45 Years (2015)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

45 Years (2015) – A. Haigh

The acting by Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay (both actors of distinction with impressively long careers) is fine-grained and subtle; they disappear into the characters of Kate and Geoff Mercer who are about to celebrate their 45^th anniversary with a big party.  We see lives that have worn grooves into their environment and people who know each other intimately; Kate in particular often talks about Geoff’s personality, attitudes, and ways of behaving as though they are obvious to her and set in stone.  So, she is particularly taken aback when the body of Geoff’s former fiancée is discovered in the Swiss Alps (frozen solid after 50 years) and she discovers that he still harbors a longing for her.  This casts a cloud over the upcoming anniversary party.  As they engage in various preparations, we see how their preoccupation with the news from Switzerland affects each of them separately, presented subtly through their behaviour.  Slowly too, we see how this new knowledge about events “before their time” has consequences for their relationship.  Although Geoff does his best to “make up” for his (understandable?) absorption into the past, it is Kate who seems the hardest hit, principally by the fact that Geoff has kept a secret from her for this long – that is, by a loss of trust.  But is it fair? That is for the viewer to decide.  Personally, I empathized with both – but if I interpreted the last shot of the film correctly, then I think one of them has to work harder to let things go.  Surely, after 45 years, they would have learned to overcome issues such as this. (For the record, although I feared this would be a film suitable only for oldies, it felt real and natural for me – meaning what?!?).