A woman who has had lung cancer receives bad news when it turns out that the lung cancer that she thought was gone has traveled up to her brain, and the doctors don’t give her long to live. But she and her partner never lose hope.
This is a solid drama movie that feels realistic and down-to-earth. The woman and her partner who aren’t married yet, have six children. After they get the devastating news that the woman is going to die soon, they try to gather their thoughts and search for hope. They do what most adults would do, they never lose hope. But they can’t tell their children the bad news yet. It’s Christmas, and they have to wait for the specialists to conclude if they are going to operate or not. It’s Christmas, so they are on a brief vacation.
We see how the couple interacts, and old demons show up when the woman has to take medicines that make her a little unstable. They haven’t had the perfect relationship, but who has? So this is a movie about soul-searching, family, and death.
They have to talk to doctors at the hospital, and we see how different the doctors are. Some are pretty cold and rude, while others can be more sympathetic and warm. So some of the situations they are experiencing are something most of us can relate to.
The actors are excellent. This has to be one of the best role interpretations I’ve seen from Stellan Skarsgård. He’s so good. He takes it all in when his girlfriend is angry at him, and you can see he tries to be a supporting wall for her, but she doesn’t trust him completely. She believes he’s not able to take care of the children when she dies. You can see the pain in Stellan Skarsgård’s eyes when she hurts him with the words coming out of her mouth.
Andrea Bræin Hovig, who plays the sick woman, is also fantastic. She has to play on several strings when she gets sick, and she has to take a medicine that makes her hyperactive. She’s all over the place in a good and believable way. You forget you are watching a movie when she and Stellan Skarsgård are together.
Håp aka Hope is a mature movie for grown-ups. It’s a move that never gets boring. But it’s not a movie you ever want to watch again as it feels too real. Nobody likes to talk about sickness and watch sick people, especially when there’s almost no hope left. That’s a downer! But this is one of the best movies that came out in 2019. It’s not a polished Hollywood production that will make you puke. This movie has class.