Supernova (2020)- BFI London Film Festival 2020

Review

93min

Genre:       Drama, Romance

Director:     Harry Macqueen

Cast:         Colin Firth, Stanley Tucci, Pippa Haywood…and more

Writers:     Harry Macqueen

-Synopsis-

A RV road trip home to rural England for a middle-age artist/intellectual long-term gay couple is made all the more precious and definitive when the one suffering with dementia begins to steadily decline, while the other struggles with the inevitability of their predicament, while determined to hold fast until the bitter end as the roles in their relationship shift and its strains come to a head.

After establishing a penchant for touching and melancholy UK road trip relationship dramas with his 2014 directorial debut ‘Hinterland’, young British actor turned writer/director Harry Macqueen underlines it with another cinematic trip across the hazy beauty of the English countryside. Upping the star power and screen presence while changing the nature of the romance, yet staying true to his talent for telling tender but honest love stories tinged with melancholy and grief—giving us a truly memorable and heartbreaking effort to remember.

Colin Firth stars as middle-aged pianist ‘Sam’, on a caravan road trip from the city across the green fields and grey motorways of England, on his way to visit his sister ‘Lilly’ (Pippa Haywood) at their childhood country home with his long-term partner ‘Tusker’ (Stanley Tucci), a charismatic American writer and amateur astronomer in the early stages of dementia. But this picturesque vacation from the stresses of Tusker’s deteriorating condition only serves to highlight them, as tensions rise over how it affects their relationship and them as individuals and how to best deal with it, as their precious time together becomes confronting but also affirms a mutual unconditional love.

More than a road movie with stacks of charm, a bit of humour and plenty of poignancy, Macqueen’s sophomore feature is both a touching but rather traditional relationship drama and a progressive modern gay romance at the same time. And in an era of vibrant LGBTQ+ coming-of-age stories and tales of youthful self-discovery, ‘Supernova’ comes from a relatively rare but welcome mature perspective, with all the quaint idiosyncrasies and hurdles of a long-term relationship, and the wistful serene beauty of everyday mundane life and marriage—albeit through a scarcely seen same-sex lens—but with the added pain of a debilitating illness to deal with.

Blessed with two beloved screen veterans, Macqueen leans heavily on his two stars for the all the emotional gravitas and an abundance of refined yet unassuming charm in what is a fairly standard narrative and simple story. But what certainly isn’t uncomplicated is the relationship depicted here, handled with so much tenderness, human frailty and compassion by two masterful performers, bringing to bear the pain of dementia with restrained British resolve but plenty of supressed angst.

‘Supernova’ subtly but powerfully frames the physical and emotional suffering of the dementia afflicted, who gradually let go of dignity as they become more helpless and dependent, while slowly losing their memories and everything that makes them who they are. And the heartbreak for the people around them, on whose shoulders a great burden is placed while they effectively lose their loved ones even though they remain physically present . . . trapped in their bodies and awaiting an inevitable death.

All those emotional complexities and the accompanying relationship dynamics are contained in the finely judged, beautifully restrained but heart-wrenching performances from the two leads. Tucci as the charismatic intellectual slowly declining in cognitive function but determined to take control of his predicament while he can, and Firth as the long-suffering partner and increasingly a carer who puts his own ambitions on the back-burner in hopes of keeping their partnership together. As they clash over conflicting hopes and expectations with the fear of helplessness and losing control going up against the burden of guilt and terror of loneliness. Two actors at the top of their game delivering performances which in any year might make them award season contenders, but in these bizarre times for the movie industry will surely turn them into frontrunners.

Meanwhile in the style stakes Macqueen adds to the serene melancholy of the piece thanks to some sterling cinematography by veteran British DoP and regular Mike Leigh collaborator Dick Pope (Topsy-Turvy, Mr. Turner), who captures the hazy beauty of the English countryside often in dusk or dawn light. While the film’s soundscape further sets the mood by combining a minimalist soundtrack of folk & rock with a poignant piano and string-led classical score from singer/songwriter Keaton Henson, with tones of Mascagni and Bach—not to mention some Edward Elgar compositions, one of which is played by Colin Firth himself in the film.

Much like Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland did with ‘Still Alice’ in 2014, Macqueen manages to paint a restrained but honest and touching portrait of dementia and the struggles within, one that’s almost as scary as it is melancholy and moving, wrapping it up in a nuanced and compassionate modern relationship drama which will mournfully tug on your heartstrings . . . before making them ache.

The Bottom Line…

A truly tender and touching mature relationship drama and a frank portrait of early dementia which will break your heart and stir your sour, Harry Macqueen builds a warm, finely-judged, and hugely empathetic human drama on the back of two masterful central performances which resonates well beyond its LGBT perspective, and will send shivers down the spine of anyone dealing with or even considering the possibility of dementia.

‘Supernova’ is out on the 20th of November in the UK, and sometime in 2021 in the US.

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