While Bill Nighy is known for his supporting roles in films like Love Actually and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, he finally gets to take on a serious leading role in Living. Living gives Nighy the fleshed-out dramatic role that he has been waiting for throughout his extensive and quite impressive career. Living isn’t only a great showcase for a beloved actor, but one of the best films of 2022. Nighy’s understated, quietly powerful performance is almost guaranteed to earn him his first Academy Award nomination, as he has already received recognition for Best Leading Actor at the BAFTA, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Critic’s Choice award ceremonies. Nighy’s performance has been praised for capturing the viewer’s heart up until the gorgeous final moments.

What Is 'Living' About?

Directed by Oliver Hermanus, Living follows the final months in the life of an employee in the county Public Works department living in London in 1953. Nighy stars as Mr. Rodney Williams, whose daily experience amounts to little more than pushing papers and following orders at work. However, he is informed that he has terminal cancer and will succumb to the disease in a matter of months. As he decides to put his affairs in order, Williams decides to spend his last months having the experiences he’s always dreamed of and leaving an impact on the world.

While Living had the potential to be a deeply depressing and grueling watch, as many films about cancer and other terminal diseases are, it is oddly inspiring considering its subject material. Williams accepts the reality of his situation and chooses to make his last moments count, and spreads both goodwill and compassion to his companions and new friends. Seeing him bond with other, younger characters is particularly moving. The film’s ending only solidifies it as a mature yet sensitive examination of death.

Mr. Williams and Ms. Margaret at a bar talking in Living.

'Living' Is Based on Akira Kurosawa's 'Ikiru'

Living is an English-language remake of the Akira Kurosawa film Ikiru; many Kurosawa films have been adapted to the English language, and most famously his action classic Seven Samurai was remade as The Magnificent Seven. Ikiru itself was inspired by Leo Tolstoy's beloved 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Ikiru and Living are virtually identical in concept, but not in execution.

Ikiru follows the Japanese bureaucrat Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura), who learns that he has stomach cancer and is given only a matter of months to live. While the characters are all given English-language counterparts, Living adapts the Japanese cultural hallmarks for what would make sense for England during the same period in time; notably, Ikiru was intended to be a contemporary film in its initial release, but Living features historical recreations of the same period. The adjustments to the specificities ensure that the film does not attempt to engage in any cultural appropriation that would be disrespectful to Japanese people.

RELATED: 'Living' Is a Worthy English-Language Remake of Kurosawa's Classic 'Ikiru'

How Does Williams Plan His Last Few Months?

Williams knows that he is disengaged in his job, and finds that the new management within the Public Works program is ineffective and taxing. While initially, Williams focuses on trying to make improvements in a job that he no longer enjoys, he is told by the young secretary Miss Margaret Harris (Aimee Lou-Wood) that some of the other youthful employees refer to him as “Mr. Zombie” due to his unchanging routine. Instead of taking this revelation as an insult, Williams is bemused, understanding that his stiffness is a result of his lack of joy. He goes on a spontaneous pub crawl and opens up to the bohemian writer Mr. Sutherland (Tom Burke). After exchanging details about their respective personal struggles, Williams helps Sutherland emerge from a downward spiral of self-doubt.

While some other employees perceive Williams’ relationship with Margaret to be a romantic one, he informs her early on during a mealtime conversation that he is only attempting to get to know her because he feels that he cannot tell anyone else about his illness. He proceeds to spend further time with both her and the other employee Peter Wakeling (Alex Sharp), energized by their optimism and constructive nature.

living Bill Nighy
Image via Sundance

Why Does Williams Build the Playground?

After taking note of Margaret and Peters’ zealousness, Williams decides to commit himself energetically to the building, construction, and completion of a playground for children that the Public Works department has neglected to develop for years. Realizing that he has the power to bring this playground to life, Williams decides to give back to the community and complete it. It’s a subtle examination of the depressive nature of bureaucracy and how laborious business procedures remove compassion from the approval process.

The construction of architecture intended to give joy to children represents Williams’ compassion for the young people that inspired him, signifying that he has found happiness in returning to his youthful activities. The park also stands as a remembrance of his life; those who cared about him can reflect on their memories when visiting the playground. While he has spent a lifetime planning architecture in the service of a business, he has now found a personal project in which he has an interest.

What Happens to Williams’ Family?

Although Williams initially is estranged from his son Michael (Barney Fishwick) and daughter-in-law Fiona (Patsy Ferran), he briefly attempts to bond with them before his passing. While Williams prepares himself to tell Michael about his impending death, he cannot work up the courage to do so. Eventually, he becomes so focused on the construction of the playground that he isn’t given the chance. However, this isn’t meant to be a sour note, as Michael is inspired by his father’s productivity during the end of his life.

What Does the Ending Scene Mean?

In a nearly exact recreation of the final scene in Ikiru, soon after Williams’ funeral, characters walk by the completed park. A local police officer on patrol at night remembers watching Williams visiting the park and sitting peacefully on the swing; it’s a nearly identical recreation of the iconic shot in Ikiru. The last shot of Williams calmly swinging emphasizes that he is now proud of his achievements and is prepared for his death.