All of a Sudden LFF review: Beautiful but overlong tale of friendship
I almost avoided All of a Sudden because of its 3-hour 17-minute runtime, but changed my mind because of its rave reviews and awards at Cannes and because I liked Ryusuke Hamaguchi‘s Drive My Car. While I’m glad I’ve seen it, I’m nowhere near as effusive as most and considered it quite the endurance test.
This drama stars Virginie Efira as Marie-Lou, the director of a care home outside of Paris. Only two years into the job, she is facing resistance from staff over her decision to adopt the Humanitude care technique. One day, she meets Japanese theatre director and playwright, Mari (Tao Okamoto), who has terminal cancer, and they develop a fast, deep friendship.
There is no need for a film about friendship – as lovely as it is – to last more than three hours. There’s not enough story to justify this meaty runtime. There’s a lot that could have been taken out without making much difference to the story. The pace is gentle, slow and meditative and a real test of concentration, especially because some of the detours away from the core friendship are quite boring (I’m thinking about a lengthy lecture on capitalism).
At its core, All of a Sudden is a beautiful examination of falling in love with a friend. You don’t have to know someone for long to feel and care for them deeply. If Hamaguchi had streamlined his bloated story, I would have been a huge fan, because the central friendship is fantastic. Efira and Okamoto shared the Best Actress award at Cannes and this is so well deserved. Their platonic chemistry is a pleasure to watch, and the way they seamlessly switch between French and Japanese is seriously impressive.
All of a Sudden would have been a great film if it were two hours long, but the runtime is unnecessary and unearned. There’s lots to like, but also plenty to dislike, and for that reason, I can’t really recommend it.
Showing at London Film Festival