This movie tells the story of Hollywood actress Gloria Grahame, who finds romance and happiness with a younger man, but her life changes forever when she is diagnosed with breast cancer in the 1970s.
Bening is outstanding as a woman who fears that her fame and beauty are slipping away, and Bell ("Billy Elliot") brings to his character a heartbreaking vulnerability.
The screen romance of Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool may seem as odd as the real-life pairing was, but it's a credit to all concerned that the validity of it is never in doubt.
Quite the odd couple, they nevertheless seem perfectly suited, and Bening and Bell play them with plenty of heart, horny humour and a powerfully realistic, anti-Hollywood pain.
If the movie meanders, it's refreshing to see a May-September romance in which May is played by the man for once and where the sex is happy, frank, and frequent.
McGuigan's role is essentially to serve the script and the performers, and we can be grateful the project wasn't handed to a director more bent on imposing an authorial stamp.
Bening finds the shattered beauty in Grahame, the tragedy of an ex-star hanging on for dear life to her waning looks and fame that has long since passed her by.
