Supernova
Year: 2020
Directed by: Harry Macqueen
Starring: Colin Firth & Stanley Tucci
Runtime: 93 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 04/08/21
Directed by: Harry Macqueen
Starring: Colin Firth & Stanley Tucci
Runtime: 93 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 04/08/21
I have always been a very proud advocate for allowing people to choose when they want to die; particularly in the case of the terminally ill and elderly who may feel as though they’ve had their autonomy stripped away from them and are no longer living lives that they are happy with. I feel it’s easy to take that stance when you’ve never been faced with a situation that calls for it before, much like it’s easy to hold the opposing view when you’ve never actually confronted the reality of the situation. It took me by surprise then when I watched Supernova that I began to question my own views on this matter, putting myself in the shoes of the characters I was watching on screen, and wondering if I would be ok with it.
Partners Tusker (Stanley Tucci) and Sam (Colin Firth) are embarking on a road trip holiday so that Tusker can finish work on his newest novel, and Sam can make a triumphant return to the stage performing classical music. Tusker suffers from dementia and is slowly losing his ability to remember people, places, and things, needing to rely on Sam to aid him with daily activities more and more frequently.
Following a surprise party at Sam’s sisters house, Sam discovers that Tusker plans to commit suicide the night of Sam’s performance, allowing Sam to no longer be held back by Tusker’s progressive degeneration and also alleviating Sam of any legal responsibility as he won’t be present.
Supernova hit me harder than I was expecting and had me constantly evaluating what I would do if I were in either Sam or Tuskers position. Going into the film I would have said that Tusker has every right to want to go through with and Sam should support that no matter how difficult it may be for him. But actually, witnessing it and hearing the conversations these two characters have surrounding Tusker’s condition, and eventually his decision to end his life, made me sympathise with Sam’s position that he’s already come to terms with Tusker’s condition and wouldn’t want to go on without him. That Tusker, in some way, owes it to Sam to live as long as possible even though he will have an awful quality of life.
Partners Tusker (Stanley Tucci) and Sam (Colin Firth) are embarking on a road trip holiday so that Tusker can finish work on his newest novel, and Sam can make a triumphant return to the stage performing classical music. Tusker suffers from dementia and is slowly losing his ability to remember people, places, and things, needing to rely on Sam to aid him with daily activities more and more frequently.
Following a surprise party at Sam’s sisters house, Sam discovers that Tusker plans to commit suicide the night of Sam’s performance, allowing Sam to no longer be held back by Tusker’s progressive degeneration and also alleviating Sam of any legal responsibility as he won’t be present.
Supernova hit me harder than I was expecting and had me constantly evaluating what I would do if I were in either Sam or Tuskers position. Going into the film I would have said that Tusker has every right to want to go through with and Sam should support that no matter how difficult it may be for him. But actually, witnessing it and hearing the conversations these two characters have surrounding Tusker’s condition, and eventually his decision to end his life, made me sympathise with Sam’s position that he’s already come to terms with Tusker’s condition and wouldn’t want to go on without him. That Tusker, in some way, owes it to Sam to live as long as possible even though he will have an awful quality of life.
It takes some very compelling arguments to make me reconsider moral quandaries such as this and Supernova is definitely not short of them. The performances of both Firth and Tucci are superb and among the best either has done in quite some time; but to add to this the dialogue is simply incredible. It doesn’t feel like this was a script written for a film, but that these were genuine conversations between two real people that happened to be caught on camera. It never sounded too poetic or dramatic, it simply sounded raw and loaded with pain from both sides.
If there’s one thing, I think may turn people off to Supernova, and even took me a bit off guard, it’s how slow the first half of the film is. Almost nothing happens and there isn’t a whole lot of meaningful dialogue either. During this time, we get to see Tusker & Sam’s relationship for what it is, they bicker about small things, they share laughter with quirky little jokes they have clearly built together over years of companionship. We learn organically about who these two men are, and how much they mean to each other. Which whilst some may find tedious, and I admit I did too, I promise it pays off in the second half of the film when you’re presented with these larger moral issues that are made so much more difficult because you’ve genuinely connected with them over the first half of the film, whether you realised it or not.
Supernova presents no answers, the ending is left ambiguous. Does Tusker live and slowly fade away by Sam’s side, does Sam allow Tusker to take his own life, or does Sam join Tusker in death as is suggested as one final proposition? Whilst I may have spelled out the plot of the whole film, because there’s no end point it’s all about going on this journey with Sam & Tusker, and everyone will react differently, so it’s worth experiencing even with the knowledge of how it ends.
I feel like Supernova is one of the most emotionally complex films I have watched in a very long time, and whilst it’s not an incredible film, it will undoubtably stay with me for a very long time.
If there’s one thing, I think may turn people off to Supernova, and even took me a bit off guard, it’s how slow the first half of the film is. Almost nothing happens and there isn’t a whole lot of meaningful dialogue either. During this time, we get to see Tusker & Sam’s relationship for what it is, they bicker about small things, they share laughter with quirky little jokes they have clearly built together over years of companionship. We learn organically about who these two men are, and how much they mean to each other. Which whilst some may find tedious, and I admit I did too, I promise it pays off in the second half of the film when you’re presented with these larger moral issues that are made so much more difficult because you’ve genuinely connected with them over the first half of the film, whether you realised it or not.
Supernova presents no answers, the ending is left ambiguous. Does Tusker live and slowly fade away by Sam’s side, does Sam allow Tusker to take his own life, or does Sam join Tusker in death as is suggested as one final proposition? Whilst I may have spelled out the plot of the whole film, because there’s no end point it’s all about going on this journey with Sam & Tusker, and everyone will react differently, so it’s worth experiencing even with the knowledge of how it ends.
I feel like Supernova is one of the most emotionally complex films I have watched in a very long time, and whilst it’s not an incredible film, it will undoubtably stay with me for a very long time.