Away from Her (2006)

Away from Her - flawed but moving

I agree with those who say that the Alzheimer's facility in the movie is too good to be true. Even if such a luxurious place were to exist, the cost would be far above a retired professor's means, and from the looks of the cottage Fiona and Grant lived in, they did not have other sources of wealth. Also, for seemingly artistic effect (enabling a Christmas dinner scene with Aubrey and Fiona), the movie stretches out the period in which Aubrey was in the facility to over a year, which contradicts the reason given in both the short story and the movie for his stay and his wife's economic situation- that it was a short term placement so she could go on a trip and she could not afford to keep him there longer. The inconsistency grates, but it is not a fatal flaw.

I disagree with many of those who criticize the depiction of Alzheimer's. I have had substantial experience with the condition as family member, friend, and volunteer. Alzheimer's does not manifest itself in a single way. In the early stages, victims are aware of and frightened by what is happening to them, read about the disease, and often decide or agree to move into a care home with little or no prompting, as Fiona did.

Many patients do not manifest extreme, angry outbursts or many of the other symptoms reviewers felt Fiona should have exhibited. And I can tell you from experience, rapid declines or shocking behavioral or physical changes can, indeed, occur virtually overnight. Being separated from her husband for thirty days (as draconian and probably unreal as that policy is) in itself could trigger a major change. When my father was unable to make his daily visits to my mother, her condition radically deteriorated. A friend and I both characterized our mothers' Alzheimer's progressions as lengthy plateau periods punctuated by sudden drops followed by new, "lower" plateaus. While both mothers expressed frustration with their conditions by occasionally throwing their pills to the ground, pushing away food, or cursing inappropriately, they never raged and like Fiona, they remained "ladies." When Fiona enters the facility, she is far from the Depends-and-spoon feeding stage that she will eventually devolve to, as the movie hints, after she moves to the second floor. I think the movie realistically depicts a particular person's specific early and early-middle stages of Alzheimer's.

I give the movie four stars, rather than five, because of the flaws mentioned in the first paragraph. I think the acting - particularly Julie Christie's - was superb. The vacant or fearful look in her eyes and her lapses and attempts at covering humor were spot-on. The questions raised about love, the meaning of fidelity, and dealing with mind-robbing disease were well-wrought and worth pondering. August 19, 2008

'I never wear yellow'

"When I look away I forget what yellow means. But I can look again. Sometimes there's something delicious in oblivion."

Sarah Polley writes and directs a faithful adaptation of Alice Munro's short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain," adding some effective symbolic touches of her own. "Nature never fools around just being decorative."

I doubt the film will help anyone dealing with Alzheimers, but I'd be happy to be wrong. August 16, 2008

Gentle, Moving Film About Dementia

I thought this movie was very nice about a husband who is slowly losing his wife to Alzheimer's Disease. It presents the decline of the wife to the point that she needs to go into an assisted living facility as we would call them in the US. The wife slowly declines and finds her own life in the institution as the husband finds some life besides the wife. But they do come together in their own way and in a their new life.
The story is good as is but is missing the worry about finances (the US health system), doctors (everyone seems to be more of a social worker), and the light side of dementia. I know when my father had dementia, he could very be very sweet and funny, utterly charming at times. Other people can get belligerent. Fighting about care is missing too. I remember staff who poorly paid and not always caring. This movie shows the gentle side of dementia - sad, but people aren't worrying about how to pay, the care given and working with social workers who are not very sympathetic. Good movie and I couldn't believe Michael Murphy. It took a second viewing to realize that it was him. Very nicely done. August 14, 2008

sad but good movie

this movie is about a couple, married for many years, who now face dementia in the wife. she knows what is happening and the movie does a decent job of demonstrating some of the many issues such a couple would face. i used it for educational purposes with future health care providers and found it helpful - although it does not include issues around finances and the health crisis in the US, it does do a good job of helping one appreciate a bit of this couple's lives.... August 10, 2008

Slow-moving, melancholy but good ...

This slow-paced and melancholy film traces the development of Alzheimer's on one woman and the seismic impact it has on her husband. The latter must eventually move his wife into a care facility, where she develops a strong attachment to another resident who seems even more worse off than her. Her husband's feelings of abandonment and jealousy give way to other impulses at the end. Julie Christie is magnificent in the central role of the woman with dementia.

The film may idealize life in a care facility. Many reviewers have commented on this. Hollywood's version of these "homes" is much more plush than the reality.

A good film about the power of love and relationships.
July 19, 2008

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