British cinema is quite adept at depicting hidden feelings. Here is a new story of past loves, wounded loves, regretted decisions, and buried remorse..
Tony Webster leads a well-ordered (albeit somewhat monotonous) life as a retiree who runs his old camera shop (with Leicas, no less). One day, he receives a letter informing him that he has inherited a diary, the one belonging to his best friend from high school.
Through flashbacks, we learn how he fell in love with Veronica, but Veronica ended up falling in love with his best friend..
We learn how Tony, in a moment of anger and deep sadness, wrote a letter to the two lovebirds and what that letter subsequently triggered..
The secret slowly comes to the surface, and his meeting with Veronica (played by Charlotte Rampling) after all these years does not necessarily provide him with the expected comfort.
It’s a touching film, sometimes a bit confusing, which shows how the words we say or write (like the letter Tony sends to Veronica and his best friend Adrian) can have a resonance that echoes for years.
Words can become wounds….
While the direction is entirely in the “English” rhythm, it sometimes suffers from a bit of a lack of “zest” that would make this film a bit more lively.
It’s a bit of a shame…
