Ordinary Love

I loved this film. Liam Neeson is wonderful as the loving but worried, scared and totally supportive husband. Lesley Manville is just amazing. Heartwarming.

This is quite a touching film, a domestic drama about a middle aged couple going through an understandably tough time. There's a fair amount of symbolism present, with the pet fish and other things. I could understand the wife's concern and assumptions at times, I feel I may think similar things, if I were to be in her position. I thought the cast do well - Manville and Neeson both give quite solid performances. Indeed, it seemed quite believable that they were a married couple. The thought that so many, probably hundreds, if not thousands, of such married couples/families/people go through the process of cancer diagnosis and treatment in the UK, is a sobering thought indeed. I thought this was a well made film. I like how it shows the affection they have for one another, without being overly and unnecessarily sugary sweet. It's a thoughtful film that treats the topic well. I would recommend this film, yes.

The emotional manipulation and sentimentalism are palpable, it is a fact and the film cannot escape it, although that doesn't really mean the film is bad, what happens is that the drama can only work on one course once the narrative shows the traces of that course, especially with a recurring theme such as cancer. And that's why despite the good and credible performances of Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville, the film never manages to overcome the same barrier that its story imposes on it because although it doesn't cease to be a good subject, there's little they can extract that it feels like something new or different. Although one point I must emphasize is that I read some criticisms about the lack of a more dramatic tone - as if cancer wasn't enough problem - And this is due to the devotion and love the character of Neeson professes to his wife, but I don't actually see that as a problem, in any case it doesn't resort to an easy element already seen in which the disease creates a schism in the relationship. And after all, despite its theme, Ordinary Love is precisely that: A love story. In the end Ordinary Love doesn't resource to anything that challenges clichés but it works fine enough because there will always be a difference when things are done with more talent and quality.

A difficult but impactful watch, Ordinary Love successfully portrays love and loss in a way that feels entirely human. Even at just 90 minutes, the film can feel surprisingly lengthy, but a tour de force performance from Lesley Manville always manages to pull you back in.

(Mauro Lanari) One of the cases in which art does not add new points of view to that already provided by reality.