“Harry McQueen has written and directed a beautifully tragic film. Dick Pope’s cinematography of crisp English countrysides is breath taking, as are many of the shots.“
“I kept wondering what attracted these two top class actors to this threadbare script. Then I realised the constant ache and edge-of-tears I felt was what brought them together. It’s a challenge to bring that emotion for so long without over-angrily delivered lines.” – Con Nats
3.5/5 Piano Keys
It must be Dementia Awareness Month, with yet another film about this topic just released. Fortunately, they’re both memorable films.
Sam and Tusker are an old married gay couple who return to England for Sam’s final recital. Sam (Colin Firth) used to play piano and Tusker (Stanley Tucci) is a writer, but Tusker’s growing dementia is making Sam reassess his priorities. He’s looking at buying a quiet hose and retiring to look after Tusker.
They might bicker and tease, but it’s all very gentle. And you don’t realise there’s anything wrong until Tusker wanders off while Sam goes shopping. And Sam doesn’t realise the choices Tusker is making until he wanders off and does some snooping.
Whereas The Father is about the effects of dementia on the sufferer, Supernova is a quiet meditation on the effects of dementia on a couple and the choices they face. It doesn’t get as simple or as devastating as that.
Harry McQueen has written and directed a beautifully tragic film. Dick Pope’s cinematography of crisp English countrysides is breath taking, as are many of the shots.
There isn’t much on the page, and it avoids showing us the full effects of dementia on the sufferer. I kept wondering what attracted these two top class actors to this threadbare script. Then I realised the constant ache and edge-of-tears I felt was what brought them together. It’s a challenge to bring that emotion for so long without over-angrily delivered lines.
There were times I felt there was more respect than passion between these two, Firth has played gay roles before and these two are great friends off the screen, which shows, but there’s no doubting the emotions they touched and stirred. They’re both very talented actors and this is heart breaking story telling.
When mentioning this topic to a friend, he immediately jumped to the ‘choice’ argument which I’ve discussed with many others. It’s a topic which will arise more and more in the future, especially for couples without children to care for them, and the latest aged care scandal rings out on the radio. This is a compassionate look at the issue with a touch as light as piano player can manage.
Con Nats, On The Screen
