Directed by Lisa Barros D’sa & Glenn Leyburn
Ordinary Love is a thoughtful, intimate portrait of a middle-aged couple struggling to adjust to life after the wife is diagnosed with breast cancer. Tom (Liam Neeson) and Joan (Lesley Manville) face a very real problem which forces them to grow as individuals and as a couple. Watching and listening to the everyday conversations between Tom and Joan creates an intimacy and understanding between both the characters and audience, a rare connection facilitated by the natural chemistry between Neeson and Manville, as well as the writing of Owen McCafferty.This film is a heart-warming example of “in sickness and in health”, portraying the unending love and support between two characters as they fight through cancer and life’s hardships.
What sets this film apart from Hollywood films is the simple yet powerful cinematography and direction. Directors Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn display artistic brilliance in achieving a realistic depiction of life as slow-moving, and conveying a beauty in that stillness. Ordinary Love is a wonderful account of how we continue to grow and change as people throughout our lives. I would recommend this movie to those who enjoy simplicity and reality, and to those who won’t mind crying for an hour and a half.