Away from Her

I watched Away from Her not because I wanted to see a movie about Alzheimer's disease. Honestly I just wanted to see the luminous and reclusive Julie Christie and came away with much more. We meet Grant (played with quiet dignity by Gordon Pinsent) and Fiona (Ms. Christie), a childless couple living in a picturesque lakeside cottage in Ontario. They have settled into a comfortable, if by no means perfect, marriage. (There were hints of infidelity on the husband's part.) Ms. Christie, still beautiful despite the gray hair and the lined face, of course gives a heartbreaking performance. She decides to go into a nursing home as the Alzheimer's progresses, despite his own denial about her disease. Grant watches silently as Fiona forms an attachment to Aubrey, another resident. When he finally asks her why, she says simply, "because he doesn't confuse me". Olympia Dukakis plays Aubrey's wife who gives voice to family members faced with difficult decisions. The film is hard to watch. The pace is slow, almost contemplative. The scenes jump from past to present and I felt unbalanced, maybe to mirror the characters' own feelings. But the situations and dialogue seemed very honest, realistic yet unsentimental with unexpected funny moments. The emotional pay off at the end is enormous.

(still photo from Hollywood.com)