45 Years

A presentable exterior - with great lead acting and decent dialogue - belies a flimsy premise and a slight plot, entirely encapsulated in the summary: She gets hung up over his ex (whose frozen state is an embarrassingly on-the-nose metaphor) and it turns out she's just being irrational. That's all there is, and the film finds nowhere else to go.

It's what you'd expect from a film about an old couple: awkward dancing and sex, comments about how they're definitely not twenty anymore, grudging about the communist mate who's now playing golf and lots of struggling with dusty objects in the attic. But it movingly portrays the realization that, despite the years, the person you share a life with is ultimately still a stranger. It's a bittersweet deadlock with no guilty parties. Haigh is a tender observer, while the two leads nail the nuances.

Would of benefited from being a play instead. Has the same performance driven obsession of a Lamborghini but when you get the keys, they're for a Toyota Camry instead.

Rampling and Courtenay each won a Silver Bear for their great performances. The film is compelling, in spite of being really slow-moving, but it's not quite on par with Haigh's previous effort, 'Weekend'.

Emotionally brutal story of the unexpected and slow disintegration of a marriage and life-long partnership. The power of this film is the subtle way in which anger and betrayal are depicted. Some things cannot be forgiven. People do fall out of love. One of the greatest final scenes in cinema.

Solid, albeit small, film about a type of Love not portrayed enough in film. This comes down to Rampling's performance as it is phenomenal.

oohf le cringe euro pandering; but satisfying in that horrible olive kitteridge way [SPOILER] didn't really dawn on me till afterwords, that he basically considers risking his life just to see her one last time. or, at least, he has that potential fantasy every night, every morning, beside his wife. maybe he should have just jumped in after her

Small film where the characters which are very well written, very natural, don't really have space to excel. Even the real gut-wrenchers of the film feel muffled.

I'd normally make the joke that this film felt like it took 45 years to go through, but I just won't. The movie actually went by faster than I expected... but this movie wasn't just dry, it was mummified. Dull, boring, tedious. I did get an excellent talking to about climate change though, so thank goodness for small favors. The movie just felt like a boring anti-smoking ad and teaches us that no matter how old and tired you get, you will still get jealous of your lovers ex's...

Filmen är inledningsvis lite seg. Scenerna där Rampling är ute och går med hunden är både många och långa. Men det tar sig så småningom och särskilt Rampling imponerar när hon med små medel spelar ut ett brett känsloregister. Man känner verkligen med karaktärerna som i sin ambivalens men ändå djupa kärlek kämpar med din relation.

In 45 Years, Rampling shows us everything a true actress can do without a hint of excess or a single wasted motion.

The subtle message that is conveyed is actually pretty powerful, but it took an awfully long movie to do it.

It's a really good character study in general, with a very simple plot, but lots of astute observations about people and relationships. The performances from the two leads were excellent. It's a real improvement on the director's previous film, Weekend. The final shot was incredible and will haunt me for days to come, I think. I can imagine a lot of people would find it boring, but I thought this film was pretty brilliant, and will be severely underrated in years to come, unfortunately.

Such a subtle film -- and also one that truly relies too much on its actors to work (when it works). It might play only to art-house crowds, but what really kept me thinking is that if Tom's character had mixed Katya and Kate's names in his final speech. Irony apart, last shot is totally win-win.

To criticise this film on the basis of the plot contrivance the events are centred around is to miss the point. This is a precisely crafted character study of an urbane woman driven to inarticulate rage over the accumulation of a thousand tiny injustices. Everything hangs on the script, which feels very natural, and Rampling's performance, which is subtle and nuanced. An overlooked gem.

Moral - No matter how old you get your still a teenager and get worked up over stupid shit

from the familiar narrative beats to the song cues to the central glacier metaphor, found this safe and heavy-handed enough (in this naturalistic, depressing context at least) that i'm starting to doubt the spontaneity i perceived in WEEKEND. rampling is awesome and definitely the film's calling card, but not in a way that's particularly new or surprising. i got a bit of an awards-baity vibe overall to be honest (in a cannes rather than academy way obviously), gimme some mike leigh anyday.

Such a unbelievable real performance by Charlotte Rampling communicating how a 45 year old lie can put an damper on a anniversary!

In deepening variations of staring and thinking we get to see Rampling acting out a realization she has been too daft to notice for most of her life. The title already points to her perceived victimhood, and the film is too simplistic to question that assumption.

Around the same as Haigh's last movie. Probably a lesser movie like cinematically than Weekend but i dug the characters more in this one. Some really great old aged slice of life stuff. Felt like it would've worked better if it was just a husband remembering an old/lost love than something like a dead body being found but what can you do. Still heartbreaking. Forgot how good that Platters song was.

Slow and thoughtful with strong, understated performances, that leave the viewer to interpret the way the story ends.

Terrific acting and a lovely slow pace.

"45 Years" presents a compelling portrayal of a long-established couple navigating through the remnants of their past. The dynamic between the lead actors resonates with authenticity, bringing depth to the story and truly enriches the film's impact.

Insecurities. That's really the word that came to my mind when I saw the movie. A 45 years old marriage gets shaken due to a blast from the past, so to speak. The movie does an excellent job of showing the relationship between the couple. It's a fine drama. The pace of the movie and the way it was shot almost reminded me of some French movies I have seen.

For as straightforward and simple as it is I still found it pretty brutal. Old boy's been haunted for decades and old gal's been long-con babycucked by a corpse with only a damn dog to show for it. You know thawing the baby out had to have crossed his mind. Like if you freeze a baby in the womb that's still a fresh baby, right?

Great premise, really interesting.

okay movie

84.00+.50 = 84.50.

A respectable, albeit drab, kitchen-sink drama featuring a couple of dynamite performances on which the film relies. The premise is strong enough, but if anything, Haigh underplays his hand.

Hyper-real, ultra-focused 2-hander in which Rampling and Courtenay give two of the most immersive, believable performances in recent memory. Short and sweet, Haigh's adaptation has no use for subplots or minor characters. It's all about this one colossal relationship and in particular Kate's perspective on it. The way she is framed frequently illustrates her emotional state in a way which is both far too obvious, yet also poetic. A lightweight film but quality acting very nicely presented.

At its best, this film feels like an Englishman's Ozu. Contemplative, very observant. The style of coverage is great and most importantly consistent - this is Rampling's movie and we follow her perspective unbendingly, even cutting other speaking characters out of the frame. It felt like it was building to something bigger. It's all so understated, but perhaps such is the nature of that country's emotional character. Nonetheless, I wanted a real crescendo but I only got a brief hum. Still good.

Well acted and well observed. The film is a bit too on the nose with some of the connections it draws (and music it uses), but overall leaves a thoughtful and emotional impression.

Should rewatch this in 25 years.

Excellent, subtle performances in a tense and moving tale of everyday love.

45 years was how long this film seemed to last.

A long-married couple (Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay) on the verge of their anniversary learn that his former lover, killed long ago in an avalanche, has been found. His renewed fixation on her quietly threatens to destroy their happiness. An acting and writing showcase, but it never quite reaches greatness in either department. It is well-done, however, and Andrew Haigh's direction outshines the script. It's hard to pinpoint the main issue--perhaps the premise just feels a bit false.

Incredible performances. The film doesn't spoon-feed the audience, but leaves the viewers to make their own conclusions. A lot is left unknown, which makes for a superb film. The use of nature to contrast (or emphasise?) the emotional core of the story was incredible.

45 Years fully earns it's gut punch of an emotional ending, even if all the building leading to it feels tedious.

Certainly the dialogue is as droll as the well cured principles, until the subject of Katya comes up, which it does--often. And it's certainly not a story about a long overdue reckoning of a mid-life crisis fling. Pure drama so action junkies need not apply. Excellent use of music.

Viewed February 7, 2016.

Eric Rohmer-esque moral tale - great to see old favourites like Tom Courteney and Charlotte Rampling given the opportunity to excel. Shot in the Norfolk countryside where the sound recording of wind and weather has the same imposing presence as in Rohmer's classics. I always used to put the predominance of natural sound down to cheap budgets preventing a more balanced result but here at least the effect must be deliberate and presumably therefore it serves a purpose beyond homage to new wave.

Rampling is pretty good and the main characters are interesting, but the plot goes nowhere and nothing is resolved.

Başka Sinema - Moda Sahnesi.

Not as good as Haigh's previous film, but it still sits comfortably in his filmography. He gets great performances out of his actors.

v nice