Supernova (2021)

By: Mike Ward on Sunday, January 31

R Running Time: 93 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

Supernova is a beautifully acted and well-written, understated love story.
Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth are wonderful as the work the emotional beats of a story where one partner is experiencing cognitive decline and the other steadies himself for how to love his partner in a new reality he cannot fix or replace.
Though emotional and dramatic, writer/director Henry Macqueen has written characters and crafted a story that feels authentic and real, with emotional stakes we believe and take to heart.

NO

May be a tough watch for those who have experienced a loved one/spouse/partner go through the initial stages of dementia or dementia-like symptoms.
Some have expressed the reaction that Supernova is an actor’s showcase film and nothing more.
With movies like The Father, Dick Johnson is Dead, The Roads Not Taken, and others in the 2020 awards season, all focused on similar themes, Supernova may seem like just one more movie about something analyzed far too much in one calendar year.

OUR REVIEW

Henry Macqueen’s second feature, Supernova, is yet another film competing for Academy Awards this year using cognitive decline as a major plot point. This story - joining The Father, starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman, the documentary Dick Johnson is Dead, and horror/thriller Relic, to name a few - may be sad and bittersweet in its storytelling, but proves a tender representation of love and compassion and a showcase for two tremendous actors in Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth.

That tenderness does not make Supernova an easy watch, though Macqueen opts to not show the couple grappling with severe cognitive distress. Largely, the decline of best-selling novelist Tusker (Tucci) is held off-screen, but you can see the strain it places on Sam (Firth), his loving partner of more than 20 years and a renowned classical pianist in his own right.

Essentially Supernova could be classified as something of a road trip movie, where Tusker and Sam drive across England to attend Sam’s latest performance. The trip means something different to each man, though the emotions do not manifest explicitly at the outset. They tease one another, make small talk, and just exist alongside one another. Their comfort with each other is endearing and guides us into their latest journey together.

Tusker’s unpredictable moments may at first appear slightly contrived, but with Tucci’s immense skills as an actor, we connect to his struggle. What does it mean when the person you know better than anyone is increasingly unable to recognize themselves by and through their actions? This framing allows Firth to match Tucci beat-for-beat in a wonderful, aching performance. Those moments which first feel formulaic in Macqueen’s screenplay play honest and true with Tucci and Firth’s connection and chemistry.

As Oscar-nominated cinematographer Dick Pope whisks us through the gorgeous English countryside, we settle into the discussions, conversations, and laughs the men share with old friends. But as wine corks pop and memories are revisited, there is a sense that something else is going on with the couple; Tusker and Sam seeing this trip’s significance differently for themselves and each other.

Macqueen’s film is very well written, soft-spoken and dialogue-rich in content. Firth and Tucci pour heart and emotion into the moments of melodrama which threaten to overwhelm the softer beats of the storytelling, while Keaton Hanson’s string and piano-based score adds further depth to the emotions present in the film.

If Supernova sounds sad and bleak, I mean – the movie addresses realities which are simply not easy to discuss. However, Macqueen paints a beautiful portrait of a couple fighting against time and slowly coming to terms with the realities facing them. Insightful and largely understated, Supernova is a compassionate and caring film.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Colin Firth, Stanley Tucci, Pippa Haywood, Peter MacQueen, Nina Marlin, Ian Drysdale, Sarah Woodward, James Dreyfus

Director: Henry Macqueen
Written by: Henry Macqueen
Release Date: January 29, 2021
Bleecker Street Media

Supernova is a beautifully acted and well-written, understated love story.

Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth are wonderful as the work the emotional beats of a story where one partner is experiencing cognitive decline and the other steadies himself for how to love his partner in a new reality he cannot fix or replace.

Though emotional and dramatic, writer/director Henry Macqueen has written characters and crafted a story that feels authentic and real, with emotional stakes we believe and take to heart.

May be a tough watch for those who have experienced a loved one/spouse/partner go through the initial stages of dementia or dementia-like symptoms.

Some have expressed the reaction that Supernova is an actor’s showcase film and nothing more.

With movies like The Father, Dick Johnson is Dead, The Roads Not Taken, and others in the 2020 awards season, all focused on similar themes, Supernova may seem like just one more movie about something analyzed far too much in one calendar year.