The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry [2023]

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On the journey he meets an assortment of characters, from a well meaning and helpful Slovakian woman, a woman on a farm, a stranger at a railway station, a pill popping confused 18 year old, a stray dog and a small following of people who want to join his pilgrimage. Others will think it's like an xfactor audition where if you pull at the heart strings enough you will succeed. Maureen reaches him in Berwick, and he tells her that Queenie is beyond hope, beyond speech, and had been so since he set out. It was a short time after seeing the trailer for this film that I went to see it on the big screen, I enjoyed the lead actor the year before in The Duke, and I was looking forward to him playing another likeable character. The film was developed with the support of The British Film Institute and Film4 and awarded National Lottery Funding.

It is revealed in flashback that Harold owes a great deal to Queenie, as after David died, he went into a fit of rage and damaged several barrels of alcohol, and Queenie took the blame for the damage. He goes to post a sympathetic response only to decide that he is going to walk 500 miles to see her and apologise for an incident years previously. Along the way he routinely supplements his diet with vegetables that people leave in boxes by their gateposts.The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is not a true story also about a elderly man who receives a letter from an old friend Queenie who played an important role in his life to say she is dying in a hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed. Occasional upsetting scenes involving grief, drug addiction and suicide are offset by the film's gentle tone. It was the last film to be distributed by Entertainment One in the United Kingdom before the distributor's UK division was shut down on July 20, 2023. I think the thing this film surprised me the most with was that it's really deep and real and I left the cinema actually feeling quite emotional rather than uplifted as you'd perhaps expect with this type of thing. This might not win many awards or get critical acclaim, but it will probably make you cry and certainly make you think about life.

Harold dashes off a quick reply, goes off to post it but, seemingly on a whim scribbles a note on the envelope to tell Queenie he's on his way and to stay alive until he gets there. A colleague of twenty years ago, Queenie Hennessy, has cancer and is in a hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed. A very good way to spend a few hours, especially if you have someone in your life who is struggling with an illness. As Harold's fame increases, many other people from all walks of life accompany him as his "pilgrims".

It’s just a few stunted lines on headed notepaper, a reply to his old friend and former work colleague Queenie (Linda Bassett), who, he learned recently, has terminal cancer. Unfortunately, the supporting cast feel forced, two-dimensional and pepper Harold's journey purely to impart information that could be taken or left behind. The general plot is promising and has a couple of heartwarming moments, but for the most part I found it chock full of cliches, stereotypes, and just plain awkward moments. Throughout "Harold's" 500 mile walk I really wanted to hear the Proclaimers just once, but its not included in the soundtrack, however it is referenced in a sign held by one of Frys' Pilgrims.

The film does a great job illustrating how most people want to be a part of something bigger than themselves and to do good in this world somehow by participating in a cause they can believe in.Her love has always been undeclared, and in these recounted memories she is more closely involved with David than with him. It certainly has a Tom Hanks Forrest Gump vibe to the film with the walking across the country plot.