THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY

As a result, there's a much stronger emotional core to 'Harold Fry' than you expect. It is clear from the moment we see them that Harold and Maureen have long since given up, both on their marriage and their lives, allowing themselves to be caught in an endless cycle of routine and familiarity. Rather than Harold's journey providing whimsey to their lives, it creates a disruption that both uplifts and crushes them. Harold tells Queenie to stay alive for him, that he's coming to save her, to give her the strength and will to get better, but what becomes clear through careful plotting and execution is that Harold's need to save Queenie is a much bigger struggle, ultimately to absolve himself of a failure that continues to eat him alive. For Maureen, the chaos that Harold causes with his walk is almost too much to bear, disrupting the familiarity of her routine and throwing her purpose within their shared life into question. There are countless moving moments in 'Harold Fry', but some of the most devastating come with Maureen, her determination to hold herself together failing as she comes apart at the seams.

There are also some astute observations about the dangers of collective inspiration, in a weird way criticising the kind of film you expect 'Harold Fry' to be. As Harold makes his arduous journey, others come to join him and form a community around him, but their need to find something to believe in isn't the same as that of Harold's. Theirs is general and a touch performative, while his is specific and high-stakes. They need to believe that Harold's journey means something, something bigger than Harold, but what could be bigger than the pain in Harold's heart, a pain he is almost incapable of expressing. The film threatens to buckle under its repeated philosophy that "all people are inherently good" towards the end of its second act, but Macdonald and Joyce are too clever a pair of storytellers to fall into that trap, leading the way for a simple and quietly devastating third act.

For all its attributes, the film would not be as affecting as it is were it not for Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton. Broadbent has become such a staple of our screens, often relegated to quirky supporting characters, but it's been a long time since we've seen him given such rich material and such a meaty challenge. He carries Harold's journey with a quiet grace, a delicate touch and tremendous humanity, reminding us of what an extraordinary talent he is. While it isn't as shattering a revelation as Bill Nighy's luminous performance in 'Living', it does have a similar effect of jolting you into realising how much we had taken Broadbent for granted. The same can be said, arguably more so, with Penelope Wilton. I can't remember the last time we saw her in a role this deserving of her. The film could easily have relegated Maureen to just the worried wife at home, but Wilton is given so much opportunity to break your heart with her weariness, her confusion and her anguish. Her performance is the highlight of the film, both because of how skilled and moving it is but also by giving us a chance to see this legendary actor in the spotlight after so long.

While it does fall into a few traps inherent to this kind of British drama, particularly a consistent pace that rarely shifts, there's so much to be admired in 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'. It leaves you with a palpable sense of weary melancholy, the kind that comes from a long emotional journey. We connect so much with Harold and Maureen, the burdens they carry with them and the hopes they dare to dream and the convictions that drives them to take control back of their lives in their twilight years. This isn't a piece of pap sentimentality about living your best life but a considered, honest and generous meditation on how we reconcile the life we have led as that life starts to come to an end. Through Harold's eyes, we see it all anew, see the beauty and complexity of the world around us and our role within it, the impact we can make on one another and the humanity that, deep down, we all possess. Perhaps that's the greatest compliment I can pay to 'The Unexpected Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' - it's a deeply humane film, and such films are always worth the journey.