WE ALL MAKE CHOICES. HERS MAKE HISTORY.

As her marriage faces a crisis, High Court judge Fiona Maye (Emma Thompson) sits on a case where a 17-year-old boy (Fionn Whitehead) who’s dying of leukemia refuses a blood transfusion. The same year as Ian McEwan adapted his novel ”On Chesil Beach” into a screenplay, he also delivered this gripping portrait of a woman who spends all days judging family cases but finds it hard to open up and talk to her frustrated husband about how to save their stale marriage. A magnificent performance by Thompson (very ably supported by Stanley Tucci as her husband, and many other talents) commands one’s attention. Moving and perceptive; also intriguing to watch the decorum surrounding the High Court.

2018-Britain. 105 min. Color. Produced by Duncan Kenworthy. Directed by Richard Eyre. Screenplay, Novel: Ian McEwan. Cast: Emma Thompson (Fiona Maye), Stanley Tucci (Jack), Fionn Whitehead (Adam Henry), Ben Chaplin, Eileen Walsh, Anthony Calf.

Last word: “It’s definitely a grownup film, which does feel anomalous. A friend of mine saw it and said: ‘I see you’ve made a French film.’ I thought: ‘Oh right. Well, good.’ I’m a huge fan of French cinema, so took it as a backhanded compliment.” (Eyre, The Guardian)

IMDb