Movie Review - Away From Her
Away From Her is a powerful but understated movie, filled with emotion and very honest, personal performances. The first movie directed by Canadian Sarah Polley, the film follows Fiona and Grant (Julie Christie and Gordon Pinset), married for 44 years and entering the twilight of their lives. They love each other deeply, enjoy their time together, and look forward to spending their rest of their lives together in their cabin on the shore of a lake, once belonging to Fiona's grandparents.
Unfortunately, life intervenes as it often does. Grant begins to notice changes in Fiona - putting a frying pan in the freezer, forgetfulness, general confusion. Immediately Fiona is better able to accept the true consequences of the symptoms than Grant. Despite his protests and justifications, it becomes clear that Fiona needs to move into an assisted- living facility where she can get the sort of care she needs for her Alzheimer's, in a safe and controlled environment.
In Meadowlake, the medical facility, the administration is effective if over-chipper, and the staff is helpful and understanding. After a mandatory 30-day period of no contact with the outside world, Grant returns to visit Fiona and finds she is no longer the same person. Her short-term memory is disappearing quickly, while those spaces are being taken up with thoughts and memories from her long-ago past. That includes the friendship she held with Aubrey (Michael Murphy), who Fiona dated once as a teenager and now rediscovers in Meadowlake. She immediately sets to becoming Aubrey's caretaker, which is met with quiet distaste by his wife (Olympia Dukakis). Does Fiona even remember who her husband is? Or is this new fascination with Aubrey a punishment for his own indiscretions of years past? And how far is Grant willing to go to ensure his wife's happiness as she finds herself lost in her own confused world?
In particular, Julie Christie gives a fabulous performance, complicated and deep. Who is suffering more, Grant who is losing his wife, or Fiona who is losing her mind? The situation causes everyone involved to evaluate the summation of their lives, what matters and what doesn't, what was important and what was trite and meaningless. Sarah Polley gets the most out of her strong cast, and maintains a quiet acceptance to the inevitable end of life. As Olympia Dukakis says in a tender moment, "We never know how anything is going to turn out. But we sort of know." You can plan to spend the rest of your days with someone, but life can easily get in the way and alter those plans in unrepairable ways.
Its a great film, and certainly an emotional one. Bring your handkerchief (Heather had mine sopping wet by the time it was over...fortunately she anticipated the tears and wore no eye makeup).
Unfortunately, life intervenes as it often does. Grant begins to notice changes in Fiona - putting a frying pan in the freezer, forgetfulness, general confusion. Immediately Fiona is better able to accept the true consequences of the symptoms than Grant. Despite his protests and justifications, it becomes clear that Fiona needs to move into an assisted- living facility where she can get the sort of care she needs for her Alzheimer's, in a safe and controlled environment.
In Meadowlake, the medical facility, the administration is effective if over-chipper, and the staff is helpful and understanding. After a mandatory 30-day period of no contact with the outside world, Grant returns to visit Fiona and finds she is no longer the same person. Her short-term memory is disappearing quickly, while those spaces are being taken up with thoughts and memories from her long-ago past. That includes the friendship she held with Aubrey (Michael Murphy), who Fiona dated once as a teenager and now rediscovers in Meadowlake. She immediately sets to becoming Aubrey's caretaker, which is met with quiet distaste by his wife (Olympia Dukakis). Does Fiona even remember who her husband is? Or is this new fascination with Aubrey a punishment for his own indiscretions of years past? And how far is Grant willing to go to ensure his wife's happiness as she finds herself lost in her own confused world?
In particular, Julie Christie gives a fabulous performance, complicated and deep. Who is suffering more, Grant who is losing his wife, or Fiona who is losing her mind? The situation causes everyone involved to evaluate the summation of their lives, what matters and what doesn't, what was important and what was trite and meaningless. Sarah Polley gets the most out of her strong cast, and maintains a quiet acceptance to the inevitable end of life. As Olympia Dukakis says in a tender moment, "We never know how anything is going to turn out. But we sort of know." You can plan to spend the rest of your days with someone, but life can easily get in the way and alter those plans in unrepairable ways.
Its a great film, and certainly an emotional one. Bring your handkerchief (Heather had mine sopping wet by the time it was over...fortunately she anticipated the tears and wore no eye makeup).
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