M classification (mature theme, coarse language)
Running time: 1 hour 48 minutes
Director: Hettie Macdonald
Stars: Jim Broadbent, Penelope Wilton
In English; drama.
Harold Fry, living a quiet life in South Devon, receives a letter advising that Queenie Hennessey, a former work colleague, is dying of cancer. She’s in a hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed, a town just south of the Scottish border. He writes a reply and tells Maureen, his wife, he’s off to post it.
As he walks to the post office, he has the eccentric idea to keep walking. He leaves a message for Queenie at the hospice to say he’ll continue to walk and she’s to continue to live.
Meanwhile, Maureen is at home wondering why it’s taking so long to post a letter.
Harold meets an assortment of characters on this journey: a young woman in a garage shop who encourages; a silver-haired businessman who unloads a burden; a lady doctor who’s taken a job as a cleaner; and many who are searching for a purpose in life. It becomes a pilgrimage.
Harold has time to reflect on the past. There’s tragedy, regret, grief, and guilt. And always our suspicion that this punishing walk may be a penance. An action that has been repressed. Something that involved Queenie Hennessey, perhaps.
The film, adapted from the novel by Rachel Joyce, will not appeal to all. It is slow moving, subtle and melancholic. There are no car chases or action-packed fights between goodies and baddies. However, the outdoor views are magnificent, the cinematography admirable, the film score applicable, and the acting superb.
Reviewed by Clive Hodges
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