Hope Gap Movie Review (2020)
With a very small cast and an understated vibe, Hope Gap is an impressive drama about the breakdown of a marriage. Not flashy and extremely layered, Bill Nighy and Annette Bening are excellent here.
When one thinks of marriage, you think of something static – the joining of two people in union, until death do you part. For this reason, people don’t talk about married life all that much. It is complicated, it can be difficult, and there is so much going on you can’t explain that, many times, things remain unsaid.
Hope Gap is the story of Grace and Edward, a married couple on the verge of their 29th wedding anniversary. When their only son, Jamie, comes home for a visit, Edward tells him that he is about to leave Grace. Being an adult, Jamie excuses himself during their conversation, but the aftermath is not pretty.
What struck me most about this realistic drama is how complex people’s struggles are. In this situation, everyone has contributed to the issues in subtle and unsubtle ways until everything has reached a head. It is much easier to see when you are a third party to the situation, but whether we like to admit it or not, we all know people who do this, and we likely sometimes do it ourselves.
With typical British reserve, Edward wants a quieter, simpler existence without jazzy clothing or many decorations around the house. He respects that their son has his own life out of town and understands why he might not come home often.
Grace is more intense and dramatic. She is louder, showier, and looking for any kind of investment or reaction from her husband – so much so that she often pushes appropriate limits. And after many years of dealing with this and not communicating, Edward has reached his end.
He can never be who she wants him to be and she will always expect for him to become that person. Does that make him wrong? Does it make her wrong? They each thought that this could be enough, and it has been for a very long time, but history can’t sustain a marriage.
The one other major impact that this film had on me was watching the lack of boundaries they each had with their son. Being an only child, he is always in the middle. Whether it is his father asking Jamie to take care of his mom or Grace waiting for Jamie to arrive just so that she can release all of her hate towards Edward, no one realizes the impact that it has on Jamie. It’s hurtful – to him and to us.
I admit that I am biased because I will automatically love almost anything that Bill Nighy is in, but this is a powerful and thought-provoking film that I really enjoyed on its own merit. It definitely makes you think.
Runtime: 100 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes, it’s very good
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3.75/5 Stars
Available: Free on Prime Video and Tubi or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
