Away from Her
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Cast: Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy, Kristen Thomson, Wendy Crewson.
Written and directed by Sarah Polley, based on the short story
"The Bear Came over the Mountain" by Alice Munro.
Story: Separation by Alzheimer's.
Running Time: 1hr 50 minutes.
UK Certificate 12A. |
Awww, this one's really sad. Dealing with age and Alzheimer's is never easy, and it's probably never been
done this sensitively before.
Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent make a lovely elderly couple, deeply in love and comfortable with each other in a way
that only 40 years of marriage can do. The movie opens with the couple accepting Christie's onset of Alzheimer's and
planning a move into a care home, separating the pair for the first time in decades. It's so very sad and will have the
more tear-prone viewer gushing like an elephant's pee. Julie Christie is excellent and was the hot favourite for the
Best Actress Oscar, but uber-tolerant hubby Gordon Pinsent's pained performance is at least as accomplished. Even more
surprising is the contents of the director's chair - Sarah Polley - who is better known as the blood-spattered heroine in
the Dawn of the Dead remake. It's very powerful stuff and is deservedly acclaimed -
my only complaint is that it doesn't really end, it just stops. But maybe that's just as well, because there aren't
Kleenex dispensers in cinemas (at least not this kind of cinema).
Away from Her is difficult to watch at times. It's hard to openly recommend a sad movie because it won't make you
feel good and as such you don't really enjoy it - but with that proviso in mind it's a seriously fine movie.
I enjoyed this film: 5/5
I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: 4/5
Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: 0/5 - although the certificate is 12A, I can't
imagine anyone under 25 getting much out of it.
To enjoy this film you should: have a supply of tissues.
Away from Her was released in the UK on 27th April 2008.
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