Italian producer-writer-director Uberto Pasolini gives a master class on handling emotionally heavy subject matter in “Nowhere Special”, a heartbreaking drama that never turns melodramatic or schmaltzy. Internationally co-produced, the film pulls inspiration from a true story which Pasolini intimately and emphatically shares. He hones in on the humanity at the story’s center, examining it in a deeply organic way with a Dardennes-like approach. The results are both beautiful and heart-shattering.
The film is anchored by a piercing James Norton whose lead performance matches the restraint Pasolini is going for. Set in Northern Ireland, Norton plays a 34-year-old single father named John who has devoted his life to raising his 4-year-old son Michael (Daniel Lamont). John’s wife and Michael’s mother abandoned them after giving birth, but John remained committed to giving his son the best life he could.
John works as a window washer and we often see him gazing through the glass at different establishments, observing various lives he wishes he could provide for his son. It’s a motif that is never overused and is made all the more affecting by the early revelation that John has a terminal illness. With only a few months left to live, he’s faced with the biggest and most agonizing decision of his life. He must pick the very best foster family for his son.
But while that choice weighs on him, John is faced with even more painful questions. How do you personally come to grips with your impending death? How do you prepare? Even more, how does a loving father inform his 4-year-old son of what’s to come? John is helped by a compassionate social worker named Shona (Eileen O’Higgins) who bends countless rules to help him search for the right family. But it’s his internal struggle between sheltering his son and readying him for reality that gives the film such an emotional punch.
Norton is fittingly understated yet he brilliantly conveys a father’s efforts to conceal his inward conflict behind a veil of normalcy. Small details in his performance do so much of the emotional heavy-lifting. And as the story thoughtfully moves towards the inevitable, Norton remains grounded and naturalistic. Meanwhile Lamont’s quiet soft-spoken demeanor reveals an inquiring young soul that observes more than expresses. The two make for a compelling and soul-stirring pair.
Handling material like this isn’t easy, and there are countless temptations to follow more conventional formulas. “Nowhere Special” works so well because Uberto Pasolini keeps his focus firmly on the people at the story’s core. His interests are internal and more human. As a result he wins our investment and keeps it for the duration. We feel the weight of every choice, we relish every tender moment, and we hurt with the inevitability of reality.