Living Wednesday, Prime Video

As a British adaptation of the

1952 Kurosawa classic Ikiru,

Oliver Hermanus’s recent drama has its work cut out to emulate the original. That it succeeds is largely down to Bill Nighy’s finely graded performance. His 1950s civil servant, Mr Williams, finds a glimmer of redemption and joy in an empty, staid life when he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. As he abandons his nine-to-five to deal with the news, Williams is brought out of his moroseness by a young colleague (Aimee Lou Wood) and a writer (Tom Burke). A touching tale about the ways we give meaning to our existence.