Love is eternal. No matter the distance or time spent apart.
Andrew Haigh is a fabulous director who’s films all fall under the same major theme, emotional connection. His debut Weekend, follows the connection two men find over the course of a few days. His most recent feature Lean On Pete looks at the emotional relationship between a teenage boy and a horse he grows an attachment too. But his most powerful work I would say is his incredible take on the twilight years of a married couple. 45 Years is a enriching, hard look at how love transcends time spent together or away. The shorter runtime works perfectly for this film, it makes the situation feel like how a conflict is handled between a married couple. Especially such a long term relationship. Haigh takes more time looking at the strain on our main character Kate’s emotions. Unlike many films about relationships that treat as if the first conflict can end a relationship. But Haigh shows how as the age of a couple gets older the harder they need to work to last until death does them apart.
45 Years is structured by day, leading up to Kate’s 45th wedding anniversary. The film takes its time to show Kate’s daily activity of taking out the dog and getting the mail. Showing us the natural state she lives in day by day. The Plot of the film picks up once strife is laid upon Kate and her husband Geoff after receiving a letter informing them of the discovery of a dead body. The body belonged to a old girlfriend of Geoff whom had died while mountain climbing in the Alps. The last woman Geoff had been with before the relationship with Kate had taken flight. The film takes an intense look at how love takes a toll on people over time. This commentary on modern marital issues feels incredibly intimate compared to how most scenes are depicted on television. No intense anger off the bat. No huge argument with chairs being thrown at one another. Just the anxiety mounting between a couple so close to celebrating love while the past is attempting to catch up to.
Haigh is extremely patient with his depiction of strife. Small things taking place plant seeds of dissension between the couple. Charlotte Rampling is incredibly strong in her role. She has an incredible way of displaying her concern through facial expression, body language and small gestures. It conveys a strong sense of character. It tells the audience that Kate is able to interpret her husbands actions without needing to breakout into full on explanation of what is transpiring on screen. It shows great writing prowess from Haigh as well. Personally I don’t admire writers who feel the need to convey their message by having the characters explain their concern. Or have the main character explain the plot of the movie multiple times. That can lead to convoluted structure and poor pacing.
45 Years is such a solid take on how something pure can lead to sadness. Take a look at The Before Trilogy by acclaimed filmmaker Richard Linklater. As he creates this intense romantic trilogy spanning 20 years, he starts it off with something as pure as two people meeting on a train. Then it leads over the course of two more films and how he shows the viewer the character change between them. By the second they reveal regrets in life despite seeming fulfilled in the prior instalment. By the third we see how all of their issues and problems in their relationship come to climax in the third act of the third film. 45 Years does a similar with the idea of a long-term relationship. Instead of 20-or-so years of time together its 45 and a huge anniversary looming. The film starts with seeing Kate in her routine and how she’s excited for her anniversary party coming up. However, once the letter arrives we see the emotional struggle knowing about how this could affect herself and her husbands bond they’ve spent so much time building.
Kate’s struggles continue with finding her husband looking at old photos in the attic, trying to find fairs to go to the funeral and general failure of emotional communication. The breaking point for Kate comes when she finds the picture slides in the attic and makes a shocking discovery. Geoff’s ex had been pregnant while she had died on the mountain. This is the last emotional straw for Kate. She gives him an ultimatum at this point of the film and says there will be no more talk of this with the pending anniversary celebration with many friends and family alike. As the movie went along we see how the daily task of taking their dog for a walk as affected Kate. From the beginning to this point in the film. Her enthusiasm, voice and body language has all diminished during her time walking the dog, something she does seemingly every morning. This is a way Rampling and Haigh have shown great attention too. The final day starts with Kate waking up late for her dog walking. But is informed by Geoff it has already been done while he is making breakfast for the two of them. He is seemingly taking her advise by changing his person to show his appreciation and affection for Kate.
As the party scene starts it is abundantly clear that Kate is the focus in the eyes of the director. Showing her facial expressions and how she is still very uneasy about what has transpired over the past week. The climactic moment in the movie is when Geoff gives his speech to the partygoers. He gives a impassioned speech about his dedication and eternal love for Kate. While the focus of the party is on Geoff, the camera is immediately focused on Kate. Showing her conflicting emotions on such an important day for her and Geoff. The closing shot of the film is a look at the concerned face of Kate while everyone around her is enjoying the party.
One of the many things 45 years does so immensely well is the conflict. The conflict shown is between Kate and herself. She is so incredibly conflicted with her feelings for Geoff but also knowing he is not on the same emotional wavelength. It is so intense to watch this transpire on screen not through action but lack-there-of and the subtext through the actions of our main characters. This is one of the most impactful films for a young viewer to watch about relationships. I took a lot from 45 Years, specifically the way they focus on the “working relationship”. Its an extremely potent message for younger viewers that relationships are work no matter the time spent together.
45 Years is a marvellous take on modern marriage with non of the over abundance of Hollywood tropes of relationship drama we see today.
*Image retrieved from rogerebbert.com*
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