London, 1953. Mr. Williams, a veteran civil servant, is an important cog within the city's bureaucracy as it struggles to rebuild in the aftermath of World War II. Buried under paperwork at the office and lonely at home, his life has long felt empty and meaningless. Then a devastating medical diagnosis forces him to take stock, and to try and grasp some fulfilment before it passes permanently beyond reach.
Bill Nighy
as Williams
Aimee Lou Wood
as Margaret Harris
Alex Sharp
as Peter Wakeling
Tom Burke
as Sutherland
Adrian Rawlins
as Middleton
Oliver Chris
as Hart
Hubert Burton
as Rusbridger
Zoe Boyle
as Mrs. McMasters
Barney Fishwick
as Michael
Patsy Ferran
as Fiona
CinemaSerf
Now I am not usually a particular fan of Bill Nighy but in this he is very much at the top of his game. An adaptation of Kurosawa's "Ikuru" (1952), the setting is shifted to London where Nighy is the fastidious "Mr. Williams". A local civil servant heading up the public works department of the Londo...
Peter McGinn
This is one of the better “quiet” movies, as I call them, that I have watched in a long time. Bill Nighy seems to excel in restrained roles, where he speaks quietly and shows emotion subtly. I am thinking especially of The Girl in the Cafe, where he oddly enough also plays a civil servant. Nighy ...