Film Pick of the Week: Ali & Ava - review by Yvette Huddleston

Her debut feature The Arbor (2010) was a powerful experimental blend of drama and documentary that explored the life of Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar, The Selfish Giant (2013) told the story of two young boys excluded from school who start working as scrap dealers and Dark River (2017) was about a farming brother and sister involved in a tenancy dispute after the death of their father. Barnard’s work is gritty and uncompromising – there is no sugar-coating of the tough lives she depicts – but it is always full of heart.

Here in her BAFTA-nominated 2021 romantic drama she tells the delicate later life love story of Ali (Adeel Akhtar) and Ava (Claire Rushbrook). He is of Pakistani Muslim heritage, she is of Irish Catholic descent; his family is quite wealthy, she is struggling a bit to get by. Ali is a kind landlord and would-be DJ and musician, while Ava, a widowed mother and grandmother, works as a teaching assistant at a local primary school. It is here that they meet when Ali, who has a friendly relationship with his tenants, drops off the young daughter of a Hungarian family living in one of his properties. At school pick up, he offers Ava a lift home and there is an instant connection between them. They talk about music – they have wildly different tastes which leads to some lovely, bantering conversations and to sweet moments of shared listening and dancing.

There are complications – Ali and his wife Runa (Ellora Torchia) are separated but still living in the same house. Their estrangement is a source of both shame and sadness for Ali and he doesn’t feel able to tell his family, who all live nearby, the truth of the situation. Ava is cautious about getting involved – she suffered years of domestic abuse in her previous relationship – but it is clear that they are drawn to one another and that they represent the possibility of positive change in each other’s lives.

As a gentle, loving relationship develops, Ali and Ava face various challenges including disapproval from family members on both sides. Love, tolerance and acceptance are the central themes here. It is a beautiful film, filled with warmth, humanity and hope.