LIVING Review: Small but Extraordinary Piece of Existentialism

"Living" is based on the original screenplay from Akira Kurosawa "Ikiru", a beloved classic from one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time. It was an interesting decision to remake the film with Bill Nighy as the main star, but for some reason, I had no problem at all with a new take on this material under the right hands. "Ikiru" is an emotional film about an aging bureaucrat who learns that he has a terminal disease, and the challenge for director Oliver Hermanus was to recreate that while making its own movie, and that's exactly what they did. I thought the movie was wonderful and really moving.

Synopsis: "In 1950s London, a humorless civil servant decides to take time off work to experience life after receiving a grim diagnosis."

I want to give a little bit of context before sharing my full thoughts on the movie; it's just a small anecdote that ties into my experience watching "Living." On the day I saw the film, I went to make a quick visit at my grandfather's house to give him his belated Christmas gift. He had some health issues in the past year and recently talked to us about the documentary "Searching For Sugar Man" and the story of the musician Sixto Rodriguez. He wanted a copy of Rodriguez's album "Cold Fact," so I bought it for him and I dropped by his house for 5-10 minutes to give it to him. Even though he was very happy to see me, I had to leave him because I had other engagements to attend to that evening.

I moved on with my evening and then later that night I decided to watch "Living" that I had the opportunity to see. The reason I'm sharing my little anecdote is because there's something that we can all relate to with seeing our grandparents aging and wanting to spend more time with us. Yet, as adults, we are all living fast-paced lives and can't seem to find the time for them.

That's basically at the heart of "Living," which I thought was fantastic, so I immediately connected with the film on that emotional level. I was seeing my grandfather in Bill Nighy's character, Mr. Williams. The movie is a sweet, pure, and heart-warming piece of existentialism that explores mortality, the banality of bureaucracy, and the meaning of life with Bill Nighy giving the performance of a lifetime. The way he interacts with other people and the impact he has on them is what makes it so special.

The film plays out like a great song that doesn't miss a beat; I thought it was beautiful, honest, and genuine. All the supporting actors in the film also added their bit of personality, which is why this film ends up feeling much different than the 1952 version of "Ikiru". A huge discovery for me was Aimee Lou Wood playing the role of a co-worker that forms a bond of affection with Mr. Williams as he is looking to find meaning in his last moments on Earth.

She was extremely likeable in every scene she appeared in and also showed her range in the more emotional moments. I thought she had a natural and honest quality that I loved seeing in actors. Overall, the movie was hitting the right notes from start to finish, and I know I will be watching it again because of that. The Oscar nominations were just announced this morning and Bill Nighy was nominated for Best Actor which is not really a surprise but great news for him!

Initial Score: 9/10

Living starts playing in limited theaters in Quebec on January 27th 2023

MISSING & THE OLD WAY Review: The Curse of the January Movies Lifted?

Sometimes you might get the impression that I've gone soft because I tend to mostly post positive reviews. The main reason is that I take no pleasure in dragging a movie down through the dirt. I have the utmost respect for filmmakers and the crew that put hundreds of hours into making a movie, so if I dislike the movie I tend to avoid negative bashing. This week's review is a double-feature with a movie I didn't like, THE OLD WAY, a western starring Nicolas Cage, and another one I did like, the successful sequel to Searching, called Missing. Let's get the bad out of the way first.

THE OLD WAY

I have an obsessive behavior with Nicolas Cage movies. Even though I don't love them all, I try to watch them all. That's why I decided to give THE OLD WAY a shot because I'm a big fan of westerns and there was a probability it could be fun while going in with reasonable expectations. The bad news is that it truly felt like a January release in all the worst way possible. I didn't hate the film but I was disappointed by the squandered potential there.

Synopsis: “An old gunslinger and his daughter must face the consequences of his past, when the son of a man he murdered years ago arrives to take his revenge.”

The Old Way is tonally all over the place. It doesn't know what movie it wants to be. At first, it was slightly entertaining to watch, thanks in part to the ever-dedicated Nicolas Cage, but it becomes problematic after a while. Unfortunately, it’s a forgettable and messy western with wooden acting and two-dimensional characters. I’m not saying this to be funny but it felt in some parts like a movie made by an AI, like a movie within a movie straight out of Tropic Thunder. There are some good in it but that just wasn’t enough for me even though it should've been.

Initial Score: 5/10

The Old Way is now available on VOD and limited theatres.

MISSING

After seeing M3GAN earlier this month, I was starting to wonder if we can finally stop treating January like a dumping ground for movies. The next one on the menu was the sequel to 2018's Searching, directed by Aneesh Chaganty, that made $75 million on a budget of $800,000. This meant a sequel was very likely to be made, and this is what we got with Missing, starring Storm Reid. The film uses a similar technique where all the scenes are shot from screen recordings, and I was curious about where the story was going to go this time around.

Synopsis: "After her mother goes missing, a young woman tries to find her from home, using tools available to her online."

Just like its predecessor, Missing is creating a nail-biting mystery that will leave true crime fanatics on the edge of their seats while using inventive editing techniques to tell the story through our modern technology. Storm Reid was excellent in this sequel and she basically carries this film with the editing team. Both Searching and Missing are equally impressive in terms of filmmaking achievement. It's impressive that they created such an entertaining film based on screen recordings using cellphones, computers and security cameras.

Without revealing anything, there is a shot in the film that use the famous "Dolly Zoom" on the screen of her laptop and I thought it was brilliantly done. It's just an example of how creative and effective this concept is. I'm not usually one to point out plot holes or trying to predict a movie but I had some issues with the screenplay on that level. However overall I had a blast with the different twists and turns, this story goes into different directions and it's wildly entertaining.

It's a great companion to 2018's Searching and it improves on it on a technical level. As I mentioned a couple of times already, I was highly impressed by how this movie was assembled in post-production. Solid transitions, fast-paced editing, and the multiple storytelling techniques they used make it a creative success. I had some minor issues with the story, and maybe there might have been one twist too many, but it was a nice trip to the cinema. Is the curse of the January movies lifted? Maybe not at 100%, but this has been a surprisingly solid month of January for movies.

Initial Score: 7.5/10

Missing starts playing in cinemas on January 20th 2023.