Living (2022)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
A disillusioned bureaucrat facing a terminal illness seeks to find meaning in his final days by championing a community project.
The story
Set in 1953 London, Rodney Williams is a senior bureaucrat at the London County Council who spends his days navigating uninspired paperwork. When a group of women petitions the council to turn a World War II bomb site into a children's playground, Williams initially shows no interest in helping. However, after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, Williams begins to reflect on his life. He struggles to communicate his condition to his family and eventually seeks out new experiences, attempting to find a sense of purpose and connection before his time runs out.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1953 London, Rodney Williams is a senior bureaucrat who ignores a petition to turn a bomb site into a playground until he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. After failing to tell his family, he attempts suicide in a seaside resort but instead spends a night out with an insomniac writer. Returning to London, he befriends Margaret Harris, a former subordinate. As his health declines, Williams finds purpose by rallying his colleagues to approve the playground construction. He successfully pushes the project through but dies shortly after it is finished. At his funeral, it is suggested he told Margaret about his illness but not his son. His colleagues briefly pledge to follow his example of positive change before returning to their old ways. A letter left for his junior, Wakeling, reminds him of the playground. Wakeling later finds Williams's spirit in the playground, where a police officer recalls seeing him rocking in a swing in the snow before he died.
- First release year
- 2022
- Runtime (minutes)
- 102
- Production countries
- United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Oliver Hermanus
- Writers
- Kazuo Ishiguro · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Bill Nighy · Rodney Williams; Aimee Lou Wood · Miss Margaret Harris; Alex Sharp · Mr. Wakeling; Tom Burke · Michael
- Genres
- historical drama; drama; independent
- Themes
- mortality; bureaucracy; legacy; purpose
- Tone and mood
- subdued; involving
- Premise and plot tags
- remake; historical; drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- Ikiru (1952) by Akira Kurosawa
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews, with Nighy's performance receiving particular acclaim. It was described as 'consistently involving' and 'universal acclaim' by critics.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 81 · scale: 100 · review count: 40
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Actor · 95th · Nomination; Academy Award · Best Adapted Screenplay · 95th · Nomination
- Production trivia
- London's County Hall provided the backdrop for the film.; The film was co-financed through the County Hall Arts charity.; Toho, the distributor of the original film, acquired the rights for Japan.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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