Norwegian writer/director Maria Sødahl’s Hope offers a thorough exploration of longtime couple Anja (Andrea Bræin Hovig) and Tomas (Stellan Skarsgård) coming to terms with Anja’s returning, now incurable cancer.

There are no gimmicks or twists to be found here — just a straightforward terminal illness drama that allows genuine emotions to shine through in every interaction.

The closest Sødahl comes to a curveball is that, despite having three children together and Anja being very much a mother to Tomas’ three previous kids, the partners have yet to marry. With surgery scheduled for Jan. 2, and Anja’s birthday and the New Year also on the celebration docket, the family rushes to squeeze in a respectable ceremony while they still can — a time crunch that brings out the pair’s best and worst sides.

The heightened yet realistic ticking clock scenario exposes long-standing cracks in their relationship while also inspiring their most complimentary qualities to bubble up after a period of dormancy. Given the juicier part, Hovig excels at conveying Anja’s manic desperation, though Skarsgård’s silent facial acting while Tomas processes his love’s tribulations is powerful in its own right.

This rich core bond and a palpable sympathy for the family’s tragic situation is just enough to keep Hope engaging, especially with Sødahl’s passable direction offering minimal technical support. Regardless, the filmmaker is committed to realism to the end, and the 11th hour positive changes that such a crisis would provoke send the story out on a peaceful, contemplative note with extra help from an ambiguous poetic ending.

Grade: B. Not rated, but with adult themes, language, and nudity. Available to rent via grailmoviehouse.com

(Photo: Manuel Claro/KimStim)