177. 45 Years (dir. Andrew Haigh) with Lindsay Pugh (10th anniversary)

Ten years on, 45 Years hasn’t lost an ounce of its emotional weight. In fact, it might just cut deeper.

On this episode, host and Seventh Row Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney is joined by Lindsay Pugh (Woman in Revolt) to revisit Andrew Haigh’s masterpiece about a childless couple celebrating their 45 the wedding anniversary in the same week that a traumatic secret from the past comes to light.

We talk about:

• What makes this story hit differently as we have aged

• Why the film’s focus on emotional repression, delayed gratification, and public performance feels so radical

• How Haigh’s queer lens shapes his portrayal of a straight relationship

• What gets added (and deepened) in the move from short story to screenplay

• Why Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay deliver two of the most nuanced, unforgettable performances of the century

• How Haigh’s blocking — the way actors move through space and interact physically — works hand-in-hand with the dialogue to show us what’s shifting beneath the surface, like tension, avoidance, closeness, or control

Whether you’re watching for the first time or the fifteenth, 45 Years is a film that evolves with you — and we unpack why.

Links Mentioned:

🎟️ Reel Ruminators: http://seventh-row.com/reelruminators

🎥 Guide to One of the Best Films of 2024: seventh-row.com/guide

🪩 Find Lindsay Pugh at Woman in Revolt 

📚 Book on Andrew Haigh's film Lean on Pete

💡Read Alex's interview with Andrew Haigh (2021) – audio excerpted in the episode

🎧 Andrew Haigh films/TV on the Seventh Row Podcast 

Referenced Episodes:

Ep 155 Halina Reijn's Babygirl with Lindsay Pugh

Ep. 163 Joan Micklin Silver's Chilly Scenes of Winter and Crossing Delancey feat. Lindsay Pugh

Ep. 117 The North Water (dir. Andrew Haigh)

Ep. 110 Weekend (dir. Andrew Haigh) and End of the Century: Brief Encounters 

Ep. 94 HBO's Looking

Ep. 7 Andrew Haigh's Lean on Pete