Sublime acting highlights this period drama

By Derrick Bang Enterprise film critic

If Bill Nighy were able to shift a single eyebrow, I’ve no doubt the resulting expression would convey a wealth of emotion.

He’s that good. His performance here, as a morose, quietly contemplative civil servant, is a masterpiece of nuance. Nighy’s dialogue is spare; when speaking, he brings a wealth of depth and significance to every word, every syllable. And even when silent, his posture and gaze convey everything we need to know about this man, at each moment.

Some actors are born to play a particular role, and I can’t imagine anybody but Nighy playing this one. It will, I’m sure, remain his crown jewel.

Director Oliver Hermanus and scripter Kazuo Ishiguro deliver a meticulously faithful adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 classic, “Ikiru,” which in turn borrowed heavily from Leo Tolstoy’s 1886 novella, “The Death of Ivan Ilyich.” (All concerned also owe a significant debt to Charles Dickens’ “Bleak House.”)

The year is 1953, the setting London: still struggling to recover from the bombing raids of World War II. Mr. Williams (Nighy), a lonely widower known by colleagues as “The Old Man,” is head of one department in a multistory government building laden with similar subdivisions, all of which work hard at having nothing to do with each other.

Which is to say, most of

Rating: PG-13, and too harshly, for mildly suggestive material and fleeting nudity

Starring: Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, Adrian Rawlins, Hubert Burton, Oliver Chris, Tom Burke, Barney Fishwick, Patsy Ferran

Available via: Movie theaters these nattily attired men are hardly working.

It’s a bureaucratic maze of “D-19s,” “K Stacks” and countless other forms and protocols, where suggestions, proposals, petitions and heartfelt entreaties go to die, after being shuttled between — as just a few examples — Parks, Planning, Cleansing & Sewage, and Public Works (the latter a deliciously ironic oxymoron).

Public Works is Williams’ department, and whenever a folder shuttles back into his hands, he places in amid countless others on his desk. “We can keep it here,” Nighy sighs, in a disinterested tone.

“There’s no harm.”

Rest assured, it’ll never be viewed again.

All of this is a shock to idealistic newbie Peter Wakeling (Alex Sharp), who is dismayed to find a similar mountain of paper at his desk. Secretary Margaret Harris (Aimee Lou Wood), sympathetic to his first-day confusion, quietly advises Peter to maintain the height of his “skyscraper” of unfinished work, lest colleagues suspect him of “not having anything very important to do.”

And Peter’s colleagues are a bored and useless bunch: Middleton (Adrian Rawlins), next in line for leadership, should Williams ever retire; and Rusbridger (Hubert Burton) and Hart (Oliver Chris), wannabe young toffs constantly snickering at somebody else’s expense.

That includes three ladies from Chester Street (Zoe Boyle, Lia Williams and Jessica Flood), who’ve been trying for months to have a children’s playground built upon the bombed-out remnants of an open lot in their neighborhood. Every department head agrees that this is a fine proposal, and well presented; every department head then insists that somebody else must take the first step.

“We can keep it here,” Williams drones, when the folder inevitably returns to Public Works. “There’s no harm.”

(Actually, I’m not sure things have gotten much better in the here and now.)

As it happens, this is no average day; Williams has a

Opera House presents classic tale of love

Special to The Enterprise

Kevin and Lorie Haarberg, and Roger and Judy Kohlmeier present “An American in Paris” at the Woodland Opera House, 340 Second St. in Woodland, from Feb. 10 to March 4.

Set in the French capital in the wake of World War II (1940s), “An American in Paris” tells the romantic story of a young American soldier, a beautiful French girl, and an indomitable European city — each yearning for a new beginning in the aftermath of international conflict.

Inspired by the AcademyAward winning 1951 film, the new stage musical features a ravishing score by George and Ira Gershwin and incredible dance sequences. The show’s timeless musical numbers include, “I Got Rhythm,” “The Man I Love” and “Shall We Dance.”

Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Reserved seats are $30 for adults, $28 for seniors 62-plus, and $15 for children 17 and under. Balcony tickets are $18 for adults and $9 for children. Flex Pass specials and group rates are available.

Tickets are on sale online

Bryn Skaff is Lise in the Woodland Opera House’s production of “An American in Paris.”

Courtesy photo at https://vivenu.com/ seller/woodland-operahouse-0ebz/new-shop-section-a1fg and at the Box Office at 530-666-9617. Box Office hours are Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m.

The Opera House is located in historic downtown Woodland.

Stories on Stage back at Pence Gallery

Special to The Enterprise

On Saturday, Feb. 11, Stories on Stage Davis will present two novel excerpts at the Pence Art Gallery in downtown Davis. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the event starts at 7:30 p.m. Masks are strongly encouraged but not required.

Martha Omiyo Kight will read an excerpt from “Meadowlark” by Melanie Abrams. In this excerpt, Simrin recalls growing up in Ananda, a spiritual compound in the desert. Having escaped years ago, Simrin now has a child of her own who struggles in traditional school environments. When Ananda calls Simrin back, will she answer? Abrams is the author of

“The Joy of Cannabis: 75 Ways to Amplify Your Life Through the Science and Magic of Cannabis” and the novels “Playing” and “Meadowlark.” She is a developmental editor and photographer and teaches writing at the University of California, Berkeley.

Kight has been very active in the Sacramento area theater community for four decades as an actor, singer, poet, director, props mistress and costumer. Most recently, she appeared in the inaugural production of Sacramento’s Black Point Theatre, “The Field,” and “Shakespeare in Love” at SCC’s Sacramento City Theatre — both roles for which she has been nominated for

Supporting Female for doctor’s appointment, and the news is dire. He heads home in shock, considering what to say to his son Michael (Barney Fishwick) and daughter-in-law Fiona (Patsy Ferran), who share his accommodations. Anybody with an ounce of sensitivity would perceive that something is wrong, but Michael can’t be bothered to glance up from his newspaper.

Sacramento’s Elly Awards. Her credits in area theaters include Violet Weston in “August, Osage County,” Mrs. Lovett in “Sweeney Todd,” Sister Aloysius in “Doubt,” and many other leading and supporting roles. Kight has been writing poetry and reading her own and others’ work since 2009. She was featured in the Sacramento Voices Poetry series (published in three Sacramento Voices anthologies).

This will be her fifth appearance at Stories on Stage Davis, and she has also read for Stories on Stage Sacramento.

Larry Lew will read an excerpt from the novel “The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu” by Tom Lin.

Fiona, in turn, is a grasping little shrew eagerly waiting for her father-inlaw to die, so she and Michael can inherit whatever he leaves behind. Ferran makes her memorably loathsome.

Williams impulsively decides not to tell them, and instead contemplates options; the shift in Nighy’s features is subtle, and yet substantial. What should he do, with what remains of his life?

Abandoning work — to the astonishment of his colleagues, left behind to stare at an empty chair — Williams heads to a seaside resort, where he hopes to

“live a little.”

Alas, as he confesses to newfound friend Sutherland (Tom Burke), when they meet in a café, “I realize … I don’t know how.”

Nighy’s anguish and embarrassment, during this brief confession, is heartbreaking.

No matter; Sutherland, a true libertine, can show the way. But hedonism is only a distraction; it doesn’t compensate for Williams’ eventual realization that he has merely been taking up space for decades. What, then, instead?

Wood’s Margaret becomes a crucially important character during the second act, as Williams takes note of her optimism and youthful vitality. Hoping to enhance her status, she takes a new job at Lyons Corner House, where she has been promised a position as assistant manager. Williams decides to spend more time with her, apparently hoping to discern the secret to her cheerful outlook.

This is the story’s most delicate relationship; Hermanus, Nighy and Wood don’t put a foot wrong. Williams’ interest in Margaret certainly isn’t sexual, but it’s 1953; tongues will wag at the apparent impropriety, as she’s well aware. Yet she also doesn’t wish to hurt Williams’ feelings. The resulting emotional dance is achingly tender and poignant.

Helen Scott’s production design is astonishing; every cramped office and pedestrian-laden street scene looks and sounds rigorously authentic. (Honestly, it feels as if this film was made in 1953.) Cinematographer Jamie Ramsay further heightens the effect with a deliberately grainy film stock — again, echoing the era — and excellent use of light and strong shadows. Plot and characters aside, this film also is beautiful to look at.

Emilie Leveinaise-Farrouch’s deeply moving orchestral score adds just the right touch, particularly during the film’s many montage sequences. Indeed, much of this saga unfolds without dialogue: once again a testament to the skill of Nighy and his acting colleagues.

“Living” is a thoughtful, touching and handsomely mounted study of the human condition: a profound experience that will linger long after the lights come up.

— Be sure to join Derrick when he hosts 1949’s “I Was a Male War Bride” at 7:01 Sunday, Feb. 12, as the first in a series of classic military comedies, presented at the Davis Odd Fellows Hall, 415 Second St. Read more of his film criticism at http:// derrickbang.blogspot.com. Comment on this review at www.davisenterprise.com.

Logos features art of Fess-Uecker

Special to The Enterprise Logos Books will feature “A little bit of Davis, a lot of California,” plein air and studio oil paintings by Karen Fess-Uecker, in February.

Fess-Uecker’s work will be up at the bookstore, 513

Second St. in downtown Davis, from Feb. 4 to March 3, with a reception for the 2nd Friday ArtAbout from 6 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 10.