My Review- Supernova
My Rating 8:10
This sensitive and challenging film especially if you're a mature aged married same sex couple or just a couple of any sexual persuasion is long overdue. It just quietly normalises our lives we love, we grieve , we have families and friends and we experience all the emotions joys and heartbreaks that the rest of humanity experiences we are just human like you. The only other movie I can think of that treats our mature age GLBTQI citizens with such realism is Cloudburst (2011 starring Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker about 2 ageing lesbians on a road trip together. The next person or article I read that debates the view that it's not ethical that heterosexual actors portray LGBTQI characters I'll just refer them "Supernova" and to Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci's classy and dignified portrayal of Sam and Tusker a long term married couple. Tusker Stanley Tucci and his long term spouse Sam (Colin Firth ) a pianist are traveling across England in their old RV to visit friends, family and places from their past. Since Tusker was diagnosed with dementia two years ago, their time together is the most important thing they have. These two actors are so believable it proves beyond doubt to me that it's the Actor that's important in a role not their sexuality Actors Act that's what they do.
There are too many touching moments in Supernova to mention like Tusker wandering off after hitching a lift much to the panic of Sam and the dialogue of the film is minimal but full of intimate meaning. One beautiful line that touched me deeply belongs to Tusker talking about loss and sadness he says " Being so sad that something is gone just means that it was good while it was there." Harry Maqueen the writer and director has created a superb snapshot of love and loss between two men and the small ensemble cast of 27 are all excellent especially Pippa Haywood as Lilly, Sam's loving sister. It's a beautiful film to watch and was mainly shot in the Lake District in Cumbria, UK I was fascinated to read in a 2021 LA Times interview with Emily Zemler that Stanley Tucci said that he was originally cast as Sam and Colin Firth as Tusker, but during their pre-filming discussions they both came to agree that they should switch the roles: "'We sat down and started talking about the script and where we'd be shooting, and then Colin said, "Stanley, I think maybe we should switch roles,"' remembers Tucci, who initially brought the film to Firth after meeting with Macqueen. 'I said, 'I've been thinking the same thing." And I don't know why. I just felt it. So we read both ways for Harry-and I could tell Harry was panicked when we told him-and it was evident.' 'It was an amazing process,' Macqueen adds . 'They brought that to me, and we decided to do an audition, which is an amazing privilege for a writer-director to have two people like Stanley and Colin sitting in a room reading both roles. I picked five or 10 scenes from the film, and they were kind of brilliant at both roles, as you can imagine. But there was just something about the quintessential Englishness that Colin brought to Sam and a kind gregarious energy that Stanley immediately brought to the American Tusker, which made the lighter moments in the film really sing. It just felt right all of a sudden.'" I think they made the right decision although I'd love to see the same film in reverse roles it would be so interesting. One critic wrote in Original Cin - that Writer/director Harry Macqueen shows his best with this deeply moving drama of devotion and the dread of approaching loss when he stands back and lets these two actors loose. Firth and Tucci provide arguably the best performances of their careers as two 60-something lovers facing a crisis. I can't recommend "Supernova " more highly. Ps I couldn't help thinking that this movie could have been a sequel 20 years down the track to Colin Firth's wonderful Oscar nominated role of George in the 2009 movie "A Single Man" .
This sensitive and challenging film especially if you're a mature aged married same sex couple or just a couple of any sexual persuasion is long overdue. It just quietly normalises our lives we love, we grieve , we have families and friends and we experience all the emotions joys and heartbreaks that the rest of humanity experiences we are just human like you. The only other movie I can think of that treats our mature age GLBTQI citizens with such realism is Cloudburst (2011 starring Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker about 2 ageing lesbians on a road trip together. The next person or article I read that debates the view that it's not ethical that heterosexual actors portray LGBTQI characters I'll just refer them "Supernova" and to Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci's classy and dignified portrayal of Sam and Tusker a long term married couple. Tusker Stanley Tucci and his long term spouse Sam (Colin Firth ) a pianist are traveling across England in their old RV to visit friends, family and places from their past. Since Tusker was diagnosed with dementia two years ago, their time together is the most important thing they have. These two actors are so believable it proves beyond doubt to me that it's the Actor that's important in a role not their sexuality Actors Act that's what they do.
There are too many touching moments in Supernova to mention like Tusker wandering off after hitching a lift much to the panic of Sam and the dialogue of the film is minimal but full of intimate meaning. One beautiful line that touched me deeply belongs to Tusker talking about loss and sadness he says " Being so sad that something is gone just means that it was good while it was there." Harry Maqueen the writer and director has created a superb snapshot of love and loss between two men and the small ensemble cast of 27 are all excellent especially Pippa Haywood as Lilly, Sam's loving sister. It's a beautiful film to watch and was mainly shot in the Lake District in Cumbria, UK I was fascinated to read in a 2021 LA Times interview with Emily Zemler that Stanley Tucci said that he was originally cast as Sam and Colin Firth as Tusker, but during their pre-filming discussions they both came to agree that they should switch the roles: "'We sat down and started talking about the script and where we'd be shooting, and then Colin said, "Stanley, I think maybe we should switch roles,"' remembers Tucci, who initially brought the film to Firth after meeting with Macqueen. 'I said, 'I've been thinking the same thing." And I don't know why. I just felt it. So we read both ways for Harry-and I could tell Harry was panicked when we told him-and it was evident.' 'It was an amazing process,' Macqueen adds . 'They brought that to me, and we decided to do an audition, which is an amazing privilege for a writer-director to have two people like Stanley and Colin sitting in a room reading both roles. I picked five or 10 scenes from the film, and they were kind of brilliant at both roles, as you can imagine. But there was just something about the quintessential Englishness that Colin brought to Sam and a kind gregarious energy that Stanley immediately brought to the American Tusker, which made the lighter moments in the film really sing. It just felt right all of a sudden.'" I think they made the right decision although I'd love to see the same film in reverse roles it would be so interesting. One critic wrote in Original Cin - that Writer/director Harry Macqueen shows his best with this deeply moving drama of devotion and the dread of approaching loss when he stands back and lets these two actors loose. Firth and Tucci provide arguably the best performances of their careers as two 60-something lovers facing a crisis. I can't recommend "Supernova " more highly. Ps I couldn't help thinking that this movie could have been a sequel 20 years down the track to Colin Firth's wonderful Oscar nominated role of George in the 2009 movie "A Single Man" .