IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH
LIAM NEESON AND LESLEY MANVILLE WILL BREAK YOUR HEART AS HUSBAND AND WIFE CONTENDING WITH CANCER
LESLEY MANVILLE and Liam Neeson deliver compelling performances as a married couple in turmoil in Lisa Barros D’Sa and
Glenn Leyburn’s intimate drama based on a script by
Northern Irish playwright Owen McCafferty.
Tracing a familiar narrative arc, Ordinary Love elegantly captures the minutiae of daily life for a husband and wife who fondly accept each other’s foibles and find comfort in the easy silences that punctuate their domestic routine.
Lasting affection resonates in moments of the mundane – her saucy addition to a soup recipe, a blushing apology when a weak bladder delays an important meeting, or a seemingly benign conversation about his fruit and vegetable intake during a weekly visit to the supermarket.
“Are we having an argument about the frequency I use a juicer we don’t own?” Neeson playfully scolds his spouse.
The opening 15 minutes of
McCafferty’s gently paced script encourage us to cosy up to the lead characters in their suburban bubble before giant ripples from a cancer diagnosis test the strength of marital bonds.
The lead actors are handsomely matched and share a delightful on-screen chemistry that compels us to stand hopefully beside their long-time lovebirds through chemotherapy and the inevitable squabbles borne of crippling fear and frustration.
When Manville mournfully observes “We’re all just really on our own”, rows of hearts will surely break.
Middle-aged Joan (Manville) and Tom (Neeson) have slowly come to terms with the death of their daughter Debbie and have settled back into a routine under their cloud of grief.
They make regular pilgrimages to the grave and keep fit by walking along a busy road, using one particular tree as a