'Supernova' film review: Firth & Tucci are heartbreaking in this meditation on mortality, dementia
If there was an award for acting duos, Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci would be frontrunners with their emotionally powerful and graceful performances in the British drama 'Supernova' (opening in theaters Jan. 29 and on VOD starting Feb 16).
In short: Longtime partners Sam (Firth) and Tusker (Tucci) are traveling across England to visit friends, family and places from their past - as Tusker's dementia begins to make his life difficult.
This road trip is rife with genuine warmth and acts of love - but there is a sober inevitability that permeates this beautiful film. Aspects of 'Supernova' feels like a final lap of sorts - one last trip to sentimental landmarks, places and people to Sam and Tusker's life. While they casually remark about future get-togethers, there's an unspoken awareness that these gatherings certainly wouldn't be the same. Other sections feels like a living funeral for Tusker, even if the characters wouldn't admit it out loud, the film radiates characters watching Tusker slowly slip away and knowing full well that the terrible disease will take away more of Tusker the next time they see him.
While the premise and plot are fairly simple - Tusker's dementia is slowly but surely robbing him of his independence - this two-hander humanely allows Sam and Tusker to ponder what their respective futures look like. Although Tusker seems to be getting along just fine, there are small and subtle clues to his deteriorating condition.
A simple conversation in the film's opening 15 minutes essentially lays out the thesis of 'Supernova.' It's a short exchange between Sam and Tusker - but one that alludes to the fundamental difference between the two partners. Sam searches for Tusker's medication and Tusker admits he intentionally didn't bring his pills because he doesn't want to feel sick and the pills are generally ineffective anyway. Sam chides Tucker that must at least "try," imply that they cannot just give up and let dementia ravage Tusker unchecked. 'Supernova' explores these two differing perspectives on the terrible cost of dementia - the patient's awareness of losing one's self and a loved one's desperate attempt to stop or even just delay the inevitable.
'Supernova' can be described as a film of two tenors. The opening half has a casual, almost unassuming earnestness. Firth and Tucci seem like an old married couple - in the best way possible. They share a deep familiarity between the characters that feels completely natural. Although Sam and Tusker acknowledge the dementia diagnosis, there's a lack of total honesty between the two. They put on their best brave faces for each other and their friends - but they're reticent to forthrightly discuss the realistic and tragic certainties for both of them. About halfway through the film, 'Supernova' shifts from bittersweet dramatic romance to a more dramatically charged conflict - as the two men force each other to face ugly realities. The second half of 'Supernova' is a pure acting showcase for Firth and Tucci that only works because the film's first half so gracefully affirms their deep love for each other and how Tucker's diagnosis is already upending their lives and relationship.
Final verdict: Melancholic, emotionally raw and painfully honest, 'Supernova' forces a couple in love to ponder the full weight of what it means to love someone in sickness and in health. Firth and Tucci deliver career best performances.
Score: 4.5/5
'Supernova' opens in theaters Jan. 29 and on VOD Feb. 16. This romantic drama is rated R for language and has a running time of 93 minutes.
Directed by Harry Macqueen / Screenplay by Harry Macqueen / Score by Keaton Henson / Cinematography by Dick Pope / Film Editing by Chris Wyatt / Production Design by Sarah Finlay / Starring Colin Firth, Stanley Tucci, James Dreyfus, Pippa Haywood, Sarah Woodward
