User Reviews

Bill Nighy is why I watched this. His strong performance was what propelled the film along and kept my interest. His character was the most likeable and somewhat reminisce of his character from 'About Time' - if he had endured an unhappy marriage for 30 years.

'Hope Gap' is not a happy film. I chuckled once or twice at some dark humour, but it was mostly depressive, such as marriage break-ups and domestic disputes are. The depressive tone was rather suffocating at times.

Annette Benning's character of Grace infuriated me. I felt quite sorry for Bill Nighy's Edward and Josh O'Connor's Jamie. I think its testament to Benning's strong performance that she could make me dislike her so much. The characters were all very believable, including hers. I'm sure many will relate to aspects of the film, or know characters like them.

It succeeded in accurately portraying three sides to the marriage break-up. I thought the poem at the end (by the son) was fitting and tied things together well. A well-placed cup of tea unexpectedly made me a little emotional too. The English coastal town was a nice setting to what was often unpleasant watching.

Good performances, well-written, but ultimately loses points for just being too damn bleak.

I once sat in a bar with my ex-girlfriend and Carly Simon's 'You're So Vain" came on the jukebox. "This song reminds me of you." she said. "I'm guilty of lots of things, but vanity isn't one of them." "No, you're not vain. It's a line in the song. Listen, see if you know which one..." ""You gave away the things you love and one of them was me."" "Yes." It's one of the saddest things anyone has ever said to me. But it wasn't true. She pushed me away, and I left.

The film is an honest, quiet, devastating story of the sort of love many people experience. The regrettable sort. People can live without the respect of others, but when that disrespect starts to erode your own self-respect, you need to leave. Some of us should never fall in love.

A decent film with good performances from all. The ending is lovely.

Two great actors in Annette Bening and Bill Nighy take us through the breakdown of a marriage. Not wonderful subject matter and some may argue that there may be better ways to wile away an hour and a half, but it is portrayed very well. I love Bill Nighy in everything, and even though I don't necessarily like his character here, he does it with aplomb.

Having been married for about the same time as the couple portrayed here it was interesting to see what both had done wrong, or could have done better to preserve their marriage. Some reviewers have blamed the wife but I think that's unfair. Perhaps my one reservation is that there was a subtle message running through it that if the husband, his lover and the son could move on and be happy, then so should the wife. That's a bit harsh as I'm sure many jilted wives would attest.

Feel sorry for the writer and director who evidently based this on his own parent's breakup. Interestingly, writing this now as the pandemic wreaks havoc around the world it is interesting to see that marriages are another victim of the virus. Too many couples having grown apart, and then forced to be together, have found the situation unbearable. How sad.

This is not the best film you will ever see but it may possibly be the best portrayal of a love-less marriage and the finding of real love you may ever see on screen. Someone in amongst the writers, Director etc has experience the emotions on show here and the cast bring them to life in a very easy, simple way. Bening is truly wonderful in her performance, I actually felt hate for her character. How she missed an award is beyond me. I felt the response by Angela at the end perfectly summed up the whole situation. Worth a watch this one

Hope Gap... She had her hoe till the last. What poetry, what dialogues, what performance...

I really wanted it to for Josh O Conor due to his performance in Crown. But Here i was awestruck by Annette Benning. Excelsior is the word.

William Nicholson both wrote and directed this artistic and sensitive little cinematic masterwork. The story examines relationships and the breakdown of marriage in a manner that is heartbreaking yet beautifully introspective.

Grace (Annette Bening) is a religious woman married to Edward (Bill Nighy), a professor at a local school who is not religious, and their marriage seems stable though with little communication on Edward's part. They are approaching a twenty-ninth wedding anniversary and the ties that bind their marriage appear fragile. Their son Jamie (Josh O'Connor) is involved in the tech industry and seems aloof. Edward shares his affair and love for another woman and tells Grace that he is leaving her. The life change plays out with each of the three - Grace is furious, hurt, and in denial, while Edward is having difficulty with the machinations of the end of their marriage, and Jamie is torn between his love for both parents and the crush of his beliefs systems that appear to unravel. Grace ultimately regains her footing and discovers a new, powerful voice and ultimately finds a way to be happy.

The cinematography by Anna Valdez-Hanks heightens the emotional impact of the film as does the musical score by Alex Heffes. Annette Bening, Bill Nighy, and Josh Charles offer polished performances and the small attending cast members are excellent. The addition of poetry greatly enhances the film's messages. But the primary contributor to the success of this film is the script and direction by Nicholson, who to date has written such films as Les Miserables, Unbroken, and Gladiator. He is a major talent. In all, this is a small but vibrant film that deserves a very large audience.

Hope Gap

The title put me off viewing this but when I finally did this was very good.

A tight script with even tighter acting, the great revelation being the total lack of insight Grace, played by Annette Benning, showed in her understanding of her behaviour to others. I am even unclear even at the end of the movie that she had made any progress on this point and this was where her personal redemption lay. I am glad she got what she deserved when the worm turned!

With that said it had great insight into the human condition and I really enjoyed the whole thing.

I'm giving this a hard 7 for the nuance of delivery by Benning it was an acting masterclass.

... gets a new member as a once satisfactory arrangement becomes more than a bit unsatisfactory and the deserted spouse finds it a bit tricky coming to terms with being on her own - although why you would want to perpetuate such misery can only be answered by the thousands that continue to do so on a daily basis.

A little too drawn out but my take away was: don't be resigned to becoming your parents as the son believes will be the case. We really are in trouble if that starts to happen. They only give us our genes and typically 18 years of brainwashing, you need to spend the rest of your life washing it all out as best you can, no matter where you are on your journey to the bitter and twisted club.

Just your typical divorce drama without enough depth. Depth as in it could have been just a tiny bit more compelling and absorbing, but overall, Hope Gap is unfortunately too slow and uninteresting. To be truthful, critics who usually drop a few tons of spoilers in their reviews won't really have to worry about this one.

What else is there to say other than something like "Hope Gap is a simple and average divorce drama"? The film realistically portrays an ordinary divorce, but it never includes any creative or new ideas. Of course it features the death of a marriage, but nothing exciting happens at all. It's just a simple design without any added dramas.

The rational presentation of divorce and the performances are what get the credit. Bening and Nighy are definitely magnificent at creating frustrated and dramatic characters. But despite their tireless acting, their conversations and actions are completely tedious. Hope Gap would avoid being a completely pointless drama if it simply just created a gripping thought to build on the side and excite viewers a bit more.

If you liked this review, check out the full review and other reviews at aussieboyreviews.

"Say not the struggle nought availeth, the labour and the wounds are vain, the enemy faints not, nor faileth, and as things have been they remain." An important passage of one of Arthur Hugh Clough's most recognized poems, is easily one of the most important messages from William Nicholson's long awaited sophomore feature Hope Gap. A story about hope, persistence and hard work for the things in life that matter the most, Hope Gap is a small film, but size never seems to be a determining factor of poignancy. Just like a well written poem, Hope Gap is a little piece of reality for the struggles, hardships and sometimes, maybe even often times, emotionally violent feats one may take to overcome heartbreak.

Upon watching Hope Gap, I found the film resonating very deep within my heart and soul. Having endured a heartfelt and emotional withering of my own relationship, the film treads lightly the very real and hard to swallow realities of moving on.

Plot wise, the film is a very familiar story. As the film opens up, we are quickly introduced to a very simple family; Edward (Bill Nighy) a professor at a local school, Grace, religious mother and poet enthusiast (Annette Bening) and their tech-savvy son Jamie (Jack O'Connor), who has recently moved away from his parents quaint seaside town and into the city. Upon the arrival of Grace and Edward's twenty-ninth wedding anniversary, an elderly Edward (Bill Nighy) informs Grace that he is leaving him for another woman.

As the unravelling of Grace and Edward's marriage begins, very simple yet complex themes of happiness, communication and relationships encompass the film. Within the first ten minutes of the film, Grace and Edward's relationship is spotlighted by how a lack of communication shows how their relationship begins to wither. Discussion of a simple anniversary dinner date, as well as a belief and faith in God shows both of their large differences in the relationship pushes Edward away. Grace, who is so passionate and feisty, laments her own emotions onto Edward, who, lifelessly and aimlessly just goes through the motions of the final days of their marriage. It becomes quite clear that the routine, repetitiveness and familiarity of Edward's life with Grace takes a toll on how he sees his future may be, and therefore rejects and denies it when he begins to fall in love with another woman.

Nicholson's script and direction is super tight and extremely relatable in a time where the large gaps between generations, especially between parents and children, are more visible than ever. Nicholson uses his very talented cast, moistly in Bening and Nighy, as well as the highly underrated O'Connor showcase their acting skills in nuanced yet powerful ways. Nicholson treads light waters and uses the weight of little things having value in relationships and how certain partners characteristics leads to problematic formulas of action/reaction and the lack thereof.

Hope Gap is wonderful film who's biggest enemy are not the cheaters, the faithfuls or the innocent bystanders who get caught in the cross-fires of love; the greatest enemy in Hope Gap are the fears that individuals tend to forget when it comes to growing a life, raising a family and getting older entails. These fears, like, being adequate companions to a spouse, projecting your beliefs onto your children, as well as the expectations people have for others, without expecting much from themselves, become the very fabrics of why Hope Gap succeeds as a portrait of a failed marriage, but also bridges the spaces of simple narrative storytelling.

Hope Gap isn't a movie you see, it's a movie you feel, similar to the way Edward explains to his wife how trying to force their son to believe in God is not the path he nor his son sees fit. "You don't tell love, you feel love", says Edward. Hinting early on in the film his very own emotions to a wife that seems deaf to his cries and pleas of change and growth.

One of the marvellous feats of Hope Gap is its ability to, although showcasing the faults and incompatibilities of each spouse to the audience as well as to each other, never makes either one of the partners a villain or a hero. Grace and Edward move on with their individual lives in manners that seem to not only evolve their characters, but also allow their son Jamie to find peace and happiness in the unfolding of his parents marital demise.

One of the most reoccurring dialogues in the film, is the idea of being happy and being fine. As Grace so eloquently states, "Fine isn't the same as happy" when discussing Jamie's love life in the city and his lack of companionship in his single flat, as well as Edward's responses whenever Grace asks him how his days are and how he is feeling. This simple use of narrative foreshadowing and these little bits of dialogue really pushes the points towards the fact that marriages are not easy; relationships are not simple, yet, its the decisions made between two people and the actions of their love that bridges the gap towards the idea that their love, their failed marriage and the time spent together, brought them their greatest accomplishment, their son.

It is quite obvious that Hope Gap may not be the happiest film you may see in 2020, but it sure is one damn fine film.

I enjoyed the movie mainly because of the good performances from the main actors especially from Josh and Annette. The story is a sad one but the deep dialogue kept me interested in it. It's a fairly good movie to watch if you like Annette and if the subject matter is something you may relate to.

This is an English movie, set and filmed in the small city of Seaford, on the coast almost directly south of London. Just east of town are some white limestone cliffs and a spot there is called "Hope Gap", thus the title of the movie. It is a place the couple and their young son, now an adult, would often go, being a short walk up a hill from town.

Annette Bening, using the best British accent she can muster, is Grace and always reliable Bill Nighy is her husband of 29 years, Edward. He is quiet and non-confrontational, she is just the opposite and can easily be overbearing. Now an issue that has been building for some time, over a year, is coming to a head.

This is a good movie, perhaps my wife and I appreciate it more because we are of ages similar to theirs, and we have been married 28 1/2 years. You get into a routine, you know what each other likes and what each other's habits are. You don't really discuss "how is the relationship going?"

It isn't really amplified in the story but they mention that the two met 30 years earlier when he got onto the wrong train, often two single people will take that as an omen, "Fate brought us together." But that kind of thinking is dangerous and no substitute for getting to know someone really well before you decide that will be your partner for life. It looks like Grace and Edward would have each been happier if they had never met. Then pity the poor son who would never have existed!

We watched this at home on DVD from our public library.

So many marriage story theme recently. My focus is on the wife acting when facing all the breakdown on her side. Very enjoyable in this aspects. Great acting.

Very enjoyable drama about an couple whose marriage is strained and break up and the effects on each and their grown son. Some humour but a serious film. Performances are first class and as usual Annette Bening is outstanding. John O'Connor (Gods Own Country) also is a stand out

**Not sure if there are spoilers - but I think what I wrote is in the trailer - but just in case I am writing this part first ** If you are looking for a plot-heavy drama you won't find it here. But if you are like me, and appreciate a journey that feels like something you might have gone through, something relatable and character-driven - then this is your movie. I long for these types of movies. The complexities of relationships and human interaction - not screaming at you. The flaws. Bening as the wife of 29 years who is surprised when her husband leaves her, is a deeply flawed - maybe even unlikeable - character, but you can't help feeling her pain. Bill Nighy is another character that you want to dislike, perhaps feel sorry for - angry at! (Because how dare he be so weak and callous - and victimized at the same time !). But isn't it just reality? When someone wants to leave - when they've had enough - they just do it. When someone is unhappy, sometimes the push is "someone else". No matter if you are in later life - a history, lifetime shared with someone else. And even the hints of "Angela said" throughout the movie - a subtle but powerful peek into the vulnerability of Nighy's character and the power Angela has over him (not unlike the power his wife had over him - and we wonder where that will lead) - even towards the end when "Angela" nods at him to go after his ex, and he does so immediately at her approval. The worried, adult son is another character - and we DO like him, and his emotions come spilling out with only a soft glance - and he is pulled between his parents and the different places they have settled (happy and unhappy). If you are good at catching the subtleties and are appreciative of a slower-moving movie (like a wagon ride through an impeccable countryside on a dismal day - with the clouds beginning to part only as you reach the end) - then ENJOY! I did.

Without having heard anything previously about this film, I did not hesitate to pay a little bit higher streaming fee than I normally would at this time because of the guarantee of excellence these two stars. All the performances were wonderful, including Josh O'Connor who I had not seen before. I went to bed thinking about it and I woke up thinking about it. The many levels it touched in me continue to unfold.

As someone who has been married longer than the couple in this, I watched out of interest, but by the middle I found myself willing it to get nearer the end as it was so relentlessly depressing. Annette Bening looks and acts much older than her actual age and her English accent grates. Her character's habit of repeating what someone says to her drove me mad. Bill Nighy is morose and without the twinkle in his eye which is part of his usual charm.

As I write this I'm unsure whether to watch this until the end. The presence of lovely John O'Connor and the picturesque coastal setting are plus points, and given the other, mostly excellent, reviews on here I will stick it out. Josh portrays well the divided loyalties that an adult must feel when their ageing parents split up. Then I'll go give my husband a big hug!

Hope Gap is about an ageing couple trying to keep their stale relationship together after 29 years of marriage. The husband is dull, you just want to shake him, the wife argumentative and rude and their grown up son is struggling with his own relationship problems. Sounds depressing? Well it is, the film is slow and boring.

The script is dreary. Annette Bening does an okay English accent. Why did they cast an American actress? There are plenty of good British actresses that could've played the part.

A long drawn out tale of woe, I didn't enjoy this film at all.

A slow paced, poignant film about a family breaking up. Benning, Nighy and O'Connor delivered captivating performances with such subtlety and conviction. Brilliant script and direction. Overall, It was poetry in motion.

A nice thing about streaming is the suggestions hence our watching Page Eight followed by another two word title "Hope Gap" all because of Old Bill, Nighy that is. What a contrast in characters he plays even though the films are a mere couple of years apart; the poor man has gone from being with sexy Rachel to religious nutter Anette and their son Prince Charles in a hideaway in Broadchurch.

Of the two flawed but worthwhile films Hope Gap was the weaker I feel at least as far as Bill's bits are concerned. However, in both he plays an intelligent middle class gent with problems, lots of them, most of them his own fault and both involving his dalliances with the unfairer sex.

I looked him up and our veteran actor has reached his three score years and ten with no sign of hanging his boots up. It works in one but not in the other. This review will now concentrate on Hope(less) Gap and one thing that struck me quickly was the casting. There's been some mistake here surely? Here he is as a history teacher in his local secondary school going on about Napoleon's disastrous retreat from Moscow to a bored sixth form class. Was this a metaphor about his life at the outset, chucking the wounded in the snow to die? I would have loved Bill as my history teacher, so deadpan so wry, so funny.

Yes folks, the actor is and looks, seventy and yet is still teaching professionally and UK retirement age is mid-60s. But this has nothing to do with his family life... or has it? Not wanting to give up the plot he is miscast in my opinion. The other two principal characters, his wife and son are also poorer choices in my mind. Bening has had her moments and she gives a lot to the role as his long-suffering partner in life and mother of his only child but were no other maybe more local actresses free? And we are still in shock over The Crown where Josh delivers an hilarious impression of Prince Charles smitten by the lovelier than life Camilla while tormented by his mum and co... hmm sounds a bit like Hope Gap... yes, there he is torn between two crankies whose marriage is well past its sell by date but neither has the guts to sort it out even though they are bright, successful muddle class folk living in a coastal idyll. On that subject we enjoyed the drone footage but it has become a bit of a cliché nowadays yet did serve as a nice break between the family funny bits. Yes, it has comedic moments, quite a few in fact especially when Prince Charles falls over or rather trips over the pet which just suddenly appeared from nowhere, your usual yuppy puppy compensatory pedigree of course. Well, they did warn Charles to stop walking about with his hands in his jacket pockets!

So if you like schadenfreude voyeurism and have just over 90 minutes to spare of an evening then maybe give it a try... but only have the one glass of fine wine beforehand as you may nod off... until AB starts yelling at him again... and I don't blame her, serves her right marrying a history teacher! Snag is it was all a bit too close to home... the perils of the "empty nest" syndrome... but who wants to watch stuff like this? It made me feel uncomfortable and depressed - if they can't get life right what chance the rest of us mere mortals?

I've always enjoyed the acting skills of both Annette Bening and Bill Nighy and while they portrayed a typical "misunderstood" marriage of two people? I was disappointed it dragged on AS LONG as it did and didn't "cut to the chase" sooner. It took but a few minutes to size up Grace as a rather hostile, ignorant if not out of touch woman (not wife, W O M A N) She brushes off her nastiness with Edward as some sort of playful bantering when in fact, it is cruel and merciless and LESS than loving. WHO does she think she's KIDDING? Her shy husband takes her knocks and isn't the sort to fight back - knowing fully well - FINALLY, it's actually WHO SHE IS as a woman, not just wife and mother BUT woman. The long suffering marriage really should have ended as her son said, years ago because it's clearly BEEN YEARS since he's been unhappy, probably at least a decade OR MORE. I wasn't entertained by this movie in any way and as "poetic" as she seem to be? Her heart and soul are ANYTHING but that of a poet. She's just an unfortunate human being. I almost applauded when he left, even though he did it as subtly as he did, but he doesn't deserve praise in particular either, just basically rather cowardly and on top of that; abused by her verbally. No, this isn't one of the better example of a marriage "gone bad" - but it is the example of what occurs when one person in a marriage has more "power" somehow, someway, than the other. Pitiful.