45 Years

45 Years

Starring Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James, Dolly Wells

Directed by Andrew Haigh

The Story:
Longtime married couple Geoff (Tom Courtenay) and Kate (Charlotte Rampling) Mercer are anticipating their 45th anniversary party (since Geoff had heart bypass surgery during their 40th), and six days before the festivities, news arrives from Switzerland that they located Geoff's old flame, Katya, frozen in ice in the Swiss Alps.  Geoff tells Kate that they went hiking fifty years ago when she died, and it was before he met Kate. 

Geoff begins acting strangely - keeping from Kate that he's planning on going to Switzerland, becomes moody, despondent, and takes up smoking again, as well as obsessing over Katya's old photos and other memorabilia.   Meanwhile, Kate begins to obsess over Geoff's first love - smelling her perfume, sneaking to the attic to see the memorabilia and pictures (ironically, there's no pictures of Kate and Geoff together anywhere), and uncovering a shocking reality that Geoff never told her about their relationship.

As the party looms, Kate begins experiencing doubt in her marriage, and fears that the end is closer than she thought.

The Synopsis:
"45 Years"  isn't your typical movie.  There's no epic action sequences, no big-name actors, no thrilling action.  Instead, it's a poignant look inside a marriage that - for 45 years - seemed idyllic and perfect, but now begins to show cracks of separation.  Based on a short story by David Constantine, the film has been nominated for 47 different awards - 22 for Charlotte Rampling alone.  In fact, it was her Oscar nomination for Best Actress that drew me to this film - otherwise I wouldn't have known it existed.  While there's some dull parts in the film, it serves to express the entirety of the event that's happening in six short days.

"Open your eyes."  This was a line uttered by Kate while the two are involved in some...marital enjoyment.  As awkward as that scene was to watch, it was equally as awkward for the longtime married couple, and it shows the cracks beginning to form.  Even though Kate mentions this because Geoff literally had his eyes closed, it served a greater purpose throughout the film.  She begins to open her own eyes to her husband, and how important his past relationship with Katya was that even Kate didn't know about (one of which is the oddly unnerving semblance to their names).  On top of this, Kate sees herself in the mirror, and Rampling excels at introducing us to her pain without a word, just the raw emotion and deep thoughts she projects through the pain in her face.  The final scene itself shows a woman frayed, unsure of the future, and pained by the past.

Director Andrew Haigh perfects the subtle nuances of seemingly unimportant details.  Katya's body was frozen in the mountain, which maintained her youthful look, to which Kate is jealous because she's aged while Geoff's first love is as young as they once were.  In a symbolic diatribe, much like the ice that's melting to reveal Katya's identity, the ice of memories begin to melt and Geoff begins to remember more about his "dear Katya."

At their anniversary party, Geoff gives a speech, and he says, "as we get older, we stop making choices."  This is another simple statement with a profound meaning in the entirety of the movie.  Kate feels that Geoff is now stuck with her, because the true love of his life perished, and now she's being haunted by the long-dead ex who seems to be stealing her husband.  Whether or not Geoff meant it to be that way, it's how Kate took it.

One final brilliant moment is at the end of the film, when they share their first dance.  It's to the same song they danced to on their wedding day - "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."  If you read the lyrics to the song, you'll see it's not the perfect love song for a couple.  This defines their marriage, and the problems they'll be facing in the future.  Here, the end of the film is just the beginning.

Finally, the film asks a big question: who was wrong?  Was Kate over-reacting to something that happened fifty years earlier - before Geoff even met her?  Or is Geoff pining too much for his long lost love, ignoring the woman right in front of him?  Or are both wrong?  Or neither? 

The Summary:
With Charlotte Rampling as the anchor, "45 Years" is a beautifully powerful look at marriage, lost love, and missed opportunities.

The Score: A-