Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaWhen Aimee Lou Wood would tell people that she was starring in “Living,” a re-imagining of Akira Kurosawa’s classic story of a terminally ill bureaucrat’s quest for meaning, the response she received terrified her.“Everyone I spoke would tell me it was their favorite film of all time or the most beautiful film of all time,” she says. “It was a lot of pressure.”But after watching the original, she became convinced that “Living,” which moves the setting from Japan to 1950s Great Britain, had used the elements of Kurosawa’s story that made it so powerful, but provided a fresh perspective that’s uniquely its own.
It also helped that the film gave Wood, best known for her work as the popular and big-hearted teenager Aimee Gibbs on Netflix’s “Sex Education,” a chance to work alongside one of her acting icons, Bill Nighy.
The two play Mr. Williams, an emotionally inert government functionary, and Margaret, a vivacious subordinate whose zest for life and ambition helps inspire her boss to make a difference in his final days. “Living” premieres Friday at the Sundance Film Festival, a celebration of indie film that will go virtual for the second year in a row due to omicron. “I was in a bit of a mood for a while, because I was so looking forward to going,” Wood says. “I’d never been to a film festival before, but after a couple of days of feeling deflated, I got over it.
I’m so grateful we got to do the picture in the first place.”In advance of the film’s debut, Wood spoke to Variety about making “Living” during COVID and what’s next for “Sex Education.”How did you get involved with “Living”?I was in lockdown, and I read the script.
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