Living

"It's never too late to start."

2022 1h 42m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🔥

96%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 546🍅96%Rotten Tomatoes●81Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 40,546

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

London, 1953. Mr. Williams, a veteran civil servant, is an important cog within the city's bureaucracy as it struggles to rebuild in the aftermath of World War II. Buried under paperwork at the office and lonely at home, his life has long felt empty and meaningless. Then a devastating medical diagnosis forces him to take stock, and to try and grasp some fulfilment before it passes permanently beyond reach.

“It's never too late to start.”

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Cast

Bill Nighy
Williams
Aimee Lou Wood
Margaret Harris
Alex Sharp
Peter Wakeling
Tom Burke
Sutherland
Adrian Rawlins
Middleton
Oliver Chris
Hart
Hubert Burton
Rusbridger
Zoe Boyle
Mrs. McMasters

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Oliver Hermanus
Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto
Languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish
Countries: Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 70% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 4 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Oliver Hermanus, shot by Jamie D. Ramsay. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Chris Wyatt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood and Alex Sharp carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Oliver Hermanus directs. Jamie D. Ramsay behind the camera. Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch scores. Chris Wyatt cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, Portuguese, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 70% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 4 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish.
4International production across 3 countries: Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom.
5Directed by Oliver Hermanus, shot by Jamie D. Ramsay. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Chris Wyatt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood and Alex Sharp carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "It's never too late to start.".
10IMDB entry: tt9051908 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jamie D. Ramsay
Original score: Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
Editing: Chris Wyatt
Production design: Helen Scott
Costume design: Sandy Powell
Makeup / hair: Nadia Stacey
Sound: Rob Hughes
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $10,000,000
Box office: $6,999,027
Return: 70% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Living (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 81/100
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 40,546 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 10 wins & 48 nominations total

Also by

Oliver Hermanus

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-11-05
★ 7/10
Now I am not usually a particular fan of Bill Nighy but in this he is very much at the top of his game. An adaptation of Kurosawa's "Ikuru" (1952), the setting is shifted to London where Nighy is the fastidious "Mr. Williams". A local civil servant heading up the public works department of the London County Council. His small team has some new blood in the form of "Mr. Wakeling" (Alex Sharp) whose baptism in the department is to accompany three ladies (and the audience) on a revelative journey through the pillar-to-post red tape that "Williams" himself facilitates - all guaranteeing that very little actually ever gets done! Leaving early one day, we discover that this erstwhile precise and predictable individual is seriously ill. Unable and/or unwilling to divulge this information to his son, he absconds to the seaside where he encounters "Sutherland" (Tom Burke) who gives him a relaxing tour of the local hotspots before he return to London and happens upon one of his team "Miss Harris" (Aimee Lou Wood). A posh luncheon ensues and the elderly gent and his young colleague start to bond. This bond soon has - unbeknown to either of them - tongues wagging, but when she gets a new job he finds himself drawn to her. Drawn to her joie de vivre and general enthusiasm for a life he knows he will not have for too much longer. That becomes contagious as he decides to apply himself, and his team, to achieving at least one more thing in a professional capacity! It is a gently paced and evocative story that deals with that sense of re-prioritisation faced by anyone when faced with a profound change in circumstances. Nighy has a delightfully understated manner to his performance here, Wood is also effective as his increasingly valuable confidente and Oliver Hermanus manages to retain much of the charm and subtly potent impetus of the original Ishiguro story. It is beautifully scored by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch who incorporates original and powerful themes with established classical ones. The costumes and overall aesthetic of the film complements well the classy and impressive performances that resonated in quite a thought-provoking, and multi-layered fashion as I watched it. I was engaged by this from start to finish and I really quite enjoyed it.
Peter McGinn2023-04-20
★ 9/10
This is one of the better “quiet” movies, as I call them, that I have watched in a long time. Bill Nighy seems to excel in restrained roles, where he speaks quietly and shows emotion subtly. I am thinking especially of The Girl in the Cafe, where he oddly enough also plays a civil servant. Nighy is wonderful and methodical (in a good way) as a man who is thawing out from a repetitious, paralyzed life after he receives life-altering news. He even impresses when he sings a song in the same quiet, restrained manner. A flashback is applied in an odd way nearer the end of the movie, but it works as an imaginative way to fill in the details of the ending. I fully expect to watch this again.