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Every day, people around the world go about their daily routines and rituals, often so stuck in the monotony of it all that they barely notice the passing of time. But in the period drama Living, some unexpected news causes one man to step out of his daily routines and change his life.
Living shows up for another day at the office with Mr. Williams (Bill Nighy), the head of the public works office at the county hall in 1950s London. Mr. Williams leads a somber group of public servants, who spend day after day quietly working through the mountains of paperwork on their desks. But when Mr. Williams receives a troubling diagnosis from his doctor, he realizes that he needs to do more than just push papers around a desk—so he goes missing from the office while he tries to figure out how to live out his remaining days.
While Mr. Williams may have spent too long living a dull, methodical life, though, this isn’t a dull, methodical film. Even when the men of the public works are going about their daily routines, Living is stylish and beautifully filmed, with striking period details that will immediately transport viewers back to another time.
The highlight of the film, however, is a remarkably moving performance by Bill Nighy as this man who’s spent so much of his life simply going through the motions—quietly doing his job day after day, so caught up in what he once thought he wanted to be that he wakes one day to find that he’s hardly even noticed that his life has passed him by. While the character may be quiet and unassuming, though, this performance is absolutely captivating, pulling viewers into this character’s suddenly changing world. His is an absolutely heartbreaking story—a cautionary tale about getting stuck in the day-to-day and ending up filled with regret. But it’s also a story about waking up and making the most of what’s left—of working to make some kind of a difference, no matter how small it may seem.
Admittedly, much of the film is quite melancholy—but it all comes together to give viewers a powerful reminder that there’s more to life than just keeping your head down and putting in your time.
Living isn’t the kind of movie that will boost your spirits after a rough day. It is, however, a moving drama that’s made all the more powerful by the perfect lead performance. It’s the kind of movie that stays with you—and it might just inspire you to make some changes in your own life.
Living arrives in select theaters on December 23, 2022.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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