Susan Granger’s review of “Away From Her” (Lionsgate)
What strength does the power of love have against the ravages of Alzheimer’s? That’s the question posed by 28 year-old actress-turned-writer/director Sarah Polley’s powerful drama about the grace and the cruelty of aging.
Fiona (Julie Christie) and Grant (Gordon Pinsent) have been married for 44 years when he observes her placing a frying pan into the freezer after washing and drying it. Obviously, something’s wrong. As her mental capacity declines, Fiona becomes a danger to herself, wandering off and becoming lost. When it’s obvious that he can no longer care for her, they agree that she should move into a nearby assisted-living facility. Soon Fiona becomes attached to another patient (Michael Murphy), as Grant relates to his pragmatic wife (Olympia Dukakis).
Independent, outspoken Sarah Polley tackles the screen adaptation of the Alice Munro short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” saying: “I think the ways in which people are damaged are the ways in which they’re strong,” she says. “It’s what makes people interesting – what they’ve overcome and how, and what they haven’t and how that’s become a good thing. Almost everyone’s life is both a gorgeous story and a tragedy. I think being alive is really, really hard, and I’m constantly stunned and amazed by people who make it something interesting and wonderful.”
Julie Christie remains as luminous as she was in “Darling” and “Dr. Zhivago,” and she’s matched by Gordon Pinsent, a Canadian actor best known for “The Shipping News.” Shot in the bitter cold of rural Ontario on a modest $4 million budget, it’s one of the most mature movies to come along in awhile. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Away From Her” is an indelible, uncompromising 9, a sensitive testament to emotional endurance.
