Recently-retired Harold Fry (Jim Broadbent) takes a stroll to the postbox one Devon morning to post a letter to an old work colleague (Queenie, played by Linda Bassett) who’s dying of cancer. But for some reason he can’t bring himself to post the letter and then, following a chance encounter in a petrol station, he decides to walk from Devon to Berwick-upon-Tweed (something like 500 miles!), where Queenie is receiving palliative care in a hospice… leaving his wife Maureen (Penelope Wilton) feeling just a little hurt and confused (understatement!) by her husband’s abandonment. Fry somehow believes that, by walking through the B-roads of Britain, he can save his friend’s life.
But the film is much more than this… it explores all sorts of other stuff (life, love, family, loss, relationships, friendships, purpose, boredom, old age…).
Like the book, I enjoyed the relatively gentle (pedestrian even!) pace of the film – which felt absolutely ‘right’ and appropriate for Harold’s pilgrimage.
The film also represents something of a fantasy… 500 miles walked in deck shoes and with virtually no equipment by a retired, somewhat overweight man unused to exercise? Some days (at times, when Harold was joined by a ‘gang’ of marching supporters), they were apparently only covering a mile day? Doing the journey utilising B-roads and without maps (and a compass for only the latter stages) seemed like a breeze (a walk in the park?)? But, hey, I’ll forgive it…
I loved the book and very much enjoyed the film version… and felt hugely relieved that it was done ‘well’ – keeping more or less to the book’s storyline and, crucially, using perfect actors for the key roles (Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton were both absolutely excellent).
PS: Sadly, this film wasn’t on the Watershed’s current programme… Cinema de Lux was fine (larger seats, more legroom… and more expensive!) but you had to put up with the VERY loud (even for me without my hearing aids!) Dolby Sound System, not to mention the 25-30 minutes of adverts and promotions at the start.
PPS: There were less than a dozen people in the audience (for the 11.05am screening!).
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