The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry [2023]

Product Information

The general plot is promising and has a couple of heartwarming moments, but for the most part I found it chock full of cliches, stereotypes, and just plain awkward moments.

Unfortunately, the supporting cast feel forced, two-dimensional and pepper Harold's journey purely to impart information that could be taken or left behind. He receives a letter from an old work colleague telling him she is dying in a hospice in Berwick upon Tweed. This acclaimed and very anticipated drama by the director behind the acclaimed TV show Normal People was one of the movies this year I was most looking forward to; and safe to say, it more than lives up to its expectations.Finally, Harold changes his mind and goes to the sick room to find Queenie unable to speak and at the point of death. Harold leaves on his Pilmgramage from Kingsbridge in S Devon, He is next seen by the garage in Malborough ( South rather than North of Kingsbtidge). One day, Harold receives a letter from his old friend, Queenie Hennessy, who is dying from cancer and is living in a hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

This politely unassuming little film builds into a wrenching examination of grief, guilt and eventual closure. However, if you want to enjoy a couple of hours with some glimpses of English scenery and weather - and the repressed emotions so typical of the English temperament - while reviewing your personal relationships, this is a wonderful piece of unassuming filmmaking.The film excels in its plot, delivering a seemingly simple story filled with unexpected surprises that explore themes like love, faith, loss, and redemption.

As Harold's fame increases, many other people from all walks of life accompany him as his "pilgrims". The film's direction by Hettie Macdonald is ok, with the cinematography and production design capturing the beauty of the British countryside. Jim Broadbent was fantastic in this role and so was his wife and all the quirky characters he meets along the way. It's a story about a supposedly ordinary old bloke undertaking something, supposedly, extraordinary in a pretty ordinary world, so some grounding in reality would fit.This might not win many awards or get critical acclaim, but it will probably make you cry and certainly make you think about life. The film was produced by Kevin Loader, Juliet Dowling and Marilyn Milgrom, and was developed with Film4 and the BFI; financing was arranged by Embankment Films and provided by the BFI and Ingenious.

She thinks of joining his pilgrimage, but when he invites her she refuses, saying "It was selfish of me to ask you to give up your walk. It certainly has a Tom Hanks Forrest Gump vibe to the film with the walking across the country plot. The trailer makes this look like one of those films about quirky old Brits up to something oddball which turns out to be life-affirming, uplifting, inspiring or the like. This film is very much about people, the good, the bad and the human spirit of being able to make mistakes in life but not having to feel like those mistakes define you. There are key characters that he meets along the way, such as a young and deeply troubled boy which I presume reflected the relationship that he had with his son and a dog.According to Matthew Richardson in The Spectator, Joyce manages the "balancing act of embedding homespun philosophy [. Deborah Ross for The Spectator described it as an “incredibly beautiful film to look at” and that “Broadbent is a wonder, so real and sincere it doesn’t feel like acting…and Wilton equals him”. Broadbent is first-class in the lead role as the ordinary man who goes on an extraordinary almost spiritual journey, Wilton is alright as the spouse stuck at home not knowing what to do, and the kindness of strangers is nice from some likeable people in the supporting cast.