Dir. Sarah Polley, Canada, 2006, 109 mins
Cast: Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Michael Murphy, Olympia Dukakis
Review by Carol Allen
Christie has already won a clutch of awards for her role in this movie - the Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe and the London Critics Circle Film Award for best British actress. And although she failed to win the BAFTA, she is still hotly tipped to walk away with the Best Actress Oscar on February 24th. However, as Christie claimed when picking up her Critics Circle award, for her it's not about awards but about supporting what she says may well be her last film. "What all the awards publicity has meant is that "Away From Her", which seemed to be in the cinemas for about five minutes when it was first released, is now getting a second release, giving more people a chance to see it." Christie is full of praise for its young writer/director Sarah Polley, who went to great lengths to persuade the actress to take the role and who has herself been nominated for a screenwriting Oscar. One suspects that the publicity shy Christie would be far more delighted if Polley won than if she herself did, as then she wouldn't have to get up in front of the Oscar audience and make a speech.
Polley too well deserves to win that Academy Award. Her film is a beautifully made and emotionally gripping piece about Fiona (Christie) and Grant (Pinsent), a couple in their sixties, living in a remote, snow bound part of Canada. Early in the film we and Grant become aware that Fiona is developing Alzheimer's. She is conscious of what is happening to her and it is she who chooses, when the time comes, to go into the care home she and her husband have chosen. Soon she can no longer recognise him but she is still such a loving women, that she transfers her love and care to someone who also needs it, wheelchair bound fellow resident Aubrey (Murphy). It also doesn't avoid the issue of older people's need to still express their love physically, which is very delicately handled.
Run by a tough manageress (Wendy Crewson) the care home itself is somewhat unsettling in this era of an ageing population, many of whom may be destined to end their days in such an establishment. It's a pleasant enough environment but their policy of no visitors for 30 days to allow residents to settle in, during which time Fiona forgets her husband, arguably accelerates the progress of her illness and their inflexible policy, that after a period of deterioration patients are relegated to the less attractive second floor with the other no-hopers, is disturbing.
The film's writer/director, actress Sarah Polley, was only 27 when she made the film and it's interesting and heartening that she should choose this subject for her first feature and handle it with such maturity and understanding. Christie, who is now in her sixties, is still very beautiful even with a few lines and grey hairs and she gives a lovely performance of a woman of great grace and charm - "ladylike" as she is described by one character - who is strong and self aware despite her condition. The story is told through Grant's eyes - an unselfish performance from Pinsent - and you really feel for him, as he finds himself excluded from Fiona's world. It is primarily a love story about a 44 year old marriage and how it survives this tragedy. And there are good supporting performances from Murphy as Aubrey, who tells us a lot about the character with no dialogue whatsover, Olympia Dukakis as his strong wife and Kristen Thompson as a sympathetic nurse in the home. Despite its potentially de pressing subject matter - there are, it must be said, appropriate touches of humour to lighten it - this is ultimately an uplifting film about the strength of love, giving it appeal for younger audiences, particularly young women, as well as older filmgoers. |
