Joan (Lesley Manville) and Tom (Liam Neeson) are an older couple who have been married for long enough to be effortlessly comfortable with each other – the epitome of lifelong companions, they truly embody the spirit of true love. However, they have been through a considerable amount over the course of their marriage, most notably the tragic death of their daughter, an event that both pretend to have accepted, but naturally can’t bring themselves to admit as being still an incredibly painful moment in their life. Another crisis soon befalls them when Joan discovers an abnormal lump, which turns out to be breast cancer. The couple now has to deal with this new challenge, with Joan having to go through the painful treatments and the fearful uncertainty that comes with such a terrible diagnosis, and the ever-loyal Tom resolves to be with her every step of the way, which proves to be more difficult that both could’ve anticipated, with the pain that comes with such a situation compounding with marital tensions and unresolved issues that threaten to tear them apart – past traumas and personal quandaries surface, and prove to be almost insurmountable, despite coming at the most inconvenient time. Yet, despite the difficulties, they still manage to exemplify the boundless limits of a meaningful marriage, and how falling in love is easy, but staying in love takes work, but if the passion and tenderness is there, then there’s very few obstacles that can come in way of challenging the limitless desires of the heart, with the toughest moments normally serving to strengthen bonds and show that love truly can heal even the most painful of wounds.

Ordinary Love is one of the most beautiful stories of love ever committed to film, for numerous reasons. The film, which takes the form of a very simple but effective tale of a marriage, is brimming with a kind of empathy that we simply do not see being made anymore, a compassion that has almost entirely vanished from filmmaking, particularly when it comes to these kinds of stories, which normally rely too heavily on sentimentality and cliche as a way of satiating a tried-and-tested formula that may be successful, but degrades the beauty underlying these stories, and distracts from the message that these films all ultimately want to convey. Ordinary Love is a film that should be fought for as an example of a perfect love story, not only because it is heartfelt in how it portrays the delicate but beautiful nature of a successful marriage, but also because it never once resorts to anything that can be considered inauthentic or manipulative. Every emotion felt in this film is entirely genuine – we can attribute this to so many sources, with everyone involved in the making of the film – the actors for their committed performances, the writer, Owen McCafferty, for constructing such a beautiful script and the directors, Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, for shepherding one of the most powerful celebrations of love made in recent years. A remarkably simple, unadorned drama that cuts right to the core of the issues it seeks out to explore, yet still a resoundingly heartfelt investigation into an ordinary marriage and the challenges the couple at the centre of the film endures, Ordinary Love soars with an intensity almost unheard of for a film like this, where the power doesn’t come from the spectacle, but rather from true, earnest human emotion, which is used in such an incredibly poignant way, you simply cannot avoid being utterly transfixed with this charming expression of true devotion.

The subject matter of Ordinary Love is certainly not revolutionary – in fact, a glance at the premise before seeing the film is more than sufficient to mislead the potential viewer into thinking that this is another overwrought tale of suffering, with a disintegrating marriage at the centre of it to demonstrate the toll such challenges can take on individuals. However, while this film does start from the perspective that countless other films have, there’s absolutely no doubt that the film deviates from so many conventions to the point where it becomes almost a complete outlier in a genre with so many unique constituents. This film stands as a powerful expression of limitless love, despite the tendency to naturally assume this would just be a bleak portrayal of someone going through the process of cancer treatments and having to come to terms with their own mortality, which is definitely an aspect of the film, but one that becomes almost inconsequential if we consider how beautifully this film foregrounds the love – there is not a single false note anywhere to be found in this film, which seeks to celebrate, rather than exploit, the intangible nuances of true love, which are all too often used as the folly for less-successful explorations of the toll certain challenges, whether immense or minor, can take on a marriage. Moreover, the film goes a step further by presenting us with one of the most poetic odes to long-term romance of recent years – Ordinary Love is not a film about the challenges that a younger couple faces, but rather a more mature meditation on the comforts of a long marriage, and how these can be uprooted by the arrival of unexpected hurdles that comes close to eroding something that has previously been seen as entirely sacrosanct, and how even those who have grown so comfortable can be unsettled by the unpredictable nature of life.

Ordinary Love is a remarkably simple film, and its successes rely almost entirely on the work down by the two leads. Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville are giving some of their finest performances ever, which is certainly a daring concept, especially when both have been commanding the screen in their respective areas for decades. The film not only derives remarkable work from these two established performers, but also challenges in ways that very few films would ever dare – to secure two actors of this calibre to lead such a small film is already an unbelievable accomplishment, so to expect them to not only lend their talents to the film but also to play characters that push them both physically and emotionally, is unprecedented, especially for a film that doesn’t boast anything other than a truly compelling story. Needless to say, both actors deliver astounding performances that truly captivate and bring to life a premise that could have so easily been gaudy had they not given such nuanced portrayals of two people trying to work through a particularly challenging part of their lives that could either bring them closer together or tear them apart forever. Neeson is incredible, abandoning the excess he’s demonstrated in recent years to give a subtle performance as an everyman doing whatever he can to help the love of his life make it through a testing time, being a loyal partner that motivates her and gives the support she needs – however, its also in the moments where Tom breaks down in the realization that he could lose his wife, that allows Neeson to do some of his most complex work. He’s complemented beautifully by Manville, who is undeniably the soul of the film – for decades, she has been one of the most incredibly nuanced actresses in the profession, and she once again brings this kind of restraint to a role that greatly benefits from her very natural style – it gives the performance a lot more depth, and her subtlety, which replaces the histrionics that would normally come in a performance like this, enriches the intricacies of the character and develops her into a heartbreaking figure, who we feel incredibly connected to. Ordinary Love is a quiet, character-driven film, and while it doesn’t offer as much as some would expect, the incredible performances by the two leads, and their remarkable chemistry, is more than enough to confirm this as a truly special film.

Ultimately, what makes Ordinary Love work so well is that it’s a film that deviates from the familiar formula in a way that isn’t necessarily revolutionary, but still abandons many of the tritest conventions that plague the romance genre. The directors approach this story from a remarkably delicate perspective, never feeling compelled to resort to saccharine, overwrought storytelling as a way of conveying this very tragic tale. This film manages to get everything right in terms of crafting a meaningful drama about the challenges asserted on a marriage – it is essentially as honest as it possibly can be, hardly ever-shifting focus from its very simple premise for the sake of infusing unnecessary emotion, choosing to rather be as authentic as possible. This results in a film that can sometimes be quite bleak in its outlook – they’re very few moments of resounding triumph, despite the film being less about fearing death and more about celebrating life and those in it. The film’s biggest strength is that not only does it pay tribute to the story it’s telling, in terms of being a poignant ode to love stories, but it respects the audience enough to give us a truly compelling story that is genuine in its emotional resonance. There are innumerable films that genuinely believe putting relatable characters in tragic situations somehow results in a heartbreaking journey into the depths of the human spirit when in actuality it takes a bit more than this to capture the audience’s attention. This film succeeds in satisfying the fundamental qualities needed to make a film like this work, and while it may be something a bit too downbeat, especially in how the directors deliberately choose to not instil false hope, while still making a film around the magnetic power of love.

Ordinary Love isn’t a film that forces us to feel sympathy from a distance, but rather one that situates us in the middle of this marriage, where we actively gaze upon the unconditional love shared between these two people, and compelled by our own humanity to feel the heartbreaking empathy that comes with a story like this being well told, where the subject is represented with the dignity it deserves, rather than exploited for the sake of drawing out a few tears. Every moment of Ordinary Love resounds with such an incredible sincerity, its difficult to not be utterly captivated by this beautifully-composed tale of romance and the various storms it has to weather in order to test its strengths. Led with remarkable conviction by Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson, who deliver truly grounded performances that are as endearing as they are soulfully realistic, and told with the heartbreaking sincerity of directors intent on exploring the depths of love in a way very few have before. This is a heartfelt portrayal of love in its most distilled form, a truly moving piece that never avoids asking the difficult questions and giving us the uncomfortable answers, which is a quality that truly makes this one of the year’s most surprisingly effective films that rises above the weaknesses of the genre with dignity, heart and compassion, and becomes just an unforgettable experience that never leaves the mind of the viewer, who will most likely find the warmth and unexpected joy provided by this beautiful film absolutely irresistible.