Rhys Ifans and Laura Linney are superb in this wickedly funny, exquisitely written and performed British gem, a film as moving and tender as it is brimming with warmth and hope.
A surprise in an absolute mountain of awards-worthy contenders, Onwards and Sideways is deserving of mention among the best of them, with Rhys Ifans and Laura Linney outstanding as two fifty-somethings newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
Ifans is Tony, a deputy head of a primary school who is clearly deeply adored among his pupils, evident from the opening frames of the movie when we meet him playfully portraying the character of Captain Hook in a production of Peter Pan. He doesn’t quite know it yet, but he has Parkinson’s – an elder member of his class notices a strange stiffening of his hand while he stands in full Hook regalia. A diagnosis quickly comes from neurologist Professor Ridge (an excellent Rory Kinnear), along with an expectation that he’ll have ‘five good years’ living with it before it gets devastatingly worse. At the first meeting with his doctor, Tony meets an expat American divorcee, Emma, played by Linney, who has also just received news that she is also suffering from the disease.
Related: Trailer: ‘Onwards and Sideways’
The ‘five good years’ provide a structure to the story, and during that time we see the toll Parkinson’s takes on Tony – from his initial denial, to his refusing to tell his place of work about his illness, despite Emma surprisingly turning up one day to give a talk on the subject, something which contributes towards her own healing. Tony’s uptight and highly strung sister Liz (the always brilliant Monica Dolan) has little time for Emma, after a fiery initial run-in in a car park) with her approach more practical – ‘what will you do when you can no longer cope on your own?’ – rather than sentimental.
This story and film as a whole come together brilliantly, with the tone perfectly balanced between tragedy and hilarity. This is down to the two central performances, but also the very witty, superb script by Paul Mayhew-Archer, who was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2011, and the safe hands of seasoned stage and screen director John Madden (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel).
I laughed out loud multiple times throught and and found myself in tears just as often, sometimes within the very same scene. What initially seemed to be a conventional, perhaps even clichéd, Sunday afternoon matinee so often offered up with a a well worn golden-crowd formula, turned out to be something altogether more special. The filmmakers have delivered a deeply affecting story of friendship, love, hope and perseverance, one that continually defied expectations and an outstanding feature that resonates long after the final frame. An unexpected delight, and undoubtedly one of the best British films of the year.
Onwards and Sideways is released in UK cinemas on 6th November 2026.
Onwards and Sideways
Summary
Wickedly funny and brilliantly written, Onwards and Sideways is an unexpected delight and undoubtedly one of the best British films of the year.
