Hope Gap
bfiReturning home, a young man named Jamie (Josh O’Connor) finds himself in the middle of his parents' turbulent marriage which is teetering on the edge of divorce. With leading performances from Annette Bening and Bill Nighy, Hope Gap, on paper, seems like a natural recipe for an impressive drama which is something the film ultimately dances with without ever fully realizing its potential.
The seemingly obvious highlight of the film are the lead performances within it. Annette Bening brings a quiet rage that stands out even from the other works within her filmography. The harshness she brings to her character, without turning into a villain, is, on a fundamental level, beyond impressive and truly shows her power and craft as an actor. In juxtaposition, the innocent yet morally corrupt performance from Bill Nighy is equally impressive and complex. The performance, which easily could have been over the top, instead embraces quiet and meditative pauses. These two performances might be combative enough to explain their dysfunctional yet chemistry-driven relationship which makes their marriage, in the first place, feel justified.
What sadly holds the film back from letting these characters naturally hash out their issues is the perspective the film decides to take. Where the perspective of a child has effectively offered a natural entry into exploring family divides in films such as Boy Erased, the perspective feels completely unneeded within Hope Gap. A natural flow of communication and emotions between the two main characters would have been a perfectly captivating film on its own, but adding a third party to push the plot along felt annoying and overbearing. Due to the close connection that Jamie has with his parents, his perspective is simply not allowed to be objective as an observing outsider. It felt like the character constantly got in the way of allowing the other characters to naturally express themselves.
The screenplay from also Director, William Nicholson also suffers from a lack of urgency and nuance. Considering it features such complex characters with unique dynamics, the film struggles to find much substance within its conversation of love and divorce. The film fails to reach any grand conclusion that adds to these conversations in a meaningful way. Part of this comes from the distraction that the inclusion of Jamie's character brings to the narrative; it also comes from the film's refusal to cast judgment on its characters. In an effort to allow the audience to cast their own opinions, the film very clearly hides from villainizing any character or action within the film which feels like a mistake. Whereas the over-villainization of characters in a film can lead to a narrative which is impossible to connect with – as was the case in 2010's The Kids are Alright – refusing to take a stand and form an opinion can also restrain a film’s ability to dive deeper into the minds and actions of its characters. The film fails to fully accept the actions of either character which is needed to find a more nuanced exploration of why their relationship is the way it is and create a more compelling narrative as found in a film such as The Wife.
Hope Gap is far from being a bad film or total failure with the sheer strength of Annette Bening and Bill Nighy as actors holding the narrative together, but undoubtedly the film is at the same time pulling itself apart with its screenplay. This is a film that easily could have been one of the most emotional explorations of love, and the pain that can come from it, in recent memory, but instead settles as a quiet and, at the end of the day, forgettable meditation on the themes rather than a powerful statement.
