At this time of year, the cinemas are packed with family blockbusters and Christmas schmulz. However, one film will provide those who need an escape from these types of film a chance to watch something based in real life. Ordinary Love shows how a couple battle through a disease which has touched the lives of millions. Here is everything you need to know about Ordinary Love.
When is Ordinary Love out in cinemas?
Ordinary Love is out in cinemas on December 6.
The film was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September, and then played at the London Film Festival on October 12.
Ordinary Love will have a fairly limited release, with the UK being the first to see it along with Ireland before it comes out in the USA on February 14.
Ordinary Love starring Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville (Image: Universal)
Who is in the cast of Ordinary Love?
The main protagonists are Tom and Joan, played by Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville.
There are other smaller roles within the cast, including Amit Shah as Steve, David Wilmot as Peter and Melanie Clark Pullen as the doctor.
Very few characters are named in the story, showing how focused the film is on the lives of Joan and Tom.
What is the plot of Ordinary Love?
Bankside Films, the production company behind the movie, released an official synopsis which read: “An extraordinary look at the lives of a middle-aged couple in the midst of the wife’s breast cancer diagnosis.”
The trailer also seems to display some of the troubles the pair experience, as Joan has both surgery and chemotherapy in an attempt to get rid of her cancer.
What is also clear is this film focuses on the depth of love between the couple, even during the most difficult and heartbreaking circumstances.
Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville in Ordinary Love (Image: Universal)
Is there a trailer for Ordinary Love?
There is a trailer, where the audience are introduced to Joan and Tom’s relationship, which is full of fun and laughter.
Joan jokes to her husband: “For once in your life can you be bloody normal.”
Tom responds: “I am normal! I’m very normal.”
Soon their lives are turned upside-down when Joan finds a lump in her breast in the shower, at which point we see the gruelling treatment they are forced to deal with.
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Lesley Manville’s Joan discovers the lump in the shower in Ordinary Love (Image: Universal)
At one point, Tom hugs his wife and tells her: “There isn’t a moment I won’t be there with you.”
Tom deals with the diagnosis with as much humour as is possible, or so the trailer suggests, with him joking about styling her hair while she is dealing with hair loss after her treatment.
At one point she even throws her wig onto a teapot to turn it into a tea cosy when she says it is “too hot.”
Joan tells the audience: “I had this feeling that if I could get through it all, it would somehow change me.
“I don’t think it has and I don’t think I want it to.”
Lesley Manville as Joan in Ordinary Love (Image: Universal)
What are critics saying about Ordinary Love?
Some critics have reviewed the film since its various screenings at festivals.
So far, it has a 100 percent rating on the site, meaning it has critical acclaim from all those who have seen it.
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh of Metro said: “Ordinary Love runs the risk of being almost too ‘ordinary’.
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Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville in Ordinary Love (Image: Universal)
“However, watching these two great actors bend their immense talents to playing unremarkable people creates something quietly extraordinary.”
The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw added: “And although there are some slightly stereotypical weepie moments, the film has a strong sense of emotional purpose and Manville and Neeson – perhaps especially Manville – bring conviction and force.”
Clearly critics believe this film is one to see – making it a perfect break from the blockbusters.
Ordinary Love is out in cinemas on December 6