Nothing could've prepared me to watch this film. I've never seen a film that says so much while still being incredibly quiet.
Andrew Scott absolutely knocks it out of the park with his devastating performance. It'd probably one of the most gut wrenching and realistic portrayals of grief and loneliness I've ever seen in a film, even though his situation isn't exactly grounded in reality. He does an absolutely exceptional job making you feel everything Adam feels: from uneasy happiness, to enamouredness, to melancholy, to desperation, to alienation, to fear, and to absolutely soul crushing grief. He manages to do all of this without his performance being too over the top, just a few subtle facial expressions and changes in his voice. How he wasn't nominated for an Oscar is beyond me; he easily should've won.
Speaking of Oscar snubs, Andrew Haigh deserves so much praise for this film. His direction and writing is impeccable. In the hands of any lesser director, this film would just be a soulless tearjerker with nothing to say. Haigh has made a career out of making painfully real films with characters you'd be forgiven for not realizing were fictional; this film is definitely no exception. The characters he's written for this film are all compelling in their own unique way, even though everyone except Adam is a hallucination or a ghost. The way he unfolds this story is also genius: of course, you basically know from the beginning that Adam's parents are most likely dead at this point, but the ambiguity of how and why Adam is seeing them keeps you interested until the very end of the film, and all that is merely a distraction for the real twist which you could argue is not even a twist at all (Again, this Haigh keeping it ambiguous is part of what makes this film so good. Harry's death is still the real question that the audience should comtemplate; the parents were a sort of red herring.), that Harry's been dead this entire time. Now, you could argue that Harry simply just killed himself and was real up until the ending, but the way the dialogue is presented in the ending makes me believe that Harry was just another hallucination/ghost, of a lover that Adam had lost some time ago, but even still, the fact that both these possibilities and more are plausible is part of why Haigh's writing is so good. The dialogue in this film also accomplishes something rare: it's down to earth and human in all the best ways, with all the little awkward laughs, small talk, and heartfelt, quiet moments that come with it. The dialogue also keeps us guessing what's really happening: whether it's all in Adam's head, or Adam's being haunted by the ghosts of those he's lost, or a bit of both, as each line seems to support different theories. The cinematography in this film is unsettling in all the best ways: clearly Haigh and his DOP knew exactly how to approach all the somber emotions being presented in this film, from scenes shot at strange angles to convey Adam's melancholic happiness, to tracking shot scenes that bring us into the subjectiveness of Adam's experience by closely following him, creating a sense of empathy in the audience. Overall, Haigh is at the top of his game here, and I can't wait to see how he outdoes this; if he even can.
This film is possibly one of the most moving explorations of grief, loneliness, and love I've ever seen. Haigh clearly had a lot to say in this film, but ultimately, he leaves it up to us to decide what it all means. You could see the ending as tragic, interpeting it as Adam relapses back into a fragile state of denial upon seeing Harry's dead body, or you could see it as an optimistic ending, interpreting it as embracing how much Harry meant to him and how much he misses him, in a parallel to the milkshake scene with Adam's parents just moments before. Regardless of how you view the ending, Haigh's ultimate lesson seems to be not to dwell on the losses we have suffered, not to move on and forget about them, but to recognise how much we valued them, and grow from our coming to terms with it; so whether you see Adam's story as a cautionary tale or one of inspiration, that's the lesson.
In conclusion, this film is absolutely spectacular. I'll easily add it to my list of my all time favourites.
Andrew Scott absolutely knocks it out of the park with his devastating performance. It'd probably one of the most gut wrenching and realistic portrayals of grief and loneliness I've ever seen in a film, even though his situation isn't exactly grounded in reality. He does an absolutely exceptional job making you feel everything Adam feels: from uneasy happiness, to enamouredness, to melancholy, to desperation, to alienation, to fear, and to absolutely soul crushing grief. He manages to do all of this without his performance being too over the top, just a few subtle facial expressions and changes in his voice. How he wasn't nominated for an Oscar is beyond me; he easily should've won.
Speaking of Oscar snubs, Andrew Haigh deserves so much praise for this film. His direction and writing is impeccable. In the hands of any lesser director, this film would just be a soulless tearjerker with nothing to say. Haigh has made a career out of making painfully real films with characters you'd be forgiven for not realizing were fictional; this film is definitely no exception. The characters he's written for this film are all compelling in their own unique way, even though everyone except Adam is a hallucination or a ghost. The way he unfolds this story is also genius: of course, you basically know from the beginning that Adam's parents are most likely dead at this point, but the ambiguity of how and why Adam is seeing them keeps you interested until the very end of the film, and all that is merely a distraction for the real twist which you could argue is not even a twist at all (Again, this Haigh keeping it ambiguous is part of what makes this film so good. Harry's death is still the real question that the audience should comtemplate; the parents were a sort of red herring.), that Harry's been dead this entire time. Now, you could argue that Harry simply just killed himself and was real up until the ending, but the way the dialogue is presented in the ending makes me believe that Harry was just another hallucination/ghost, of a lover that Adam had lost some time ago, but even still, the fact that both these possibilities and more are plausible is part of why Haigh's writing is so good. The dialogue in this film also accomplishes something rare: it's down to earth and human in all the best ways, with all the little awkward laughs, small talk, and heartfelt, quiet moments that come with it. The dialogue also keeps us guessing what's really happening: whether it's all in Adam's head, or Adam's being haunted by the ghosts of those he's lost, or a bit of both, as each line seems to support different theories. The cinematography in this film is unsettling in all the best ways: clearly Haigh and his DOP knew exactly how to approach all the somber emotions being presented in this film, from scenes shot at strange angles to convey Adam's melancholic happiness, to tracking shot scenes that bring us into the subjectiveness of Adam's experience by closely following him, creating a sense of empathy in the audience. Overall, Haigh is at the top of his game here, and I can't wait to see how he outdoes this; if he even can.
This film is possibly one of the most moving explorations of grief, loneliness, and love I've ever seen. Haigh clearly had a lot to say in this film, but ultimately, he leaves it up to us to decide what it all means. You could see the ending as tragic, interpeting it as Adam relapses back into a fragile state of denial upon seeing Harry's dead body, or you could see it as an optimistic ending, interpreting it as embracing how much Harry meant to him and how much he misses him, in a parallel to the milkshake scene with Adam's parents just moments before. Regardless of how you view the ending, Haigh's ultimate lesson seems to be not to dwell on the losses we have suffered, not to move on and forget about them, but to recognise how much we valued them, and grow from our coming to terms with it; so whether you see Adam's story as a cautionary tale or one of inspiration, that's the lesson.
In conclusion, this film is absolutely spectacular. I'll easily add it to my list of my all time favourites.