Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland, Christian McKay, Janel Moloney, Dana Ivey, Dick Gregory, Leander Suleiman, Ahmed Lucan, Gabriella Cila, David Silverman, Lucy Catherine Haskill, Joshua Hoover, Kirsty Mitchell.
We all have that final dream within us, that if the moment comes when we are told there is no hope, that we fight to make hope ours, we go out of the way to remind people that once upon a time, we were incredible and that we should go out the same way, right to the end and the final breath, we must go out the same way we came into the world, as The Leisure Seekers, of always learning, always striving to improve, of seeing hope as our friend.
It is a hope that is captured with incredible sincerity by director Paolo Virzi and the two lead actors, Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland. A hope that despite all that might be said by some to go against the film, the relegation of life to a mere final drive, perhaps the inexcusable thought of selfishness that will cross some people’s minds and the relish of others to point out that such an enduring thought of passing into the ether whilst imploring and invoking the spirit of the words of Dylan Thomas’s Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night is impossible; then the only answer would be, for some passing without having achieved a final adventure is to be seen as bordering on submission, only confronting death on your own terms is the acceptable way to go.
The chemistry between Ms. Mirren and Donald Sutherland, two grand masters of the acting profession, is impeccable, it is the epitome of their skill that makes this soft hearted road trip such a forceful admission into the realm of truth, one avoided by many but embraced by those seeking a point to their existence, that separation of any kind in a very loving marriage is intolerable, one that should be avoided at all costs, and it is in that trust between two people that this film thrives deeply upon.
Love, it is a much derided subject in the eyes of some, they don’t see it as anything as a manifestation and by product of the sexual act, love though comes in many forms, and even when the memory and the heart begin to fail, love is what drives us to make sure the person who has been by our side throughout is there at the end in our arms, no matter how long the road or the final place in which we breathe our last.
The Leisure Seekers is a beautiful and heartfelt film which sees Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren at their glorious best.
Ian D. Hall