THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY. Starring: Jim Broadbent, Penelope Wilton, Linda Bassett, Earl Cave and Nina Singh. Directed by Hettie Macdonald. Rated M. (Mature themes, suicide and coarse language). 108 min.
Harold Fry (Broadbent) is a mild-mannered, elderly pensioner, who lives in Devon, an historic county in southwest England. He has an unexciting, routine marriage to his wife Maureen (Wilton), and receives word in the post from a former work colleague, Queenie Hennessy (Bassett), that she is dying from terminal cancer and has been hospitalised. Her plight jolts him out of the routine life and he decides to begin an unlikely pilgrimage to offer support to his dying friend.
Without help, or any overt understanding by Maureen, Harold resolves to walk the length of Britain in over a 500-mile trek from Devon to northern England to offer emotional support to Queenie. On his way, he encounters a variety of persons, who express sympathy for his decision to walk the roads of Britain. He understands the value of support, ever since his only son, David (Cave) took his own life in a garden shed at home, after struggling with acute depression and drug addiction. His son’s death has left him with traumatic memories, that he has shared with his wife. Harold desperately hopes that Queenie is still alive when he reaches her, and he realises that he must do something to support his forgotten friend. Harold began his walk without letting Maureen know, and Maureen’s reaction is heartrending.
Filming for his unlikely pilgrimage was conducted on location to match Harold’s journey, and the film features a musical soundtrack with original songs composed for the movie.
What begins as an unassuming movie morphs into a wrenching examination of grief and guilt as we, the viewers, come to realise what Harold is running away from. En route, he sleeps rough, and accepts charity where he can, and he gradually inspires a movement of followers who urge him on. The people he meets subtly depict their own sorrows and needs, and join Harold emotionally in his quest. The film tells us movingly that regrets of our past can be rectified by future acts of kindness, support, and solace.
This is a tender film with powerful moral messages that is beautifully photographed. It brings to the screen a bestselling fictional work (2012) by award-winning British author Rachel Joyce, who has adapted her novel for the screen. This is a film about finding a purpose in life through action that is emotionally meaningful and rewarding. The end of the road for Harold, begins a new life for him, and the film celebrates goodness in life, which Harold experiences and communicates through a “walk of faith”. Harold’s pilgrimage has allowed him to personally awaken, and he finds fresh purpose and hope in life that energises his marriage to Maureen.
Transmission Films
Released in cinemas 8 June 2023