Ordinary Love

Name: Ordinary Love
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: February 14, 2020
Duration: 92 min
Rating: 70
Cast: Amit Shah, David Wilmot, Desmond Edwards, Esh Alladi, Geraldine McAlinden

2020

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

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7.3

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7.3	Your Score
7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

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Ordinary Love (US Trailer 1)

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Movie Details & Credits

Bleecker Street Media | Release Date: February 14, 2020 | R

Starring: Amit Shah, David Wilmot, Desmond Edwards, Esh Alladi, Geraldine McAlinden, Lalor Roddy, Lesley Manville, Liam Neeson, Maggie Cronin, Mary Lindsay, Melanie Clark Pullen, Stella McCusker, Vivien Monory

Summary: Joan and Tom (Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson) have been married for many years. An everyday couple with a remarkable love, there is an ease to their relationship which only comes from spending a lifetime together. When Joan is diagnosed with breast cancer, the course of her treatment shines a light on their enduring devotion, as they mustJoan and Tom (Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson) have been married for many years. An everyday couple with a remarkable love, there is an ease to their relationship which only comes from spending a lifetime together. When Joan is diagnosed with breast cancer, the course of her treatment shines a light on their enduring devotion, as they must find the humor and grace to survive a year of adversity.
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Director: Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D'Sa

Genre(s): Drama, Romance

Rating: R

Runtime: 92 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Johanna Schneller

Feb 20, 2020

Here’s the thing: Joan and Tom do come back from it. The couples who stay together figure out how to do that. Ordinary Love is an argument that, as hard as that is, it’s worth it. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Nell Minow

Feb 14, 2020

There is nothing ordinary about Tom and Joan, and their story shows us that there is nothing ordinary about love. Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

Feb 13, 2020

The film’s strength lies in the performances — two fine actors elevating their roles from the touchingly mundane to the suddenly momentous. Read full review

Ty Burr

Feb 19, 2020

Cancer dramas are not uncommon; what lifts Ordinary Love just enough out of the ordinary is its concern with how a married couple survives the ordeal. Intimate, unsparing, and attuned to the micro-nuances of a longtime relationship, it is made special by the two actors at its center, both out-size talents who here relish the opportunity to play close and draw from life. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

Feb 13, 2020

Because Manville and Neeson are such potent performers, they are expert at playing out all the implications of what this experience is like. Read full review

IndieWire David Ehrlich

Feb 14, 2020

While Ordinary Love is so hermetically sealed inside the bubble of its cracking relationship that the film always feels like it’s about to suffocate to death, it’s so attuned to the meniscus of a “healthy” marriage that it remains touching even at its most inert. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Feb 25, 2021

I hated this film. I hated every minute of it, and at times it even made me angry. Read full review

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User Reviews

katezoe

May 22, 2020

A deeply moving and insightful drama of a middle-aged couple facing an uncertain future, both together and apart. Leslie Manville gives a wonderful performance.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

foxgrove

Feb 15, 2020

Written and played in a beautifully understated way, which in the hands of Hollywood would probably have been over the top schmaltzy drama. Liam Neeson is better than usual, but it is the wonderful Lesley Manville that breaks your heart. What a fabulous actress she is.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

DawdlingPoet

May 15, 2022

This is quite a touching film, a domestic drama about a middle aged couple going through an understandably tough time. There's a fair amount of symbolism present, with the pet fish and other things. I could understand the wife's concern and assumptions at times, I feel I may think similarThis is quite a touching film, a domestic drama about a middle aged couple going through an understandably tough time. There's a fair amount of symbolism present, with the pet fish and other things. I could understand the wife's concern and assumptions at times, I feel I may think similar things, if I were to be in her position. I thought the cast do well - Manville and Neeson both give quite solid performances. Indeed, it seemed quite believable that they were a married couple. The thought that so many, probably hundreds, if not thousands, of such married couples/families/people go through the process of cancer diagnosis and treatment in the UK, is a sobering thought indeed. I thought this was a well made film. I like how it shows the affection they have for one another, without being overly and unnecessarily sugary sweet. It's a thoughtful film that treats the topic well. I would recommend this film, yes.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

netflic

Mar 2, 2020

As the name suggests, there is nothing extraordinary about this film.
A realistically-looking drama about an elderly married couple fighting the wife's cancer.
How do you deal with potentially terminal desease? Are you strong enough to face hard times? At which point do you accept theAs the name suggests, there is nothing extraordinary about this film.
A realistically-looking drama about an elderly married couple fighting the wife's cancer.
How do you deal with potentially terminal desease? Are you strong enough to face hard times?
At which point do you accept the inevitable? And IF the dreadful thing does happen, what would the other do?

The movie is slow, with plenty of close-ups but good performances of Liam Neeson and Leslie Manville turn it into an advantage.
The creators of the movie managed to avoid unnecessary and fake Hollywood-style dramatics and instead presented us with a thoughtful and truthful film.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

fiftywordreview

Feb 26, 2020

A difficult but impactful watch, Ordinary Love successfully portrays love and loss in a way that feels entirely human. Even at just 90 minutes, the film can feel surprisingly lengthy, but a tour de force performance from Lesley Manville always manages to pull you back in.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

JLuis_001

Feb 27, 2020

The emotional manipulation and sentimentalism are palpable, it is a fact and the film cannot escape it, although that doesn't really mean the film is bad, what happens is that the drama can only work on one course once the narrative shows the traces of that course, especially with aThe emotional manipulation and sentimentalism are palpable, it is a fact and the film cannot escape it, although that doesn't really mean the film is bad, what happens is that the drama can only work on one course once the narrative shows the traces of that course, especially with a recurring theme such as cancer. And that's why despite the good and credible performances of Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville, the film never manages to overcome the same barrier that its story imposes on it because although it doesn't cease to be a good subject, there's little they can extract that it feels like something new or different.

Although one point I must emphasize is that I read some criticisms about the lack of a more dramatic tone - as if cancer wasn't enough problem - And this is due to the devotion and love the character of Neeson professes to his wife, but I don't actually see that as a problem, in any case it doesn't resort to an easy element already seen in which the disease creates a schism in the relationship. And after all, despite its theme, Ordinary Love is precisely that: A love story.

In the end Ordinary Love doesn't resource to anything that challenges clichés but it works fine enough because there will always be a difference when things are done with more talent and quality.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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