Deprecated: mb_convert_encoding(): Handling HTML entities via mbstring is deprecated; use htmlspecialchars, htmlentities, or mb_encode_numericentity/mb_decode_numericentity instead in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/super-cool-ad-inserter/inc/scaip-shortcode-inserter.php on line 37
Just five days before an English couple will host a party to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary, a small occurrence casts worrisome shadows over the seemingly sunny relationship. Geoff (Tom Courtenay) receives a letter stating that the body of his long-ago German girlfriend has been found; she had fallen into a crevasse during an Alpine hike. Inconsequential news, perhaps — his wife, Kate (Charlotte Rampling) already knew of the accident.
But the arrival of the letter causes Geoff to root around in his memory (and his stored-away boxes in the attic), and then behave rather peevishly. Kate carries on party-planning (brave face to the world, and all that), while Geoff’s manner causes her to recalibrate their relationship — specifically, whether she meant as much to Geoff as she had once assumed.
It’s a slow burn of a domestic crisis, less an unraveling of a relationship, than one that suffers an injury. But it’s no less heartbreaking and perhaps even more devastating. Director Andrew Haigh (Weekend, HBO’s Looking) has a gift for illuminating the nuances of human behavior with small everyday moments and casual conversation. And for his leads, he has two pros, with Rampling doing fantastic work here.
This article appears in Feb 3-9, 2016.
