This superbly moving section is managed and developed with masterly assurance. Its stab of rage is shocking and yet almost a cathartic relief, and an indication of the limits of niceness. Afterwards, the action returns to London, and Leigh shows how Gerri and Tom's patience with Mary is running very low. Since this film was shown at Cannes earlier this year, a division of opinion has emerged among audiences about its two lead characters, and I have found myself shuttling between these views.
Some think they are simply what they seem: sane, nice people, and instead of being on the alert for irony, we could and should simply admire them.
But there is an alternative view: namely, that Gerri and Tom are not all that admirable, but subtly complacent and self-satisfied, and we are misunderstanding the parasitism of their relationship with Mary.
Could it be that it is Gerri and Tom who are addicted to the cosy feeling of superiority that poor mixed-up Mary and Ken give to them, while they sympathise, roll their eyes at each other and easily pour these poor souls drink after drink after drink? After all, it is Mary who is shown keeping Tom's brother Ronnie David Bradley company, and bringing him out of himself.
Tom and Gerri profess to adore Joe's girlfriend Katie Karina Fernandez , who actually shows herself to be a little two-faced. Leigh and his cast have created a network of relationships that is more complex than it first appears, yet even here the conclusion might simply be that Gerri and Tom are adults who treat their friends as adults, no matter how damaged they appear to be: adults who must make their own decisions.
Or perhaps it is that there is a quantum-economy of happiness in any group of people: the happiness of some means unhappiness in others. The westerly end of the beach which sits in the shelter of Dodman Point, is a favoured spot among naturists. Portloe While St Michael Penkevil church provided the backdrop for the interior wedding scenes, the small fishing village of Portloe on The Roseland stepped in for the exterior shots.
Comfortable in front of the camera, it has welcomed a number of actors in the last decade, not least Dawn French and Catherine Tate for the BBC comedy series Wild West. Favoured by location scouts for being unspoilt and traditional, Portloe is a popular contender for the title of most beautiful village in Cornwall. Private residence The film moves between London and Cornwall with the family home providing the south-west anchor where special occasions are played out.
St Austell Rugby Club For 8 weeks last summer while its players had hung up their boots for the season, St Austell Rugby Club turned into a pop-up production office. It swapped scrum caps for make-up as it welcomed the About Time cast and crew and played host to the costume and catering departments. The stars of the film retreated to the site for time out between takes treating St Austell to a taste of Hollywood magic.
Badi Uzzaman Mr. Gupta as Mr. Meneka Das Mr. Gupta's Friend as Mr. Gupta's Friend. More like this. Watch options. Storyline Edit. A married couple who have managed to remain blissfully happy into their autumn years, are surrounded over the course of the four seasons of one average year by friends, colleagues, and family who all seem to suffer some degree of unhappiness.
Rated PG for some language. Did you know Edit. Trivia To simulate the four seasons of a year, cinematographer Dick Pope used four different film stocks, and much attention was paid to details in the props so that the passage of time would appear believable.
Goofs One of Mary's outlays on her troublesome car was for a new carburettor, but the vehicle in the film had fuel injection. Quotes Mary : I'm very much a glass-half-full kind of girl. User reviews Review. Top review. Another existentialist classic by Mike Leigh. Tom and Gerri Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen , the couple at the centre of Mike Leigh's latest existential piece, couldn't be more unlike the cartoon characters who share their names.
Together for several decades, their love for each other has only grown. I wouldn't complain if my marriage looked like theirs when I'm in my 50s. When he isn't working as a geologist and she isn't counselling people, they spend their time providing solace to those who need it — Ken Peter Wight , a straight-talking, John Smiths-drinking Yorkshireman; Ronnie David Bradley , Tom's laconic brother whose wife has just died; and most of all Mary Lesley Manville , a jittery colleague of Gerri's in the middle of a mid-life crisis.
It is Mary who dominates the film and who most elicits our empathy. She is without love and possibly even without the hope of love. It is genuinely painful to see her disintegrate scene by scene. As another year in Tom and Gerri's life unfolds, we see nothing particularly fascinating happen. They tend to their allotment, they invite people to their house for food and company, and they reminisce about their experiences. Nothing could be more trivial, right? This film is about growing old and making the right choices as one gets to old age.
Above all it's about recognising that happiness is less a right than an aspiration. The word 'integrity' comes to mind when I think of Mike Leigh. Who else could convince actors to sign up to films where there was no script to begin with?
Throughout his career he has eschewed the Hollywood system and has done things his own way 'Given the choice of Hollywood or poking steel pins in my eyes, I'd prefer steel pins'.
0コメント