Although his work has been remade many times, I am sure that the filmography of Akira Kurosawa is still a daunting monolith that many approach with a mix of reverence and nervousness. There are so many outright classics, films that already feel as if they have told that story as perfectly as it can be told. Ikiru is one of those classics, and I don’t think anyone was confident that this remake (although not the first remake of it) would come close to it’s brilliance. It does though, and there’s one reason for that. Bill Nighy.
Nighy stars as Williams, a bureaucrat who spends his hours accomplishing very little, save for moving paperwork along in a way that keeps certain projects in a limbo of Kafka-esque proportions. Williams seems to view his role as someone ensuring the wheels are greased, even if those wheels are spinning around and around with no hope of ever actually going anywhere. That changes when he receives a terminal medical diagnosis though, giving him a looming “expiry date”. Deciding to keep the news to himself, for the most part, Williams treats himself to some time off work, enjoys some socialising with a young colleague (Margaret, played by Aimee Lou Wood), and struggles to consider what might be left behind that shows he actually made any difference. There is that playground that some local women have been petitioning for.
Written by the hugely talented Kazuo Ishiguro, transplanting the material from Japan to 1950s London is the first of many smart moves that allow the film to tread very similar ground while feeling more rooted in the manners and mindset of the British. Duty is very important here, as is how someone is perceived by others, but those two things become the focus for many people, a stifling straitjacket, when they should be the by-product of a life lived well. While some scenes are full of revealing dialogue, many others tell you just as much without any characters speaking, and it’s a fantastic balancing act throughout.
Director Oliver Hermanus does a great job with the direction, keeping everything fairly muted and quiet, in line with the man character, and he is helped immensely by a beautiful score from Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch. Hermanus, who has previously directed a handful of films I am sadly unfamiliar with, knows that this isn’t material to rush through, nor does it need lots of distracting bells and whistles. He focuses on Nighy, Wood, and the stroke of luck that shows them making an unexpectedly strong connection.
The acting, although I might be edging into hyperbole here, is almost flawless, and Nighy gives what may be the best performance I have ever seen from him in a movie. It feels very much in his wheelhouse, admittedly, but that’s because he makes it look so bloody effortless. Starting off as dour and grey, his performance starts to reveal light, humour, and warmth as he heads toward his final days, and the ending is no less poignant for knowing where the story is taking us. Wood is a great match for Nighy, conversing with him in a way that shows off her appeal, with her mix of care and consideration, energy, and youthful talent of occasionally blurting out what others would never say. Other people do well, with Alex Sharp playing someone who could very easily become the next in a long line of Williams figures, or may be saved, but the film belongs to Nighy, with very strong support from Wood.
Although about 40 minutes shorter than the original, this doesn’t feel rushed or incomplete. Ikiru remains the better film, and the longer runtime helps to more easily emphasise how slow the bureaucratic machinery works, but Living is a satisfying and worthwhile watch, and I would not have been disappointed to see Nighy get more praise for it last year. Although he has been doing great work for a long time, this feels like a special achievement, and I think it is easily vying for a top spot when ranking his performances.
8/10
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