Away from Her

I've been hearing rave reviews about this flick, so I went to check it out at this afternoon's Stars & Strollers screening, which is the showing where women can attempt to enjoy a movie with their crying babies. Hey, I have kids, I can tune it out. Written and directed by Sarah Polley, Away from Her is based on a short story by Alice Munro.

Gordon Pinsent stars as Grant, a man who is home caring for his wife. Julie Christie is Fiona, Grant's beautiful wife who is slowly slipping further into Alzheimer's disease. Fiona insists she needs to be put into a permanent care home, but Grant is in denial about her condition and is hesitant to live apart from her. Fiona gets her way and she soon develops a closeness to a fellow resident, a wheelchair bound mute named Aubrey (Michael Murphy). Grant watches helplessly as Fiona forgets who he is and spends more and more time caring for Aubrey. Grant gets some kind words of comfort from a nurse on Fiona's ward named Kristy (Kristen Thomson). Grant also strikes up a friendship with Aubrey's wife, Marian (Olympia Dukakis) based on mutual understanding.


This film is great. I was surprised when I came home and read on the IMDB page that Sarah Polley had directed it, given her young age. The film is so subtle, nuanced with a plot that is winding. The timeline jumps around a bit, but it all makes sense in the end. It's a beautiful portrait of the trials and tribulations of being a spouse taking care of their life partner suffering with Alzheimer's. It's clearly harder on the spouse. What would be worse, losing your memory and having your cognitive thoughts fade away while having your body in proper working order, or being of clear mind and having your mobility and body go? This film made me wonder about that.


The buzz about the film is Julie Christie's Oscar nom in the bag, but I have to say that although she was excellent and beautiful, as always, it was Gordon Pinsent that blew me away. He was heartbreaking to watch as he stayed a devoted, attentive husband while watching his wife fall in love with another man. Even as the audience, you find out that their marriage wasn't always so perfect, you still feel for him. This was a beautiful, moving film and highly recommended. Words of wisdom from the nurse Kristy:
" It's never too late to become what you might have been."


More ramblings to come......