Still Life (2013)
Country: GB/IT
Technical: col 92m
Director: Uberto Pasolini
Cast: Eddie Marsan, Joanne Froggatt, Karen Drury
Synopsis:
John May is a civil servant who processes the belongings and final remains of individuals who have died without immediate family and friends. This he does with uncommon delicacy and humanity, preserving the photographs of the unclaimed in an album at home. However, when 'restructuring' results in his notice being given, he devotes himself to tracing the circle of his last remaining case, and reuniting them for the funeral.
Review:
An air of Italianate whimsy hangs over this project, a sort of Miracolo a Camden, which might otherwise have become indistinguishable from a Mike Leigh portrait. Some might find the contrivance of the closing reel overly sentimental, but there is no denying the touching truth of the film's central tenet, that every person's life is precious. A leavening humour prevents the whole exercise from being too depressing, and Marsan was made for the role, it goes without saying.
Country: GB/IT
Technical: col 92m
Director: Uberto Pasolini
Cast: Eddie Marsan, Joanne Froggatt, Karen Drury
Synopsis:
John May is a civil servant who processes the belongings and final remains of individuals who have died without immediate family and friends. This he does with uncommon delicacy and humanity, preserving the photographs of the unclaimed in an album at home. However, when 'restructuring' results in his notice being given, he devotes himself to tracing the circle of his last remaining case, and reuniting them for the funeral.
Review:
An air of Italianate whimsy hangs over this project, a sort of Miracolo a Camden, which might otherwise have become indistinguishable from a Mike Leigh portrait. Some might find the contrivance of the closing reel overly sentimental, but there is no denying the touching truth of the film's central tenet, that every person's life is precious. A leavening humour prevents the whole exercise from being too depressing, and Marsan was made for the role, it goes without saying.
Country: GB/IT
Technical: col 92m
Director: Uberto Pasolini
Cast: Eddie Marsan, Joanne Froggatt, Karen Drury
Synopsis:
John May is a civil servant who processes the belongings and final remains of individuals who have died without immediate family and friends. This he does with uncommon delicacy and humanity, preserving the photographs of the unclaimed in an album at home. However, when 'restructuring' results in his notice being given, he devotes himself to tracing the circle of his last remaining case, and reuniting them for the funeral.
Review:
An air of Italianate whimsy hangs over this project, a sort of Miracolo a Camden, which might otherwise have become indistinguishable from a Mike Leigh portrait. Some might find the contrivance of the closing reel overly sentimental, but there is no denying the touching truth of the film's central tenet, that every person's life is precious. A leavening humour prevents the whole exercise from being too depressing, and Marsan was made for the role, it goes without saying.