Living (2022)
89%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Living sets a high bar for itself in setting out to remake a Kurosawa classic — and director Oliver Hermanus and star Bill Nighy clear it in triumphant fashion.
“Living” sets out to remake a classic movie by Kurosawa and succeeds in doing so with triumph. The high bar set by the director and lead actor Bill Nighy is cleared with ease.
Production Company(ies)
Film4, Rocket Science, The Ingenious Group
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
London, England, United Kingdom
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
2022
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital, Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.48 : 1
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Runtime:1h 42m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 23, 2022 Limited
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Bill Nighy, Alex Sharp, Adrian Rawlins, Oliver Chris, Michael Cochrane, directed by Oliver Hermanus, written by Kazuo Ishiguro, drama, PG-13, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Thelma Adams, Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Bilge Ebiri, Matt Zoller Seitz, Johnny Oleksinski, Jake Coyle, Alex Billington, Neely Swanson, Nathaniel Rogers, Brian Eggert, Kevin Carr, producer Stephen Woolley, Elizabeth Karlsen, MPAA rating, smoking, some suggestive material, Sony Pictures Classics, ordinary man, oppressive office routine, shadow existence, supreme effort, dull life, wonderful, existential journey, fleeting beauty
Worldwide gross: $11,350,382
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: $2,981,964
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend: $22,784
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $24,394
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,445
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Adrian Rawlins – Mr. Middleton
Oliver Chris – Mr. Rusbridger
Bill Nighy – Williams
Michael Cochrane – Sir James
Director(s)
Oliver Hermanus
Writer(s)
Kazuo Ishiguro
Producer(s)
Stephen Woolley, Elizabeth Karlsen
Film Festivals
Sundance, Venice, Telluride, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (118) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (111) | Rotten (7)
This wise and moving drama is an existential journey that celebrates learning how to live life, in all its fleeting beauty.
December 27, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Thelma Adams
AARP Movies for Grownups
TOP CRITIC
National treasure Bill Nighy finally gets his shot at Oscars glory as a repressed civil servant in this immaculate British drama, penned by Sir Kazuo Ishiguro.
December 27, 2022
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh
Metro Newspaper (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The highest compliment I can pay Living is that it takes those dusty ideas and makes them resonate once more. Not unlike remembering an old, familiar song, and understanding it for the first time.
December 26, 2022
Bilge Ebiri
New York Magazine/Vulture
TOP CRITIC
Living isn’t a great movie—it’s a little too subdued at times, and has a tendency to fixate on Williams’ mostly unarticulated sadness—but it’s consistently involving.
December 23, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Matt Zoller Seitz
RogerEbert.com
TOP CRITIC
When our eyes begin to well up with tears toward the soulful ending, we’re as surprised and self-reflective as the characters are.
December 23, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Johnny Oleksinski
New York Post
TOP CRITIC
The dryness of “Living,” to its credit, avoids [sentimentality], and, overall, has trimmed Kurosawa’s tale into a more focused 102 minutes. But there’s a stale emptiness to Living that doesn’t entirely dissipate in even its most moving scenes.
December 22, 2022 | Rating: 2/4
Jake Coyle
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
His update on Ikiru is utterly gorgeous and emotionally gratifying. The elegant 50s filmmaking style fits perfectly with this heartrending story of an old man realizing too late he’s never really lived.
December 30, 2022 | Rating: 9.5/10
Alex Billington
FirstShowing.net
Based on the 1952 Akira Kurosawa film Ikiru, Living has been exquisitely adapted by the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro. The story is simple, but the character development is among the best you will ever see.
December 29, 2022
Neely Swanson
Beverly Hills Courier
Nighy’s performance alone would be strong enough to elevate a mediocrity, but Living isn’t that. The whole of it is beautifully crafted even beyond Nighy and the retro-beauty of the cinematography.
December 29, 2022 | Rating: B+
Nathaniel Rogers
The Film Experience
If you have seen Kurosawa’s original, then there’s really no need to spend time with this remake. If not, it will tug on your heartstrings.
December 27, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
A sweet story with a great performance by Bill Nighy.
December 24, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Kevin Carr
Fat Guys at the Movies
Bill Nighy gives a nuanced performance in this noteworthy British remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 classic Ikiru. The deliberate pacing and contemplative nature of Living can be recommended to people who want to see a movie about someone facing mortality.
December 23, 2022
Carla Hay
Culture Mix…
Plot
A veteran civil servant and bureaucratic cog in the rebuilding of Britain post-WWII, Williams expertly pushes paperwork around a government office only to reckon with his existence when he’s diagnosed with a fatal illness. A widower, he conceals the condition from his grown son, spends an evening of debauchery with a bohemian writer in Brighton, and uncharacteristically avoids his office. But after a vivacious former co-worker, Margaret, inspires him to find meaning in his remaining days, Williams attempts to salvage a modest building project from bureaucratic purgatory. Based on the 1952 film classic, “Ikiru,” written by Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
If you leave Waterloo Station to walk to the Greater London County Council (GLCC) you don’t walk across Westminster bridge. They’re on the same side South Bank.
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