The Long Day Closes
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(out of 5)
Exquisite masterpiece from the filmmaker who always makes movies that seem to come out of lingering dreams. Here he focuses on Liverpool in the post-war era, dipping into his own memories of his mother and his childhood for a seemingly formless but razor-sharp appreciation of all the beauty that life provides in the middle of hardship and chaos. Something as simple as a woman giving her child money to go to the movies becomes incredibly moving under Davies’ deft touch, but it’s not all softness: Davies is as unapologetic about the fun he had with his family as he is about their reaction to having a black man show up on their doorstep. The languid images combine with a whole slew of musical selections from his youth (some of them played in their entirety) to make for a deeply heartfelt exercise in nostalgia. It rides on the edge between conventional narrative cinema and Jarman-esque experimentation, but its beauty is so profound that it never alienates its viewer. Received the rare honour of a ten-minute standing ovation at its Cannes premiere, and it is easy to see why.
Directed by Terence Davies
Screenplay by Terence Davies
Cinematography by Michael Coulter
Produced by Olivia Stewart, Angela Topping
Music by Bob Last, Robert Lockhart
Production Design by Christopher Hobbs
Costume Design by Monica Howe
Film Editing by William Diver
Film Festivals: Cannes 1992
Cast Tags: Anthony Watson, Ayse Owens, Brenda Peters, Denise Thomas, Gavin Mawdsley, Jason Jevons, Jimmy Wilde, Joy Blakeman, Kerl Skeggs, Kirk McLaughlin, Lee Blennerhassett, Leigh McCormack, Marcus Heath, Marjorie Yates, Nicholas Lamont, Patricia Morrison, Peter Hollier, Peter Ivatts, Robin Polley, Tina Malone, Victoria Davies
