Ali and Ava is a gritty love story set in Bradford from director Clio Barnard. Ali (Adeel Akhtar), who is separated from his wife Runa (Ellora Torchia), meets widow Ava (Claire Rushbrook). Despite them both having emotional baggage, they form a connection.
For a fairly simple story, told in a linear fashion, this certainly is a complex film that tackles a lot of issues. We learn that Ali’s marriage broke up after his wife miscarried and is childless, though they pretend to be together for the sake of his family. Ava also left her husband, who was a member of The National Front, after years of physical abuse, but only after he turned his attention to her oldest daughter. Hitting the booze hard, he died a year later, and her son who may have inherited some of his violent racism, blames her. Bonding initially over a love, of admittedly different music, they begin a tentative relationship with the film charting the course of that in a period of just over a month.
This film has a truly authentic feel. The cultural and ethnic mix of the Yorkshire city is perfectly brought together by Barnard in comfortably her best movie so far. Both Akhtar and Rushbrook are stunning in their roles, their characters are damaged and flawed, but very real and I was rooting for their relationship to work. Torchia is also excellent in the few appearances she makes.
I suppose Ali and Ava will be more successful when it is streamed later this year, but I urge you to see it in a cinema, if for no other reason than to experience the superb sound and use of music, as well heightening the emotional impact of the story.
Rating: 9 out of 10