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Away From Her

Alzheimer’s disease is an incredibly tragic, debilitating disorder, and yet it shows up in movies all too often as the result of a twist or as a plot gimmick. Rarely has its toll on real, believable characters been represented on the silver screen effectively; but then again, few films treat any issue associated with the elderly in a multi-dimensional manner. This is just one of the few reasons why actress Sarah Polley’s masterful directorial debut, Away From Her, is one of the best movies of the year.

We get to know Fiona (Julie Christie) and Grant (Gordon Pinsent), a married couple who have weathered troubled times and remained in love for over forty years, very quickly. They live in a beautiful home surrounded by the forest, enjoying their later years in the peace and harmony that such a remote location provides, but Fiona is rapidly succumbing to Alzheimer’s disease. Eventually, she reaches a point where she feels like too much of a burden for Grant and requests to be placed in a retirement home, an idea that Grant vehemently resists. When he finally agrees, he is not allowed to see her for 30 days after her initial stay. By the time he comes to see her, she has already transferred her affections to another patient, the reclusive Aubrey (Ryan O’Neal).

Based upon one of Polley’s favorite short stories, Alice Munro’s “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” Away From Her is a wrenching, intensely emotional experience. Grant’s visits to the home start badly – Fiona doesn’t remember him and treats him like a “persistent” suitor, often truncating their conversations to go and tend to Aubrey – and he is forced to accept his infuriatingly helpless position. After a while, he forms a tenuous friendship with Aubrey’s abrasive wife, Marian (Olympia Dukakis), and his attempts to deal with Fiona’s condition are surprising and touching.

Polley reveals herself to not only be a gifted actress but a soulful and brilliant force behind the camera as well. Her astute writing sidesteps any movie-of-the-week pitfalls this film could easily have fallen into, and she wrings insight and humor from her various characters’ plights. The film is full of lush, crisp cinematography, and although her style is reminiscent of the films of Atom Egoyan (she starred in his best and most well-known film, The Sweet Hereafter), it is the perfect approach for the mood she wants to set. The structure of the film is also worthy of mention; Polley tells a simple, straightforward story, but jumps around in time to lend it even more thematic clarity.

Even upon close analysis, Polley takes no discernable missteps in Away From Her, and she has captured uniformly excellent work by her entire cast. Christie is getting all the early Oscar buzz, and she would easily merit a Best Actress nomination, but the lesser-known Pinsent leaves the biggest impression. He is the heart and soul of the movie, and his subtle, tender performance is the best acting in any film so far this year. This is a wonderful, powerful work of art, and it deserves all the praise it’s been getting. And for Polley, who is only 28, this will hopefully be the first great film of a long directorial career.

Written by: Joe Pudas

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