lou Wood), a young woman who once worked under his supervision and is now determined to spread her wings. Then one evening he is struck by a revelation – one as simple as it is profound – and with a new energy, and the help of Peter (Alex Sharp), an idealistic new recruit to his department, he sets about creating a legacy for the next generation.
Check out the trailer, and our review will be live very soon!
critical popcorn 