“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
This quote from Gandalf from The Fellowship of the Ring is an all-time favorite quote of mine. It’s so simple, yet profound. It’s something every single person can relate to in one way or another. After all, when you really boil it all down, that’s just life, isn’t it? Do you live for yourself and do you try to improve the lives of those around you? Do you let life come to you, or do you take decisive action?
These decisions drive your actions, and in turn those actions define you and your life. Eventually, most of us become set in our ways, and the longer life goes on, the harder it is to make certain changes.
And that’s exactly where Mr. Williams (Bill Nighy) finds himself. Williams works in the town planning department, spending his days literally pushing paper. He’s become so ingrained in his routine, that if his timing is off by the slightest, it’s of great note to his coworkers. Every day is the same, on a boring, endless loop. But Williams begins to question all that when he receives a terminal diagnosis of stomach cancer; his doctor estimates he has a year left to live.
It hits Williams that he may have never truly lived in all his years. He essentially has nothing to show for his time spent on Earth. With that time rapidly coming to an end, he decides to make one final push, leave his mark, small, yet significant to some, while he still can. A small group of local mothers had long been trying to get a new playground built in town. But they just keep getting shuffled from one department to the next, over and over again. Williams sees this as an accomplishable task, and one that will mean a great deal to these mothers. If he can follow through on this one project, maybe he can find some meaning and purpose in his final days.
Even while dealing with heavier themes, Living is quite a simple story. It’s not flashy or exciting, or even all that naturally engaging. Its Nighy that draws you in and keeps you invested. You can see the years of repetition with every look and movement. You can see Williams trying to come alive, but not knowing how after decades of living the same dull life on daily repeat.
Nighy is nothing less than outstanding. It’s a very subtle performance, but he’s pitch perfect and so effective in conveying Williams’ inner turmoil and desire to change. In addition to Nighy, Aimee Lou Woods as Williams’ former co-worker Margaret Harris breathes life into the story.
Williams is fascinated by Margaret, inspired by how she lives her life. He hopes she can teach or show him how to live like her in his final days. The best scene of the movie is the two now-friends having lunch together, simply talking. The two have such an easy chemistry, which only adds to this already wonderful and heartfelt moment.
When I’m evaluating a movie, or considering how “good” it is, I don’t always focus on what it’s trying to say or what it makes you feel or think about. Sometimes “big things go boom” or “that was funny” is all I need. But other times, the message or central question hits you over the head so hard, you can’t help yourself. And the question at the center of Living is, once again, simple but profound: Have you lived a life worth living? And by that I mean, have you lived your life with intention? Have you tried to leave the world a little better than you found it?
And if the answer to that question is “no,” what can you do to change that? It can be as basic as actually doing your job and bringing something positive to your community. Change can be hard, but it’s never too late. There’s always purpose to be found, we just need to be willing to see it and act on it before we run out of time.
Score: 81/00
