Persistence of Memory

Based on the Julian Barnes novel of the same name, The Sense of an Ending is a lyrical meditation on our perception of the past. Tony (Jim Broadbent), an older divorcé who owns and runs a vintage camera shop, leads a solitary existence. His main interactions are with his ex-wife (Harriet Walter), who tolerates him, and his pregnant daughter (Michelle Dockery), who nicknames him “the Mudge” because of his curmudgeonly nature. When the mother of an old university girlfriend names Tony in her will, he begins to reflect upon his young adulthood, on a formative friendship, and his first experiences with love, lust, and corrosive jealousy. As the mystery of the past deepens, the importance of the present becomes clearer.