45 Years

We discover Geoff (Tom Courtenay) and Kate (Charlotte Rampling) Mercer in the final days before celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary. Things are on track for a momentous party with friends and neighbors. Kate is securing the venue and dealing with the details that such an event demand.

A letter addressed to Geoff arrives. The letter informs him that a body has been discovered entombed in ice high in the mountains of Switzerland. It turns out that it is the body of his mountain climbing companion that had slipped to her death in an accident. At the time, the body had not been recovered.

Geoff is devastated. He loses interest in the upcoming celebration and slides into an anxiety-fueled depression. At first Kate is mystified, only to discover that Geoff has held a secret from her all these years. The body of the woman ensconced in the ice is in fact his first love. By rummaging through his attic boxes she discovers photos of the woman, pregnant with Geoff’s child.

That’s the set up. What then transpires is a troubling examination of the glue that binds a loving marriage together, and of the acidic events that work to destroy it. It raises lots of questions to ponder.

Are some things better left unsaid in a marriage? Or will the secrets invariably expose themselves with time? How much do you reveal at the beginning of a relationship, and how much do you leave for later? How strong, really, are the bonds that a couple forges over 45 years? Even though intellectually you believe events occurring before the geneses of your relationship should not necessarily impinge on your own relationship, will sudden knowledge of such events forever change the way you view your partner? What is the role of forgiveness in intimate relationships? Have social mores changed to the extent that some issues once considered too big to ignore are now passé? Have we elevated other issues into the realm of relationship-destroyers?

British director Andrew Haigh uses slow pacing and long camera takes to create a deeply psychological drama. The audience is given time to learn to care about the characters, characters that the actors successfully file with realism and nuance. It’s not a Hollywood blockbuster. Rather, it’s a wonderful piece of artistic storytelling conveyed by gifted actors and a firm hand from the director interpreting a strong screenplay.

It gets 4 of 5 from me. Catch it if you can.