Following this news,Williams, chaperoned by a local decadent (Tom Burke), takes to a seaside resort where he flirts with hedonism. Back in London, he finds himself drawn to Margaret (Aimee Lou Wood), a young woman who once worked under his supervision and is now determined to spread her wings.
Then one evening he is struck by a revelation: with a new energy, and the help of Peter (Alex Sharp), an idealistic new recruit to his department, he sets about creating a legacy for the next generation.
“We live in a time when people have to work so many long hours,” Ishiguro reflects.
“When you look at these bureaucratic offices that we present in Living, it becomes a metaphor for the way that many of us are forced to live,” he says.
“It’s about people who have been ground down by the anonymity and the daily burden of living this kind of life, when you don’t know how your work is connecting with humanity out there or what it’s doing.
“(This film) is about a man who manages to transcend that, who cuts through that.And so I’m hoping that this is a story that a lot of people in today’s world will relate to.”
It’s a universal theme, adds Hermanus:“At heart, this is a story about death affirming life. It’s about how, in the wake of this man realising that his life is coming to an end, he’s pressured into living. I always thought that this was an important story to tell today because we sort of live in distraction.
“We live looking at our cell phones, looking into the future,” he adds.“It’s interesting to take a step back and wonder what it means to be present, actually, in your own life.”
“The film is about how we deal with mortality, and how to best appreciate the time that we are given,” Nighy says.“It’s an opportunity to see what a regular person who has a very constrained existence does when they are brought face to face with extinction. “Broadly speaking, what he discovers is that what gives one’s life meaning is doing something for someone else.”
Did it change how the father-of- one lives his life?
“I try and remember how fortunate I am,” he says.“I have a tendency to project negatively, so I try and resist that. I’m already in the business of trying to make the most of every day, and some days you can, some days you can’t. “I hope this film is inspirational in that regard. Because that’s what it’s for, to encourage people to do stuff instead of not doing stuff – and to make the most of every day.”
Photo: PA / ©Sony Pictures
Living is in cinemas from Friday,
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