Supernova Movie Review

Academy Award winner Colin Firth plays Sam, and Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci plays Tusker in ‘Supernova.’ These two have been friends, in real life, for twenty years. ​
On ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ this week, they let it slip that Tucci shared the script with Firth without first letting director Harry Macqueen know. Tucci read it, liked it, and then, subsequently, he asked if his friend could co-star in the film with him.
They then informed Colbert’s audience that, initially, Firth was to play the part of Tusker and Tucci was to play Sam. After some time passed, they both felt their confidant would be better suited for the other role.

For this, I am happy. They both take on the parts of Sam and Tusker so well that I couldn’t imagine it the other way around. Also, these characters are profoundly complex and have deep feelings for how the other feels. Helping to make that believable is the fact that the actors have been such close acquaintances for so long. That plays a large part in the success of the film. They know how the other thinks, what they’re capable of, ergo, they know what is best. That’s not a bad situation for a young director working on this sophomore project to be in, I’m sure.

After meeting the couple, who have known one another for the same length of time as Tucci and Firth have, we get a glimpse of their personalities, which are vastly different. We get acquainted with the pair on what’s to be their last trek through England, where they first met. They’re on the trip with their dog Ruby. The talented Truffles perform the part of Ruby. Enter the gorgeous cinematography of Dick Pope (The Illusionist, Legend, Motherless Brooklyn). He brings the serenity of the English countryside to life with ease. He’s so extraordinary in his artistic abilities that you’ll be booking your flight to England the moment the film ends.

Not too far into their excursion, it’s established that Tusker is sick. He has early-onset dementia, which is terminal. This trip is all about having fun, and Tusker plans to have it no matter what’s right around the corner for him. His illness is portrayed in ways that everyone can identify with. For one, Sam interviews Tusker on a recording device. He asks him general questions, but then Tusker asks Sam hard questions; questions Sam doesn’t want to answer. He asks him, ‘Can you tell its gotten worse?’ Other giveaways that it has is that Tusker replaces the expression ‘the thing’ for words he can’t remember, and he gets lost on a simple walk and has trouble buttoning his shirt.

With this particular disease, it’s a long, painful trip to the end. Unbeknownst to Sam, who is more than happy to care for his love, they’re about to reach that moment, not that he’d know from Tusker’s behavior… up until now, that is. Tusker is an intelligent, accomplished writer who has been telling Sam, a pianist, that he’s writing his last novel. There are reasons for Sam to now doubt everything Tusker has been saying to him lately. Once he questions Tusker’s competence and capabilities, he rummages through his things. He stumbles upon something he wishes he had never discovered. I can’t tell you what that is or anything else about the movie.

I can say that, though some might find it too measured, you’ll find the potency of the writing and the performances to be dead-on. The script is saturated with lines like ‘We will not starve from lack of wonders, but from lack of wonder,’ delivered with earnest, you’ll beg for more. And you’ll see a single tear roll down the cheek of a frightened lover who doesn’t want to be left alone. With all these elements in place, it’s easy to believe that this beautiful, tender story will excel in every award show it enters.

Bleecker Street will be releasing SUPERNOVA in the below area theatres today, January 29th, 2021.
The film will then be available on all PVOD platforms on February 16.

AMC Desert Ridge 18
Arrowhead 14
Deer Valley 30
Westgate 20
Camelview at Fashion Square
Chandler Crossroads 12
Flagstaff 16
Harkins Arrowhead Fountains 18
Harkins Estrella Falls 16
San Tan Village 16
Scottsdale 101- 14
Superstition Springs 25
Roadhouse Cinema Scottsdale 11
Mesquite Stadium 6