The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
An excellent Jim Broadbent plays a Devonshire pensioner who embarks on an epic walk in the hope of rescuing an old friend.
Marathon man: Jim Broadbent
They say that to lead a complete life one should do something different every day. One day, just like any other, Harold Fry (Jim Broadbent) receives a letter from an old colleague, Queenie, to say that she has cancer. Defying the suggestion of his wife Maureen (Penelope Wilton) to send an email, he pens a short note in reply. But on the way to the post box, he decides to present it to Queenie in person. And so he keeps on walking, past the post office, out of town, across the fields and on towards Berwick-upon-Tweed. It’s bit of an impulse, and he hasn’t really thought things through, but he keeps on trudging, even though he lives in Devon 454 miles away…
Harold has never really done anything with his life, but he believes that if he can make his journey on foot he will somehow save Queenie. At one point he says, “what the world needs is a little less sense and a little more faith,” just as his folly turns into the adventure of a lifetime. Adapted by Rachel Joyce from her own best-selling novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is the quintessential English road movie, if there is such a thing. And so we are treated to the pastures and woods, the picturesque villages, nondescript motorways, cathedral towns and shopping parades that make up this sceptred isle. Directed by Hettie Macdonald (the BBC’s Normal People), the film robustly refrains from sentimentalising Harold, who sometimes comes off as bit of a dry stick. At one point he declines the friendly embrace of a dancing busker (Neil Patterson), plodding on relentlessly on his mission. So it is the compassion of strangers that sound the emotional chords, as they take pity on Harold and his foolishness. “On the whole, people are kind,” notes Maureen, who is left at home to stare at her own four walls.
As Harold Fry, Jim Broadbent packs in another memorable performance, cementing his status as a national treasure. With his tie always neatly knotted, come rain or shine, his trekker struts across the countryside, observing its eccentricities without judgement, as the ghosts of his own past failings crowd in on him. The film is rich enough in human and regional detail to withstand the meddlesome flashbacks, which sometimes do detract from the moment. The film is perfectly engrossing – and often very moving – without such narrative icing. Besides the lovely, discreet score and the clear-eyed cinematography of Kate McCullough, there are a raft of excellent supporting turns, particularly from Claire Rushbrook, Monika Gossmann and Naomi Wirthner. It’s an incentive that we should all take a spontaneous journey – before it’s too late.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Jim Broadbent, Penelope Wilton, Linda Bassett, Earl Cave, Joseph Mydell, Daniel Frogson, Monika Gossmann, Naomi Wirthner, Joy Richardson, Nina Singh, Paul Thornley, Andrew Leung, Claire Rushbrook, Nick Sampson, Maanuv Thiara, Neil Patterson.
Dir Hettie Macdonald, Pro Kevin Loader, Juliet Dowling and Marilyn Milgrom, Screenplay Rachel Joyce, from her own novel, Ph Kate McCullough, Pro Des Christina Moore, Ed Jon Harris and Napolean Stratogiannakis, Music Ilan Eshkeri, James Keay and Sam Lee, Costumes Sarah Blenkinsop, Sound Paul Carter.
INGENIθUS/Film4/Embankment-Entertainment One.
107 mins. UK. 2022. UK Rel: 28 April 2023. Cert. 12A.
