SUPERNOVA | FILM REVIEW
Dir: Harry McQueen (15, 93 mins)
Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth elevate this small, touching drama with their winning chemistry, as a gay couple face up to the realities of early onset dementia. Tucci plays Tusker, a novelist seemingly suffering writer’s block; Firth is Sam, a pianist who has been coaxed by his partner to perform once more. They take a trip in their old touring van to the Lake District, meet up with friends and family and discover some truths about each other in bittersweet fashion.
Written and directed by Harry McQueen, this chronicles a weekend in the life of two loving souls. Tucci is starting to lose his faculties – wandering off with their dog, forgetting words, losing his ability to write – whilst the stoic Firth is determined to make everything right and be there for his partner, but is fighting a losing battle. Tenderly told with some epic Lake District vistas and cramped touring van locations, there’s an elegiac feel to the film: its pace is leisurely, it’s all about the characters and luckily, Tucci and Firth are good company.
The script is sparse save for the occasional outburst; the stiff upper lip mostly prevalent, something Firth has always been a master of, so when the dam breaks it’s all the more upsetting for it. Supernova is a winning showcase for these best friends in real life, and although the star metaphors may be well-worn, they work nevertheless. These are men who haven’t had to fight to preserve their partnership – they’re a contented, gay couple with no axe to grind, apart from a battle with the insidious disease that is dementia. An arthouse weepie that takes its time, sometimes a little indulgently, but nevertheless will require the occasional tissue.
On release now
words KEIRON SELF