---
title: "Living"
year: 2022
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/living"
fi1m_id: "living"
imdb_id: "tt9051908"
tmdb_id: 760099
wikidata_id: "Q107304169"
fi1m_score: 81
critics_score: 78
critics_reviews: 25
published: "2026-10-03T02:49:33.108326+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-03T02:49:33.495518+00:00"
region: "HK"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Living (2022)

Directed by Oliver Hermanus · 1h 42m · Drama

## Identity

Living

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/living
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** living
- **IMDb ID:** tt9051908
- **TMDB ID:** 760099
- **Wikidata ID:** Q107304169
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9051908/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/760099, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107304169

**Fi1m score: 81** · Critics 78 from 25 reviews

*In a sentence:* Bill Nighy makes a small change of expression feel like a considerable breach of etiquette

> Bill Nighy makes *Living* quietly moving, with Aimee Lou Wood bringing welcome warmth to its carefully arranged period world. We recommend it for their scenes together, with a warning that the stately pace sometimes hardens into stiffness.

## Synopsis

In the 1950s, Williams (Bill Nighy) begins to question what his life amounts to and what he might still leave behind. Reserved and unused to giving much of himself away, he struggles to express what matters to him. His connection with Margaret Harris (Aimee Lou Wood) brings him closer to a younger person’s experience of life. Alongside them are Peter Wakeling (Alex Sharp) and Sutherland (Tom Burke). Williams wants to make his life mean something, but must find a way to act on feelings he has become accustomed to keeping to himself.

## Review

Oliver Hermanus’s *Living* is worth an evening for Bill Nighy’s performance, even when its measured pace becomes stiff. The film takes seriously Williams’s wish to leave something meaningful behind, without requiring him to become an easier man to read. Kazuo Ishiguro’s screenplay gives that difficulty room, sometimes more room than the story needs. We are asked to pay attention to someone whose feelings are not readily available, and the lead performance makes that attention worthwhile.

Bill Nighy is precise about how much Williams allows to show. There is a danger with such a contained performance that the audience ends up supplying feelings the actor has not found, but that rarely happens here. The slight changes in expression make the reserve seem effortful, and leave us watching closely for the next response. Williams remains difficult to know, yet we never doubt that there is someone worth knowing beneath the manner.

We were moved more than we expected by the scenes between Williams and Margaret Harris. Aimee Lou Wood gives their connection warmth without making her own performance as restrained as Bill Nighy’s, and the contrast gives their exchanges some welcome ease. His small responses matter because she seems capable of reaching him without forcing an explanation. These scenes give us time to become interested in both people, and to care about how they get on together.

Jamie Ramsay’s expressive framing makes the County Hall setting properly imposing, and gives the period surroundings a role beyond looking handsome. Helen Scott’s production design helps establish a 1950s world in which Williams’s formality feels ordinary. That matters: a less convincing setting could make him look like a collection of quaint habits preserved for our amusement. At times, though, the polished images are a little too comfortable to look at for a story troubled by the passing of time.

The pace is less consistently judged. At 102 minutes, *Living* is not long, but Chris Wyatt’s editing leaves stretches that feel slower than the performance requires. Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch’s music can also press too hard, adding emotional emphasis where Bill Nighy has already made a modest response sufficient. These are occasional irritations, but both make us aware of how firmly the film would like to guide our feelings.

Williams’s family life is less fully drawn than his connection with Margaret Harris, and that leaves a gap in our understanding of him. Kazuo Ishiguro and Oliver Hermanus are better at allowing us to feel his reserve than at exploring everything that has sustained it. Still, a period drama about regret can easily become a procession of tasteful lessons, and the actors mostly prevent that here. The strongest scenes allow affection and awkwardness to coexist without tidying either away.

We do not need the film to explain its concern with mortality quite so carefully. Its most persuasive evidence is already in the effort Williams makes to connect, and in the attention Margaret Harris gives him. Those exchanges stayed with us more than the polished period images. See it for the company of Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood, and allow for the slow going between their scenes.

*Fi1m score 81, published 3 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond warmly to Living, with praise clustering around Bill Nighy’s restrained performance and the film’s carefully realised period setting. The reviews repeatedly find emotional weight in his reserve, while several single out his scenes with Aimee Lou Wood for their intimacy. The visual style also earns broad approval: critics admire the framing, period detail and measured presentation of a story about mortality and the value of ordinary life.

Opinion ranges from emphatic admiration to qualified appreciation, with no wholly negative verdicts. The main divide concerns what the remake adds to Ikiru: Empire regards it as an enrichment, while Slant Magazine finds it too faithful. IndieWire argues that compressing the story reduces its emotional force, despite Nighy’s affecting work. Other reservations concern slow pacing, an underdeveloped family life and a final stretch that some critics find less moving than the earlier scenes.

## Straight answers

**Is Living worth watching?**

*Living* is worth watching for Bill Nighy’s finely restrained performance and his quietly moving scenes with Aimee Lou Wood; we score it 81 out of 100. We recommend it to those who enjoy patient, character-led drama, with the caveat that its stately pace sometimes becomes stiff and its music occasionally presses too hard.

**How long is Living, and what is it rated?**

*Living* runs 1h 42m. It is a drama film.

**Where can I watch Living in Hong Kong?**

*Living* is not on any streaming or rental service in Hong Kong at the moment. It is available in 33 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is Living, and is it suitable for children?**

*Living* has a UK 12A certificate, meaning children under 12 need an accompanying adult at the cinema, though that rating alone does not establish how violent or frightening it is. Its concerns with mortality, regret and wasted time, together with its slow pace, make it a more natural choice for teenagers and adults interested in reflective drama.

**How does Living compare to Ikiru?**

*Living* offers a warmer, more polished period treatment of a reserved man confronting wasted time, while [*Ikiru*](https://film.one/film/ikiru) takes a harsher view of bureaucracy and earns our broader recommendation. We favour *Living* for the touching contrast between Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood; *Ikiru* is the stronger choice for Takashi Shimura’s painfully ordinary fear of a life slipping away.

**What should I watch after Living?**

After *Living*, try [*Ikiru*](https://film.one/film/ikiru) (1952, Fi1m 92): Another reserved man confronts wasted time, with a harsher view of bureaucracy. Then [*The Remains of the Day*](https://film.one/film/the-remains-of-the-day) (1993, Fi1m 88): The cost of keeping feelings private, explored through another painfully controlled performance; and [*The Straight Story*](https://film.one/film/the-straight-story) (1999, Fi1m 88): A modest journey gives an elderly man’s unfinished business room to matter.

### Reviews we read (25)

- **Radio Times**, Alan Jones (5/5): The review praises the film as a thoughtful, superbly rendered drama and lauds Bill Nighy’s performance. It singles out the evocative 1950s look and visual presentation for praise. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-puw34v/living/)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (5/5): Time Out presents the film as an emotionally searing redo, led by a career-best performance from Bill Nighy. The praise singles out Nighy’s performance as the film’s standout. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/living-2022)
- **The AV Club**, Matthew Huff (A): Huff finds the film an artistically masterful, deceptively simple meditation on life and death. He especially praises Bill Nighy’s restrained, memorable performance and his electric scenes with Aimee Lou Wood. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/living-movie-review-bill-nighy-ishiguro-hermanus-1849920182)
- **Empire**, John Nugent (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it a rare remake that enriches its source and a major achievement for Bill Nighy. They especially praise Nighy’s restrained performance, alongside the film’s careful craftsmanship. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/living/)
- **Sight and Sound**, BFI (90/100, inferred): The review finds that Hermanus’s remake comes very close to perfection and can stand alongside Kurosawa’s original. It particularly praises Bill Nighy’s portrayal of Williams, while noting that his family life is underdeveloped. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/living-remake-that-can-stand-with-original)
- **The Guardian**, Mark Kermode (85/100, inferred): Kermode finds the film beautifully melancholy and moving, praising its understated treatment of mortality and lost youth. He especially singles out Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood for their deeply affecting performances and the intimate bond they create. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/06/living-review-kazuo-ishiguro-elegantly-adapts-1950s-mortality-tale)
- **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (85/100, inferred): Newland finds this British adaptation poignant and powerful, with a story that makes a convincing case for appreciating life’s brevity. She singles out Bill Nighy’s understated performance and the film’s elegant, self-assured classicism for praise. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/living-review-film-bill-nighy-understated-kurosawa-adaptation-1949627)
- **Little White Lies**, Ella Kemp (3/4/4): Kemp finds the film a poignant, graceful celebration of life, beautifully told despite its familiar story. She especially praises Bill Nighy’s gentle performance and the film’s striking visuals. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/living)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (80/100, inferred): Ebiri finds the remake moving, engaging, and visually splendid, praising how its period style makes familiar themes resonate anew. He also singles out Bill Nighy’s reserved performance as an effective contrast to the original film’s more theatrical lead. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/living-review-bill-nighy-shines-in-a-remake-of-ikiru.html)
- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (Critic's Pick): Debruge finds the film moving, though less subtle and emotionally powerful than Kurosawa’s original. He praises Bill Nighy’s exceptionally understated performance. [Read](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/living-review-bill-nighy-1235160518/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (70/100, inferred): Chang finds the remake moving and distinctive, though more restrained and less forceful than Kurosawa’s original. He especially praises Bill Nighy’s understated performance and its melancholy depth. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-12-21/living-review-bill-nighy-ikiru-remake)
- **Screen Daily**, Wendy Ide (70/100, inferred): Ide presents the film as a handsome, positive period adaptation of Kurosawa’s Ikiru. The standfirst singles out its polished period approach and Bill Nighy’s lead performance. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/living-sundance-review/5166637.article)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (65/100, inferred): Lane finds “Living” carefully arranged and compelling, while questioning whether its reserved protagonist’s behavior always feels believable. He singles out Bill Nighy’s performance and the emotional force gathered beneath his character’s mannerisms for praise. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/26/avatar-the-way-of-water-is-split-by-james-camerons-contradictory-instincts)
- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page could not be read, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. No specific element praised or criticized can be verified. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/movies/living-review.html)
- **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (C+): Ehrlich finds the remake stiff and forgettable despite its sincere understanding of the original’s appeal. He praises Bill Nighy’s affecting performance, while criticizing the adaptation for compressing the story and muting its emotional force. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/living-review-bill-nighy-ikiru-1234692389/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Angie Han (60/100, inferred): Han finds the remake thoughtful and touching, but not essential or able to escape comparison with its revered predecessor. She especially praises Bill Nighy’s restrained, moving performance and the film’s dignified visual style. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/living-film-review-2-1235078108/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Kenji Fujishima (2/4): Fujishima finds the remake too faithful to Ikiru, though its existential themes still resonate. He especially praises Bill Nighy’s restrained, affecting performance. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/living-review-bill-nighy-ikiru/)
- **Collider**, Maggie Lovitt (A-): Lovitt finds the film somber, beautiful, and haunting, with Bill Nighy giving a tremendously moving performance. She singles out the film’s thoughtful visual choices and its intimate portrayal of Williams’s effort to leave a meaningful legacy. [Read](https://collider.com/living-review-bill-nighy-aimee-lou-wood-oliver-hermanus-sundance-2022/)
- **Film Stories**, Simon Brew (90/100, inferred): The critic warmly recommends the film as elegant, absorbing, and tremendously moving. They single out Bill Nighy’s contained, affecting performance as one of the year’s best. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/living-review-bill-nighy-learns-to-enjoy-life/)
- **HeyUGuys** (90/100, inferred): The critic gives the film an emphatic recommendation, calling it a rare cinematic achievement. They especially praise Hermanus’s expressive framing and the historic County Hall setting. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/living-review/)
- **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (85/100, inferred): Hammond says the remake works very well, praising its loving care and fidelity to Kurosawa’s original. He particularly singles out Bill Nighy’s understated, beautifully judged performance. [Read](https://deadline.com/2022/01/sundance-review-bill-nighy-in-living-the-british-remake-of-akira-kurosawas-classic-ikiru-1234917000/)
- **The Wrap** (80/100, inferred): The critic finds this remake elegant, humane and emotionally affecting. Bill Nighy’s restrained performance is singled out as its heart, with his scenes alongside Aimee Lou Wood especially poignant. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/living-film-review-bill-nighy-2022-ikiru/)
- **Paste**, Jacob Oller (7.1): Oller finds the remake worthwhile but overly slow, with an epilogue that drains some of its emotional force. He praises Bill Nighy’s restrained, affecting performance as its chief strength. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/sundance-2022/living-review)
- **The Skinny**, Rory Doherty (★★★): Doherty finds the remake mostly rewarding, but says its final act weakens its impact. He praises Bill Nighy's performance and Jamie Ramsay's cinematography, while faulting the underdeveloped emotional payoff. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/lff-2022-living)
- **Eye for Film**, Amber Wilkinson (55/100, inferred): Wilkinson admires the film’s craft but finds its deeper emotions held at arm’s length. She singles out the period design and Nighy’s subtle performance for praise, while noting that the film grows stagey and its music sometimes overwhelms. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/living-2022-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson)

## Details

- **Director:** Oliver Hermanus
- **Director:** Oliver Hermanus
- **Writer:** Kazuo Ishiguro
- **Cinematography:** Jamie Ramsay
- **Editor:** Chris Wyatt
- **Music:** Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
- **Production design:** Helen Scott
- **Costume design:** Sandy Powell
- **Producer:** Stephen Woolley, Elizabeth Karlsen
- **Cast:** Bill Nighy as Williams; Aimee Lou Wood as Margaret Harris; Alex Sharp as Peter Wakeling; Tom Burke as Sutherland; Adrian Rawlins as Middleton; Oliver Chris as Hart; Hubert Burton as Rusbridger; Zoe Boyle as Mrs. McMasters
- **Runtime:** 1h 42m
- **First release (the US):** 21 January 2022
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Budget:** $10 million
- **Box office:** $7 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVo5kLt_-BU

## Where to watch in Hong Kong

Not streaming, renting or buying in Hong Kong at the last check.

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CL, CO, CZ, DE, EC, FI, FR, GB, HR, HU, IE, IN, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NZ, PA, PE, PL, RO, RS, SE, SI, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2023: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Ikiru* (1952), Fi1m 92: Another reserved man confronts wasted time, with a harsher view of bureaucracy. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ikiru.md)
- *The Remains of the Day* (1993), Fi1m 88: The cost of keeping feelings private, explored through another painfully controlled performance. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-remains-of-the-day.md)
- *The Straight Story* (1999), Fi1m 88: A modest journey gives an elderly man’s unfinished business room to matter. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-straight-story.md)
- *Still Walking* (2008): Family obligations and old resentments emerge through meals, pauses and ordinary conversation.
- *The Lunchbox* (2013), Fi1m 75: A mistaken lunch delivery opens a correspondence between two quietly lonely people. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-lunchbox.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/living