Movie Blog Post: THE SENSE OF AN ENDING

 TINSEL & TINE SPOTLIGHTS:
THE SENSE OF AN ENDING

By Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

THE SENSE OF AN ENDING is based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by Julian Barnes and stars Jim Broadbent as Tony Webster (Billy Howle when younger), an aged owner-operator of a tiny storefront business: a camera shop wedged in the center of a commercial building, dedicated exclusively to the sale and refurbishment of classic cameras, Leicas in particular, as this was the kind of camera given to him by his first girlfriend Veronica (Freya Mavor/Charlotte Rampling). He’s divorced, but still sees quite a bit of his ex-wife Harriet (Margaret Webster) and although their relationship is not exactly warm, she seems to be the only person in which he confides. His daughter Susie (Michelle Dockery) is in her late 30’s or early 40’s and by choice, is having a baby on her own. There’s a slight distance between Susie and her father, she considers him a curmudgeon, and yet I feel she takes after him, with a similarly grumpy attitude. The crux of the story starts with Tony receiving notice from a lawyer that he’s been left something in a Will. A Will belonging to Veronica’s mother (Emily Mortimer), thus making him re-examine his youthful love affair and hurtful actions, which had rippling consequences he now remembers with regret.

The Sense of an Ending Interview w/ Charlotte Rampling

Artistic director the Palm Springs Film Festival Michael Lerman (also Philadelphia FF Artistic Dir.) and director Ritesh Batra attend the Opening Night Screening World Premiere of “The Sense of An Ending” at the 28th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Film on January 5, 2017

Bottom line: The film is best in the flashbacks scenes of their youth. I like young Tony and his schoolmates, the academic atmosphere, and wish there were more scenes with Emily Mortimer; the movie would have been much richer if mainly set in the past and then bring us to present day near the end to see where the fallout left the characters 50 years later.  If you want to see a better story about regrets of the past, I’d recommend Charlotte Rampling in 45 Years.

T & T’s LAMB (movie bloggers association) Score: 2.5 outta 5

click to COMMENT