What a sad movie. But it's terrific and the acting is first-rate. Julie Christie was nominated for an "Oscar" for her performance, and Gordon Pinset maybe should have been. Sarah Polley, the director, is someone to watch. Content wise, there's nothing but the subject matter, which could upset younger kids. Age reccomendation: 10+ (Or if you have a really mature 8 year-old.)
Away from Her
(2007, Rated PG-13, Drama, Starring Olympia Dukakis, Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent)
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- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Sad, but really good
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
I really expected to love this film
But somehow, it just failed to really draw me in. There were two art-house films in 2007 which I especially wanted to see which were about a different type of romance-- Once and Away From Her. Once is now one of my favorite movies of all time and I cannot reccommend it enough. Away From Her, however, I cannot quite say the same for. The themes of undying love and unrequited love from the person you've been married to for many, many years (along with great reviews), moved this movie near the top of my must-see list. But when I finally got a chance to buy it on DVD, it just completely underwhelmed me. There was only one moment when I felt the pain of the main character, a resonation feeling of loss and having to realize that the love of your life can't even remember who you are. Only once though. All other times Michael Murphy's character just seemed like he didn't even really care that much. His character was emotionless (or that's how he came off to me), and it's impossible for an audience to identify with this man's pain if the character himself doesn't even exhibit emotions. Resigned would probably be the best way to describe it-- he came off resigned and uncaring. Not exactly the traits you want to display in a film about undying love. Also, Sarah Polley seemed undecided in her direction-- half the time it seemed like she was trying to develop the Alzheimer's and undying love themes, and the other half she tried-- very weakly-- to work on an undercurrent of infidelity in Murphy's character. That was an utter mistake in my opinion-- it did not fit, it broke any flow of the movie, and felt too weak and thrown in there, not to mention it was never really developed. Plus, there was even a moment where she tried to introduce the idea that perhaps Julie Christie's character was feigning Alzheimer's as a way to get back at Murphy's character for his infidelity-- totally unbelievable, and something I never gave a second thought to as a serious note in the movie. There were some good factors in the movie, such as Christie's acting and good sets and production, but for a movie about undying love and the affects of Alzheimer's on the people around us, it lacked any punch whatsoever, and left me-- like Murphy's character-- resigned and uncaring. The positives however, were that the content in the movie was mild: there were three f-bombs, one not so audible, and the references towards infidelity might make a few parents uncomfortable, but mostly it will fly over younger children's heads. If anyone has had experice with Alzheimer's or someone close to them has suffered from it, then this could be a very emotional or tense movie, so caution would be advised in that circumstance.
