This is the story of a bunch of old geezers who take their dead friend's ashes down to the sea and toss them off the end of the pier. It is not a film that will appeal to the under-25 demographic, but I enjoyed it. the more I thought about the film afterwards, the more impressed I was with it. It might appear that the film is about the end of life, but it is not depressing and it ends, even as those ashes are tipped into the wind and rain, remarkably upbeat, emotionally.
The film tells the story of Jack and his friends and family in flashback. From these we gain insights into their characters and relationships and come to understand how their stories lead them to the present day.
In some sense this is a mystery, as there are several intertwined stories that are slowly revealed by the flashbacks. In addition, the flashbacks don't follow strict chronological order, so it is a matter of piecing them together to make sense of everything. I liked the effect of the flashbacks slowly revealing the characters' stories, as it is very much like real life. You meet someone you nothing about, but over time you learn something of their past from random fragments of information that are let drop.
The movie mostly rings true, but there are several minor episodes that seem contrived. For example, Ray denies knowing anything about a certain sum of money. The only reason for him to do so is that the audience did not yet know the end of that particular story.
Jack is played as an old man by Michael Caine. A striking piece of casting is JJ Feild, who plays Jack as a young man. He looks exactly as I imagine Caine would have as a young man.
The story reveals a period of more than 50 years. If it had been told in chronological order, it would have been, like so many sagas, fragmentary and it would not have worked. Instead the film takes place over the course of a single day, which gives it coherence, with the flashbacks providing richness and depth.
This is a subtle portrayal of Jack and his friends that is deeply satisfying.
8 out of 8 found this helpful