"Away from Her" definitely has a sense of place and a "realness" about it. Gordon Pinsent and Julie Christie play a retired college professor and his wife who have to cope with the onset of her Alzheimer's Disease. Eventually, they decide to move her into a rest home, where she seems to be drawn to another patient, almost to the neglect of her husband.
The movie is definitely set in Canada not Canada standing in for some part of the United States, whether named or unnamed, but Canada. And in contrast to a Hollywood movie I saw the same night, the cars have dirt on them. Aside from the pain of watching a loved one's mind slip away, which, unfortunately, is a very relateable situation, the disjointed narrative technique that writer/director Sarah Polley uses is at first a little distracting. The scenes of Gordon Pinsent looking for an address eventually bear fruit, but the payoff is a long time coming.
It's good to see a film attempt to tackle a serious subject maturely, but it's not the easiest viewing.
The movie is definitely set in Canada not Canada standing in for some part of the United States, whether named or unnamed, but Canada. And in contrast to a Hollywood movie I saw the same night, the cars have dirt on them. Aside from the pain of watching a loved one's mind slip away, which, unfortunately, is a very relateable situation, the disjointed narrative technique that writer/director Sarah Polley uses is at first a little distracting. The scenes of Gordon Pinsent looking for an address eventually bear fruit, but the payoff is a long time coming.
It's good to see a film attempt to tackle a serious subject maturely, but it's not the easiest viewing.