Genova

Michael Winterbottom has made some stunning films over the years, often confronting and politically edgy, but here he moves closer to the human heart with an intimate family drama of a struggling, now single father, battling to keep it together emotionally for himself and his two daughters. The opening scene is highly dramatic and shocking, but after that the film takes on a subdued feel as, without a great deal of fuss we simply observe what happens to the family.

Although the tragedy is extraordinary, the mundane requirements of life continue and this family avoids ever delving into the past. But we are aware of the deep pain that all are going through and this is made real by three wonderful performances. The two young actors playing the daughters really bring home the different ways in which children react to such a trauma – both are compellingly believable, although I could have done without the slightly supernatural element of Mary actually seeing the “ghost” of Marianne. The major performance of note however is that of Firth. His Joe encapsulates the conflicting emotions of concern for his daughters while struggling with his own loss and a constant sense of melancholy and a deep loneliness despite the stimulus of meeting new people. The scenes in which he comforts the devastated Mary at night are real heart-string tuggers. Another impressive performance comes from the wonderful Catherine Keener as Barbara, a friend from his university days who has a quiet thing for Joe and who is the only person to whom Mary will open up.

The city of Genova, where much of the film was shot, supplies a wonderful atmosphere. The narrow, almost claustrophobic winding lanes perhaps mirroring the emotional state of the bereaved family so constrained and unable to ever discuss their pain.

Although compared to standard Hollywood fare there is little in the way of plot, let alone catharsis and resolution, the gentle understated approach to the subject matter has a special magic that is measured and lovely and allows one to fully absorb the emotions as a family learns to live with that most dreaded of events – the loss of one of its own.

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