The couple embark on a drive to the North Lakes, which will culminate in Sam’s giving a comeback recital after presumably putting his career on hold after Tusker’s diagnosis. The drive would seem to serve as a respite from tensions that have arisen from how to deal with Tusker’s condition.

Unsurprisingly, the change of scenery does nothing to ease tensions as both men resolutely dig their heels in regarding how to face the challenges ahead. They both want to make life easier for the other, but the means of doing this create different agendas for each of them. Tusker, who dreads losing control of his life and the prospect of being a burden to Sam, is reluctant to acknowledge his deterioration. Sam, on the other hand, wants to provide love and support to Tusker and to care for him regardless of the sacrifices entailed.

Tusker begrudgingly participates in tape recordings to monitor his cognisance. For him, this is another unwelcome exercise in addressing his inexorable decline;for Sam, another chance to demonstrate his assistance. As Tusker says of Sam with quiet admiration, ‘You sit there doing nothing, propping up the entire world.’

The admiration is mutual on many levels. Sam reads Tusker’s novels, Tusker listens to Sam’s music, and the couple express their respect and affection casually through remarks and physical gestures. These moments form a pleasing contrast to the many scenes of Tusker and Sam bickering and antagonising each other, alerting the audience to the fact that they have been together for many years. Also immediate is the sharp contrast in their characters. Tusker is lively, witty, quick with a sarcastic quip; Sam is the steady, practical, doting partner.

Also apparent is the lived-in nature of the performances. Tucci and Firth, who are good friends off screen, have plunged into their characters as though they have been playing them their whole lives. There is a shorthand of communication, a relaxed physical proximity that the two actors deliver with a natural ease.

Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci in Supernova (Madman Films)

In a time when there is much talk of inclusive casting, not only in terms of race but in the representation of the LGBTQI community, the accusation of straight-washing would seem churlish in the case of Supernova. How could one resent the casting of heterosexual actors when they deliver such sublime performances as Tucci and Firth do here? 

Films dealing with dementia traditionally portray the struggles of both the patient and their chief carer, usually a long-term spouse. To date, cinema has also treated the condition as an exclusively middle-class phenomenon. The Father, Still Alice (2014), Iris (2001), Away From Her (2006), and The Notebook (2004) all portray middle-class figures dealing with the disease. Supernova comfortably resides within the same class structure, so any complications that compound the struggle with dementia from a lower socio-economic perspective remain unexplored on screen.

The aforementioned films all possess fine qualities, but perhaps Supernova most effectively delivers a heartbreaking portrayal of dealing with the disease. Many scenes poignantly depict the cruel nature of dementia, none more so than a dinner party where Tusker intends to read a speech to a group of family and friends. When he cannot bring himself to do so, Sam reads Tusker’s words for him while Tusker looks on. 

The crowded dinner party is a departure from a narrative that mostly posits the two men alone. Sam remains stoic and resilient, while the more demonstrative Tusker delivers the film’s most memorable lines. ‘You’re not supposed to mourn someone while they are still alive,’ he says at one point. When he states forlornly, ‘I’m becoming a passenger, and I am not a passenger’, we feel the full brunt of his words, for we have come to know what a force of nature he is.

Often the comic sidekick in films, Tucci (Devil Wears Prada) gets a rare opportunity here in a substantial dramatic role, as a man struggling to hold onto the qualities that have made him who he is. Tucci embodies the role with great dignity and wit. Firth (so good in A Single Man) continues to go from strength to strength; he gives his best performance to date as the compassionate partner helplessly grappling for solutions. Initially, the two actors were to play the opposite characters. It’s a credit to their talent and conviction that it’s impossible to imagine the film in any other form than the exemplary final product in which it has been given to us.  

English actor turned filmmaker Harry Macqueen (Hinterland, 2014) has been blessed with two wonderful performances at the centre of his film, but he deserves much credit for his scripting and direction. The energy of his characters and the sharpness of his observations go a long way in preventing Supernova from being a maudlin experience. Rather, it is a film brimming with humour and love.

Supernova (Madman Entertainment), 94 minutes, directed by Harry Macqueen. In cinemas 15 April 2021.