Time supposedly heals all wounds.
At a certain point one wonders what does and doesn’t matter in a stable, lifelong, longstanding committed romantic relationship. For any couple to even outlast the trials and tribulations that comes with marriage for good length of time is a small miracle. After all, we as individuals are constantly changing, contextualizing the world and ourselves and the ever-shifting dynamics of it all.
At a certain point you’ve registered that you had to have sacrificed something for another, and the decisions you maybe didn’t even make can haunt you, or better yet, the ones around you. This is more of less the biggest theme woven in writer-director Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years, which finds an elderly English couple on the week they celebrate their 45th anniversary of marriage. Living in the picturesque countryside, Kate (the magnificent Charlotte Rampling) and Geoff (the irreplaceable Tom Courtenay) spend their days childfree and weighing in on each other about the much smaller topics of who should walk their German Shepard or the details of fixing a broken toilet. This quant picture only lasts 5 days leading up to their 45th anniversary party, which is a bit of an odd year, but seemingly, should be celebrated regardless as it is quite an achievement.
This seemingly ideal portrait doesn’t last too long, as Geoff gets word that his former girlfriend’s, Katja, body has been found after being frozen when she fell into an ice fissure when hiking with Geoff so many years ago. Kate is only familiar with the thumbnail of this story and is understandably curious as to why Geoff is considered to be this woman’s “next of kin”. Geoff explains that it was to make things easier when they were trying to find her, and that he wasn’t actually married to her. That seems to be the end of that, but Geoff starts to act started by this news.
He begins smoking again after they, together, gave it up. He sneaks away at night to look at old photographs of his mysterious German ex. He even has a newfound interest in climate change and starts researching the topic while also inquiring his travel agent about tickets to Switzerland. This doesn’t bode well with Kate, growing anxious and unsettled; she finally goes digging for clues in their attic while Geoff is away visiting old friends on her bequest. Ultimately Kate uncovers some new information and surmises that yes; this woman had some amount of significance to Geoff’s life that she and he will never share. As the week comes to a close, Geoff does become seemingly better and come around, even cooking Kate breakfast for once. Seemingly the spell has worn off.
45 Years rightfully has been praised for not being a conventional marriage drama, with drawn out arguments that ebb and flow with passive and general aggressiveness hitched to years of baggage. It’s been correctly identified as a ghost story, haunted not by an actual apparition, but the ghost of the past and love that never came to fruition, reframing a long-standing commitment. Haigh is a very astute observer of these characters and relationship in how they are constantly in flux. Kate and Geoff are superbly portrayed by their actors and Charlotte Rampling’s Oscar nomination is very well deserved. At a tight 95 minutes, the film never squanders your time with distended scenes or unnecessary subplots, stripped down to the basic but vivid essentials. Going over the body-language during the final scenes during the anniversary party as Kate and Geoff hesitantly dance to “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” is painfully real and a truly brilliant moment. It’s all there in Kate’s eyes.
45 Years arrives for the Criterion for the first time with a 2K digital transfer, supervised by director Andrew Haigh, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. With that is included a wonderful documentary featuring interviews with Haigh, Goligher, actors Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, editor Jonathan Alberts, and director of photography Lol Crawley that delves deep into the making of the film.
Just in case that wasn’t enough, Haigh and producer Tristan Goligher give a very insightful audio commentary to the film. Also included in the supplements is new interview with writer David Constantine, author of the short story on which the film is based on, which gives a good insight of how the story was adapted and modified to become a fully formed feature. It would have been awesome to have the short story reprinted included, but it is worth seeking out for oneself. Along with the film’s trailer is an original essay by critic Ella Taylor that ponders a lot of the film’s themes and highlights just how subtle of a story lies within. It’s a very robust offering for a film that is quiet, elegant, and uniquely exploratory of old love.
45 Years
United Kingdom (2015)
Andrew Haigh
Spine #861
Available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Filmstruck
