Ali & Ava is the latest film from British director Clio Barnard. As with two of its previous titles, The Arbor and The Selfish Giant, it's set in a Bradford housing estate, and like those movies, it's not always easy to watch.
However, that doesn't mean the movie isn't good. Barnard is a good director and storyteller, so you shouldn't overlook this. But as the main leads, whose lives have been touched by tragedy, have little hope of a happy future together, the film is sometimes quite bleak and that can make viewing uncomfortable.
Needless to say, this is not a fantasy romance movie with characters whose lives are hard to relate to. This is not a Hallmark TV movie or a Nicholas Sparks adaptation where a happily ever after resolution is guaranteed right from the start.
Director: Clio Barnard
Writer: Clio Barnard
Stars: Adeel Akhtar, Claire Rushbrook, Ellora Torchia
This is a socio-realistic drama about two people struggling to survive, with real problems and real pressures, rarely featured in the cinematic love stories that regularly fill our TV schedules and streaming services. In short, you shouldn't expect a fairytale romance in Ali & Ava, though that shouldn't put you off from this believable and tender kitchen sink drama.
Ali (Adeel Akhtar) makes money as a landlord, but he's not exactly a real estate millionaire. He shares a house with his estranged wife, not because he is trying to make their marriage work, but because he cannot confess to his British-Pakistani family that their relationship is over. While he manages to remain optimistic, despite his cultural background, it's clear that he's sad and lonely inside, and that he desperately needs someone to hold on to.
Ava (Clare Rushbrook) is a widowed mother who makes her living as a classroom assistant. Like Ali, she has been blighted by a troubled life, plagued by marital discord and domestic abuse. She has managed to find happiness in her work and her family, but like Ali, she too is clearly lonely and troubled internally.
These two single people are destined to live a life filled with drudgery and memories of broken dreams. But as is the case with many of us, they are still able to smile, despite life events that have knocked them down and limited their possibilities. The fact that they are able to remain resilient is admirable, even though their lives threaten to enter another downward spiral when their relationship begins.
The two quickly bond and fall in love with each other, but despite the happiness they find, their respective families threaten to tear them apart. Ali's sister is worried about the effect their relationship will have on their parents and Ava's son isn't happy about his mom dating again, mainly because he misses his real dad, but he's supposed to be a little bit too. racist.
Do they maintain their relationship, despite their families' prejudices and their own entrenched insecurities? It would be a mistake to go into spoiler territory, but if you've seen any of the Clio Barnard movies, you might assume not. While she has given us characters that are easy to root for, she has often messed with our emotions after heaping tragedies on her film's leads. There's a feeling that Ali and Ava's relationship may be doomed from the start, but to find out how their story ends, you should check out this movie.
In general, the film is very good, but sometimes it is a bit oblique. Despite the themes of racism, abuse, and social division that are an intrinsic part of the story, they are rarely shown on screen. On the one hand, this is somewhat of a relief, as this movie, which was already bleak, would have gotten even bleaker. But since these issues are at the heart of Ali and Ava's suffering, more scenes highlighting the effect they have on their relationship could have added more dramatic weight. The movie jumps from one scene to the next and when problems arise in their relationship, we are sometimes left to fill in the blanks by determining what could be causing them.
Still, this is not a major problem. Barnard doesn't need to use a lot of exposition to explain what's going on, as he trusts us to use our own intelligence. It's nice to see a movie where the director or script doesn't patronize the viewer, since most of us have life experiences to connect scenes, even when Barnard plays freely with the narrative. In short, this is a movie that will require you to use your brain, so don't assume that a box of chocolates and a tissue will be enough to get you through the tribulations of this horror story.
Watch Ali & Ava 2022 Trailer
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