Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

The story of 45 Years is so profoundly told by the interior lives of the characters. Rampling's facial expressions tell so much, yet at the end I could not determine if she would stay in the marriage or leave, as she simply could no longer live with the ghost of her husband's past love. Anyone else feel this way?

How would you feel if you suddenly discovered that your life partner of close to half a century had been secretly harboring a passion for someone else? That's the dilemma facing the elderly couple at the heart of "45 Years," a moody, low-keyed British drama (based on the novel by "In Another Country" by David Constantine) that focuses on a marriage that seems destined for anything but a happily-ever-after ending.With the physical fragility and lived-in faces that come with age, two icons of British cinema, Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courteney, portray Kate and Geoff Mercer, a seemingly contented couple on the verge of celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary. A few days before the elaborately planned event, however, Geoff confesses to Kate that he was once seriously involved with a woman who died tragically in a mountain- climbing accident before he and Kate met. Despite the roughly 50 years that have elapsed since the woman's death, Kate finds herself unable to come to terms with the feeling of deceit and betrayal that gnaws at her day and night over the "infidelity" of the man she thought she knew and to whom she had fully given over her heart. Yet, Kate, perhaps cognizant of how petty she might appear making too much of something that happened so long ago, chooses to seethe pretty much in silence, venting her hurt and anger in nonverbal and largely passive aggressive ways. But for Kate, this revelation has "tainted" everything that has come before in the relationship - a strikingly sad prospect when there is so little time left to rectify the mistake or to recover what the couple once had between them.Ascetic direction by writer Andrew Haigh - austere close-ups of the characters alternating with stark images of the largely sunless rural countryside - perfectly captures the internal drama taking place within this suddenly altered marriage. The bitterness of the tale is encapsulated most effectively in the uncompromising final shot, a brief but lucid moment that shows how the most brutal of messages can often be conveyed through the tiniest of gestures.

This film is one I heard about when it came out but I only just caught it on Netflix two years later. I wasn't disappointed. The acting of Charlotte Rampling as Kate and Tom Courtenay as Geoff gives this grim but beautiful film much of its impact. Married for 45 years and preparing to celebrate an anniversary party that was postponed five years earlier, they find themselves lifted back in time to a long lost love of Geoff. The body of the young woman has been found frozen in the Swiss Alps. Geoff informs Kate (Rampling's character) that they were travelling together when her accidental death occurred, before he and Kate knew each other. Geoff and his onetime girlfriend were also posing as a married couple to maintain a certain respectability. With this sudden news, Kate and Geoff experience a palpable jolt in their relationship. They have been living a comfortable life in the marshy countryside northeast of London. They have no children and are well known in their village. The foggy flatlands are well captured and the stark landscape adds to the haunting and eerie feeling conveyed by the two characters. Tensions build as Geoff takes to exploring his attic for old keepsakes and suddenly talking openly about the love he once shared with another. Kate's anxiety grows as the wedding anniversary approaches. Their nerves are frayed but they appear happy at the well attended party. At the end, it is hard to know the actual impact on the marriage but we know that some serious questions will arise. It is gratifying to see Tom Courtenay, an angry young man of 1960's British cinema and Charlotte Rampling, another great actor, who performed with Allan Bates, Lynn Redgrave and Michael Caine. This is a movie that stays with you after viewing it, a compliment to the story and its great cast.

There is artistry in this film, good cinematography and some fine acting. I was well motivated to watch as Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay were iconic figures of my youth in the 60s. And yet when it finished I just wanted to top myself - if that's how you end up as you age, somewhere between just enduring and pretty miserable, let's end it now! There was nothing unrealistic about the scenario and the depiction of the characters, I just didn't want to spend time in their world. They are so selfish and humourless, it's just depressing. Better to have some kids and get a life than end up like these two. Why did I watch til the end? I was convinced that something was going to happen and couldn't believe it when the end credits appeared. There is in fact no story to this film, merely a scenario. It's finely depicted but I have never seen a film built on so little.