Truly, Madly, Deeply

It's the old man loves woman, man dies, woman cries, man comes back as a ghost, man helps her get to terms with her loss, she finds someone else, he stops haunting her and life goes on story.

Written and directed by Anthony Mingella, Truly, Madly, Deeply is a tale of love from beyond the grave.

The plot may sound a mite like Ghost, the US flick where Demi Moore gets down to some pottery with a spectral Patrick Swayze looking on, but this British film is very different in style and tone. Truly, Madly Deeply is more sad, slow and introspective, although warm moments of comedy to occur.

This 1991 film opens with Nina (Juliet Stevenson), a woman consumed by grief, getting down to some serious crying. Her man has died and she misses him.

As far as Nina is concerned though, her cellist bloke Jamie (Alan Rickman) has never left her side. As she tells her psychiatrist, she feels his protective presence constantly. He talks to her, he singsto her, he tells her to walk in the middle of the street at night. For some reason, he seems to have picked up a little Spanish. His accent, she says, is terrible.

Unable to let go of the memory of the only man she ever loved, Nina seems to be heading towards a breakdown, until one night Jamie miraculously comes back. Nina is overjoyed. For a while, it seems like everything can go back to how it was before. True, he's dead, but that doesn't seem to get in the way.

However, as Nina comes to realise, a relationship with a dead man can have its drawbacks. Nina soon realises how annoying Jamie could be. At one point, the dead cellist invites a group of pals back from the other side. "I can't believe I have a bunch of dead people watching videos in my living room," remarks Nina.

Can this relationship really survive beyond death?

Probably not.

Things change when Mark (Michael Maloney) appears on the scene. He falls in love with Nina and soon she is forced to decide between romance with somebody from this world or the next.

Truly Madly Deeply is a funny and touching film about grief and picking up the pieces after someone you love is gone. The dialogue between the two main characters rings true to life. It's funny, a little surreal and very moving in places.

Go To Page: 1

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic