AVClub: Looked at one way, the most significant character in 45 Years hasn’t a single line of dialogue, appears only in still photographs, and died a half-century before the events of the film. Her name is Katya, and she was young and beautiful when she plummeted to her demise in the Swiss Alps. Geoff (Tom Courtenay), the man she was with when she fell, hasn’t mentioned her since he married Kate (Charlotte Rampling), his wife of four-and-a-half decades, not long after the tragedy. But mere minutes into the film, a letter arrives, like an intruder from the past: a body has been discovered, perfectly preserved in the ice. And for the 90 minutes that follow, Geoff and Kate will do little else but talk about or around Katya. She is the elephant in every room of their cozy Norfolk home.
On June 20, 1975 Steven Spielberg terrorised the inhabitants of Amity with the release of Jaws.
From Cinelinx:
When the past pops up unexpectedly shortly before a couple celebrates their 45th wedding anniversary, their entire relationship comes into question. It's an interesting premise with strong characters who paint an emotional picture.
The Atlantic
45 Years begins the way many tense mysteries do—with a dark secret being unearthed. But this is no Nordic crime thriller, or horror film about monsters emerging from the deep. The cold case that’s reopened in 45 Years is a romance, involving a long-ago love of Geoff’s (Tom Courtenay) who died in a hiking accident decades ago. The news that her body has finally been found begins Andrew Haigh’s quietly taut drama, and slowly infects Geoff’s marriage to Kate (Charlotte Rampling) just as they prepare to celebrate their 45th anniversary.
