A contentedly married woman must face the truth about her marriage when the body of her husband’s lover, who fell to her death in a glacier 50 years ago, is discovered.

>>I felt that the wife?s action, inner as it?may be, needs mentioning.

An interesting observation and it touches on my objective goal in posting a logline for the film. ?The outward action is her preparations for their 45th wedding celebration. ?But that ?just provides a contextual framework, an arena in which she must wrestle with the dramatic problem of their marriage revealed (to her) by the discovery of the body after nearly ?half a century.

It’s ?a small film with subtle acting by the two principals. ?The critics loved it; Charlotte Rampling was nominated for an Oscar. ?And for it’s target audience, older adults, it resonates in terms of coming to a reckoning with?ghosts from the past who return to haunt the present.

The concept was pre-sold in that the film is an adaptation of a short story. Interestingly, while in the story, events unfold from the husband’s pov, in the movie they unfold from the wife’s.?

I decided to tackle a logline because of the big challenge the small story poses.

Which is that ?there is an ?objective goal: ?the wife and husband ?are preparing to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. ?The news is not the inciting incident of the celebration; ?plans are already in motion. ?The news puts the celebration of the anniversary party in jeopardy.

I’m ?not satisfied with my first try. ?My first attempt was too long — exceeded 40 words, so I posted a logline that doesn’t mention it. ?But after doodling around, here’s my revised take:

A contented wife’s 45th wedding anniversary celebration is thrown into doubt when news arrives that?the body of her husband?s 1st lover, who died in a glacier accident 50 years ago, has been discovered.

(34 words)

The dramatic question hovering over the story after the inciting incident (the arrival of the letter with the news of the discovery) isn’t whether the husband is responsible for her death. ?It never comes up as an issue, a suspicion.

The dramatic question concerns the nature of the relationship between the dead woman and the protagonist’s husband. ?Was?it a transient fling , a youthful infatuation, or was there more? ?Has he been carrying a torch in his heart for his deceased lover in the intervening years? ?Is the protagonist, the wife of 45 years, ?a 2nd best, consolation spouse? ?Why is he so deeply upset by the news?

The plot is about how a ghost from his past impacts their relationship in the present. ?And the true nature of that relationship comes in a Big Reveal around the midpoint — a reveal without a word of dialogue.