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45 Years offers richly thought-provoking rewards for fans of adult cinema -- and a mesmerizing acting showcase for leads Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay.
All Critics (196) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (190) | Rotten (6) | DVD (1)
How many great movies could be written across the enigmatic, profound face of Charlotte Rampling? Hundreds? Thousands? At any rate, Andrew Haigh's 45 Years is one of them. May 10, 2016 | Full Review…
How many great movies could be written across the enigmatic, profound face of Charlotte Rampling? Hundreds? Thousands? At any rate, Andrew Haigh's 45 Years is one of them.
Jake Coyle
This story, which grows richer the more you think about it, is a rueful acknowledgment of the fact that few of us can. Mar 4, 2016 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
This story, which grows richer the more you think about it, is a rueful acknowledgment of the fact that few of us can.
Sandra Hall
If the subject matter is familiar, Haigh approaches it in good faith - avoiding both sentimentality and cynicism, and seeking out fresh insight rather than settling for cliche. Feb 19, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…
If the subject matter is familiar, Haigh approaches it in good faith - avoiding both sentimentality and cynicism, and seeking out fresh insight rather than settling for cliche.
Jake Wilson
To know is not the same as to possess, and at any rate, possession is never permanent. Feb 4, 2016 | Full Review…
To know is not the same as to possess, and at any rate, possession is never permanent.
Andrea Gronvall
In the beautifully acted drama"45 Years," a marriage lives and dies; we watch its agonized struggle, like a butterfly impaled on a pin. Jan 29, 2016 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…
In the beautifully acted drama"45 Years," a marriage lives and dies; we watch its agonized struggle, like a butterfly impaled on a pin.
Moira MacDonald
What's the big deal? How does an entire film come of this? There are satisfying answers to these questions, but to state them would be to ruin a perfectly good movie. Jan 28, 2016 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…
What's the big deal? How does an entire film come of this? There are satisfying answers to these questions, but to state them would be to ruin a perfectly good movie.
Mick LaSalle
Props to director Andrew Haigh for his tremendous achievement. Apr 15, 2019 | Rating: A+ | Full Review…
Props to director Andrew Haigh for his tremendous achievement.
Rachel Wagner
45 Years is arguably the most heartbreaking drama of the year, but it is worth every moment of sadness. Apr 5, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
45 Years is arguably the most heartbreaking drama of the year, but it is worth every moment of sadness.
Allie Gemmill
[Andrew Haigh] treats the older, straight, married couple who are the film's focus with the complexity that other filmmakers reserve for characters under 50. Mar 7, 2019 | Full Review…
[Andrew Haigh] treats the older, straight, married couple who are the film's focus with the complexity that other filmmakers reserve for characters under 50.
Ren Jender
... the beautiful thing about 45 Years is its unique ability to keep you guessing about, well, everything, without ever revealing the whole truth. Mar 2, 2019 | Full Review…
... the beautiful thing about 45 Years is its unique ability to keep you guessing about, well, everything, without ever revealing the whole truth.
Amie Simon
Visually stunning and exquisitely acted, 45 Years transcends its own occasional sleepiness to become one of the more poignant British dramas in some years. Dec 27, 2018 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…
Visually stunning and exquisitely acted, 45 Years transcends its own occasional sleepiness to become one of the more poignant British dramas in some years.
Nathanael Hood
A bravura exemplar of mature storytelling where the temptation to wrap things up in an epiphanic, cathartic ending is waived for a more truthful view of life's tainted flux. Nov 7, 2018 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
A bravura exemplar of mature storytelling where the temptation to wrap things up in an epiphanic, cathartic ending is waived for a more truthful view of life's tainted flux.
PJ Nabarro
One week before a couple's 45th wedding anniversary, the husband receives news that his first love's remains have been found preserved in ice on the mountains where she fell and died nearly fifty years ago. He is understandably shaken, and his wife is at first supportive and curious, but then increasingly insecure, especially when he starts obsessively reminiscing over his quixotic twenties instead of helping her plan their anniversary party. This quiet, if slow, drama is a stark, sad look at the emotional detritus that builds up over an aging life and the little heartbreaks and secret truths that can unravel a long marriage. Charlotte Rampling's gracefully lined face achingly captures Kate's passive aggressions, and she delivers a thirty-second actor's masterclass in that one-sided dialogue scene of her on the phone, confirming the party songlist with the event planner and deliberately avoiding "their song" only to capitulate in a subtle fit of anguish at the very end.
Super Reviewer
It seems very odd to say that I would prefer to watch a conventional love story after viewing this film, but I whole-heartedly believe that. This is a very frustrating picture. "45 Years" follows an elderly couple about to celebrate their forty-fifth wedding anniversary, and while they are deeply in love, what comes into their lives is devastating for one of them. As a story is uncovered about a past lover, Geoff begins to recall everything they did together before he married his current wife. Explaining his past to her, emotions being to fly and the performances are what drive the rest of the film. Aside from great direction, a brilliant cast in Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, and dialogue that will have you believing what is being presented, this film feels a little unfinished. I do understand the praise around this film, but by the end, I felt myself wanting so much more, and most reviews do not touch on that. This couple is about to reach the peak of the their marriage and everything in the last frame was off for me. It was trying to give a huge emotionally payoff, but I was left empty and wanting to understand their feelings. That is the main plot of the story, and I do not feel it was explored enough. In he end, "45 Years" flows at a good pace and it's 97 minutes running time is the perfect length for this story. It is a nice watch, but nothing more.
As the day approaches of their 45th wedding anniversary a letter arrives and changes a once solid marriage from the ground up. The leads (as well as the director/writer) wisely keep their distance, allowing the viewer complete opportunity for close inspection of an obvious yet horrifying truth about life, one we usually choose to be silent about.
A nuanced and mature story about mature people, enriched by two outstanding performances from the main leads; still, it feels like the strength of the narrative is diluted somehow by Haigh's restrained, schematic direction, especially in its silent moments of introspection.
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