Eye For Film >> Movies >> 45 Years (2015) DVD Review
Andrew Haigh's emotionally forceful film comes with a suitably thoughtful collection of extras in this Curzon Artificial Eye release. The main event is a commentary track by director Andrew Haigh and producer Tristan Goligher, which proves to be a wide-ranging affair, with the men talking about everything from the difficulty of working with dogs - Wolfy apparently dragged Charlotte into a ditch on the first day of filming - to the celebration of Haigh's first "dolly in" shot. "I'm evolving as a filmmaker," says Haigh, and it's hard to disagree when you consider the quantum leap of improvement between 2009's Greek Pete and this nigh on perfect slice of relationship drama.
What stands out as you listen to the director and his producer talk, aside from the fact that they obviously have a strong working relationship, is Haigh's desire to embrace the real - whether it is rubbish in the corner of a shed or capturing regular people instead of extras as they go about their business as a backdrop to Charlotte Rampling's acting. We also get to find out what Haigh most loves about Sidney Lumet and what he stole from Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The Q&A - which features the pair alongside Rampling and Tom Courtenay - is a nicely edited 11 minutes, giving an insight into the interplay between the two lead actors and the directors. "It's not an intellectual exercise," insists Rampling, "it's a sensorial one" and final moment of the film will make you feel the truth of that statement.
The film features Hard of Hearing subtitles and an audio descriptive track.
Reviewed on: 08 Jan 2016