I don’t typically care for Bill Nighy's work, but here he delivers an exceptional performance. This is an adaptation of Kurosawa's "Ikuru" (1952), relocated to London, where Nighy portrays the meticulous “Mr. Williams.” He’s a civil servant who leads the public works department for the London County Council. His small team welcomes some fresh energy with “Mr. Wakeling” (Alex Sharp), whose introduction to the department involves accompanying three women (and the viewers) on an eye-opening tour through the endless bureaucratic processes that "Williams" himself oversees – ensuring very little actually gets accomplished! One day, leaving work early, we find out that this previously precise and predictable man is seriously ill. He’s unable or unwilling to share this with his son, so he goes to the coast where he meets “Sutherland” (Tom Burke), who shows him around before returning to London and running into one of his colleagues, "Miss Harris" (Aimee Lou Wood). They have a fancy lunch together, and the older man and the younger woman begin to connect. This connection soon starts gossip circulating, but when she gets a new job, he finds himself captivated by her – drawn to her enjoyment of life and general enthusiasm for something he knows he won’t experience for much longer. That energy spreads to him as he decides to focus himself and his team on accomplishing at least one more thing professionally! It's a slow-moving and atmospheric story about reassessing priorities when confronted with significant changes in life. Nighy brings a subtly charming quality to his role, Wood is also good as his increasingly important confidante, and Oliver Hermanus manages to preserve much of the original Ishiguro story’s appeal and underlying strength. The film has a beautiful score by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, who blends new and powerful musical ideas with established classical pieces. The costumes and overall look of the movie enhance the classy and impressive acting that left me pondering it long after I finished watching. I was invested from beginning to end and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Source on TMDB