Written and directed
by Sarah PolleyCast:
Gordon Pinsent,
Julie Christie,
James Franco,
Rosemary Harris, Olympia
Dukakis |
Rating: (3.2)
ERIC'S STAR RATING |
|
|
Review: Away from
Her
 The
term senility is now deemed pejorative for some reason, and the
condition is now called “Alzheimer's.” But that doesn't change
anything. It still robs the mind of itself, and the wasting away
of the victim is hard to watch whatever it's called. This
expansion of Alice Munro's short story, The Bear Went Over the
Mountain,” makes this quite plain.
Grant (Gordon Pinsent) and Fiona Anderson (Julie Christie) have
been married for decades and are still in love. Unfortunately,
the early signs of Alzheimer's has set in, and Fiona knows that
eventually she has to be sent away to a nursing home, and so
does Grant, who fears the possibility far more than his wife.
The place, is in fact, very nice, as are the administrator
(Kristen Thompson) and head nurse (Wendy Crewson). The problem
is that there's a no visitors for the first 30 Days rule” and at
the end of that time, she's forgotten all about him and is
hanging out with another patient named Aubrey (Michael Murphy).
Most of the film is framed by a conversation between Grant and
Aubrey's wife Marian (Olympia Dukakis). The exact reason for
this isn't exactly made clear for much of the film, but it's
actually rather touching. Aside from this, and a few grainy
flashbacks, which are momentary illustrations, the film's
structure is entirely straightforward beginning to end. This is
Sarah Polley's first film as a director, and she's not really
taking any chances here.
Julie Christie is as lovely as ever, and this may be a bit of a
snag, as she doesn't really look old enough for the part, but
she does a hell of a job, and Pinsent spends the entire film
with an air of quiet desperation, which is just perfect.
Unfortunately, Alzheimer's isn't that cinematic topic for film.
This and older fare such as “I Never Sang for My Father” and
“The Notebook” don't get all that engaging in the drama
department. Still, it's a worthy effort.
Eric Lurio |
