Bill Nighy’s performance in “Living” is sublime. This is brilliantly understated work on his part. The 73-year-old actor, best known for his scene-stealing work in 2003’s “Love Actually,” is bound to get the first Oscar nomination of his career.
Oliver Hermanus’ remake of Kurosawa’s “Ikiru” could have easily been botched, but there’s something spiritually uplifting about this retelling of the familiar story. The direction is purposely subdued and patiently executed. It’s a contemplative character study that gets to the spirit of Kurosawa’s masterpiece.
With “The Son” bombing with critics, “Living” will probably be Sony Pictures Classics top priority. This is a well-liked film that will continue to get positive word-of-mouth and more people will be seeing it in the weeks and months to come. However, the clear player here is Nighy.
I currently have Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), Austin Butler (Elvis), Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick) and Nighy as my five Lead Actor nominees. A very weak year for male acting.
“Living” had its world premiere virtually at this past January’s Sundance Film Festival, it has gone on to screen at Venice, Telluride, Toronto, London and, in a few weeks, AFI. It has a 79 Metascore and is 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.