A happy marriage (at least for one of them) falls apart in Hope Gap, the latest from writer/director William Nicholson.
To Grace, they were just going to have a low-key visit with their son. Little did she know that her husband, Edward, had been seeing another woman and was about to break the news to his family. Once that bomb goes off, the visit is anything but low-key, with everyone scrambling to find a place in their newly fragmented lives.
This appears to be a good old fashioned slice of melodrama, which fits right in with Nicholson’s background. He’s primarily a screenwriter, and he’s had his hands in tried-and-true throwbacks like Breathe, Unbroken, and Les Misérables (2012). His only previous directorial feature, 1997’s Firelight, was a period romance, and while this tale of a marriage ending probably won’t be romantic, it’s at least a return to the complications of a relationship.
This kind of family drama can live or die by its leads, and Hope Gap has a hell of a trio portraying the family. Annette Bening and Bill Nighy play the long-married couple while Josh O’Connor is the son caught in between. Those three can deliver moments well worth watching, even if the rest of the film crumbles around them.
Hope Gap is directed by William Nicholson and stars Josh O’Connor, Annette Bening, and Bill Nighy. It will be released in the US on March 6th, 2020 and in the UK on June 12th, 2020. For international release dates, click here.
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