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By: Natalija Asceric
Dementia and gay love, combined with deep emotions: This is what Director and Writer Harry Macqueen do so successfully in his new British film “Supernova“. A brilliant cast with Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci as a lovingly nagging middle-aged couple.
Sam and Tusker, live with Tusker’s diagnosis of early-onset dementia. In order to visit friends and family and places from their past, the couple organizes a road trip around the North of England. As the journey progresses secrets are revealed making the whole situation even more difficult. Sam and Tusker’s love for each other is set up for a hard test and has to overcome multiple obstacles.
The director had a lot of personal experience with dementia and did a lot of research about it, so he was able to present the illness in a proper way, which was the most important thing to him. Actually meeting people who are living with dementia and spending a lot of time with them, enabled the director to gain a deep and realistic insight into the life of ill persons and their suffering. Macqueen’s experience enables the audience to understand how challenging life can be, in a touching and authentic way. Furthermore, the outstanding actors Colin Firth’s Sam and Stanley Tucci’s Tusker bring compassion and humanity to the roles they’re playing which makes it even more innovative.
As the LGBT cinema is rising, “Supernova” also contributes a lot to the discourse around the whole queer representation. The movie normalizes same-sex relationships and doesn’t at all focus on the coming out of the characters or the fact that they’re gay.
“A rollercoaster of feelings”
Macqueen hopes that the audience recognizes that it’s possible to overcome hard and challenging times with compassion, love, and trust. This topic might be even more relevant right now during the pandemic than when the film was in the making. His aim was also to teach people about dementia and the choices you have to make decisions at the end of your life.
A deeply romantic, challenging, but yet life-affirming film about what we are willing to do and sacrifice for the people we love. It’s full of big and deep emotions and a must-see to learn something and think about life values at the same time.
SUPERNOVA is released in Cinemas on 27 November 2020.
