NOWHERE SPECIAL is something special.
Single parent John, a 35-year-old window cleaner, has dedicated his life to bringing up his 4-year-old son, Michael, after the child’s mother left them soon after giving birth.
When John is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he attempts to find a new, perfect family for Michael, determined to shield him from the terrible reality of the situation. Although initially certain of what he is looking for in the perfect family, John, a product of foster homes himself, gradually abandons his early convictions, over- whelmed by doubts on the decision. How can he judge a family from a brief encounter? Financial security may be evident but what of emotional security?
As John struggles to find the right answer to his impossible task, he comes to accept the help of a young social worker, opening himself to solutions he would never have considered. And he finally comes to accept his anger at the injustice of his destiny, the need to share the truth with his son, and to follow the child’s instincts on the biggest decision of their lives.
Writer director Uberto Pasolini follow up to Still Life is another life affirming film where death is very much part of the equation. As in Still Life, Pasolini nuances NOWHERE SPECIAL with a mix of mischief, misadventure, love and regret, and abandonment. Abandonment, its results and rectifications is again the alpha force and focus of the film.
Determined that his son will be fostered to a parent that will assuage any feeling of abandonment that assails his son, John attends a multitude of applicants and discovers a mosaic of couples, families and individuals all with various motivations to adopt.
NOTHING SPECIAL is a beautifully observed, profoundly affecting experience, gorgeously framed and filmed, with a central performance by James Norton perfectly pitched as the professional pane purifier, managing to squeegee excess saccharine sentimentality from an extremely painful experience. Daniel Lamont as Michael is endearingly effective also.
Laced with moments of gentle, subtle, surprising humour, NOWHERE SPECIAL is a celebration of dignity and personal connection. Eloquent, endearing, thoughtful, inspiring, it is an unfussy, masterful illustration of even in the midst of death we are in life.
Media morte in vita sumus