45 Years (2015)
A film like this wouldn’t work without stellar acting, and thankfully Charlotte Rampling carries this from start to finish. She was more convincing than Tom Courtenay, or at least I thought so most of the film, but there is a point to that difference between them. She seems like she has been part of a 45 year relationship more than he does, which only underlines the main premise of him having to stir up 50 year old memories before this marriage. The story leans very heavily into the “what might have been”-theme and I think it does it well, because the film isn’t so much about the husband’s past, his maybe regret or his struggles, but about her reaction to his emotional turmoil. Displaying complex emotions from that angle is often much more interesting that just focusing on it head on.
Rating: 4