On a Road Trip, Two Men Consider Their Future

Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth in "Supernova"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Before writer-director Harry Macqueen’s second feature “Supernova,” his only other movie was “Hinterland.”  They’re both road movies about two people connecting, but what’s different between them is how the latter deals with young adults traveling the roads, while “Supernova” deals with older adults on the road.  He focuses on how, no matter what your age, there’s always an invigorating power of being out on the road and discovering things about yourself.

Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci) have been partners for 20 years.  As they travel through the English countryside to reunite with family and friends, they must also face the prospect of Tusker’s early onset dementia and the limited time that they have left with each other.

Firth provides a heartbreaking performance as someone who wants to hold onto whatever time he has left with his partner.  He does fine work in letting the viewer know the emotional toll that he has experienced in taking care of his partner, but presents his character as someone who will still do whatever he can to make sure that he makes life as easy as possible for Tusker.  In doing so, we see someone who wants to provide his partner with the best quality of life, but has trouble facing the inevitably that his partner’s life is nearing its end.  Firth establishes that Tusker is Sam’s whole world, and to see how much Sam wishes to keep him around is a testament to how much Tusker means to him.

Tucci provides a performance that’s every bit as poignant as Firth’s, exhibiting someone who must convince his other half that he must move on when Tusker’s gone.  Tucci plays a character who has come to terms with his imminent passing and knows how he wants to spend his remaining time.  His character wants to hold onto his dignity in any way that he can, which, at times, can be empowering; and at others, it can heartbreaking.  Tucci not only shows us who his character is in the events of the movie, but also shows glimpses of who he was before his affliction, offering us a wider look into Tusker’s character. 

With the movie mainly being just Firth and Tucci on screen, we get a full view of how strong their on-screen chemistry is and the deepness of their characters’ relationship.  When they’re together, we’re given a sense of how their love for each other has grown over the years into what we see at the beginning of the film, and then shows how much further it can go when they face bigger challenges concerning Tusker’s illness.  The way in which they interact shows two people who trust each other with the other’s life, and Firth and Tucci immerse you in a depiction of a love that remains steadfast under the pressure of their situation.

The screenplay by Macqueen may be a little thin, but it still does well in establishing the central relationship and making you care for what happens.  The entire first third is just Sam and Tusker traveling the countryside and allowing us to get to know them and the significant issue that they’re facing.  The middle section has them spending some time with Sam’s family, and then the final third is just them again.  Given how much time is spent with only the two of them, the story gives us a full sense of the two main characters’ undertaking and provides us with an idea of the intimacy that goes in how they face it together.

Even during the segment of the movie where Sam and Tusker are with Sam’s family, Macqueen still provides moments for just the two of them.  This highlights how they feel as though they’re the only two people in the world, even when they’re among others.  There aren’t many occasions where they’re separate from each other, which helps us feel how much they’re making whatever time they have left together count.

As a director, Macqueen prevents the movie from becoming too maudlin in how it depicts someone with dementia.  Rather, it’s a quietly emotional portrait of two people battling someone’s illness.  Macqueen makes the most out of the segments of the film where it’s just Sam and Tusker, and he doesn’t go for emotional manipulation.  Instead, he lets the talents of his two leads convey that emotion through their restrained performances.  Between their performances and Marqueen’s direction, all three of them are able to maintain the drama that’s presented in this situation, making “Supernova” a movie where the open road helps its travelers open up to each other.

Grade: A-